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Douglas H. Meal

Partner

Boston

Seasoned trial lawyer Doug Meal defends clients targeted by litigation and government investigations stemming from major privacy and cybersecurity incidents. According to Chambers USA, clients select Doug because "[h]e is the premier expert in this field and knows how to run a breach response process from A to Z”; is “extremely experienced [and] can give immediate advice off the top of his head"; "has been in court through trials and negotiations, all aspects of the litigation, and is highly effective in all of them"; and "is good to work with, personable and very authoritative." This year, clients said, "I would trust him with my life if I ran into a litigation"; "Doug is extremely calm and has a way of presenting and explaining problems which makes you feel empowered to do your job"; and "He has great experience in this field and is a solid rock in litigation." Based on client assessments like these, Chambers USA has named Doug as the first and only “Band 1” litigator in the Privacy and Data Security category, describing him as the “market leader,” being “regarded by market sources as the leading privacy litigator in the USA” and “the dean of the data breach litigation Bar." 

As the lead outside lawyer handling claims and/or regulatory investigations stemming from the data security breaches suffered by Target, Neiman Marcus, The Home Depot, Hilton Worldwide, Landry’s, Arby’s, Shopify, Chegg, Supervalu, Sally Beauty, Sony, Heartland Payment Systems, TJ Maxx, Hannaford Brothers, Aldo, Genesco, and Wyndham Hotels—some of the most highly publicized breaches in recent years—Doug has become the national leader in defending companies that suffer breaches involving consumer information against the ensuing claims and regulatory investigations. Doug’s recent successes include leading the team that prevailed in the closely watched LabMD v. FTC litigation, convincing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to become the first court ever to overturn a cybersecurity enforcement action by the FTC.

Doug has been recognized four times as one of The Cybersecurity Docket’s Incident Response 40—a list of the top 40 incident response lawyers in the United States. He is also a five-time Law360 Privacy MVP.

    • Acuant. Lead counsel in Acuant’s defense of a BIPA class action brought in 2019 based on Acuant’s alleged unlawful collection of biometric information by means of its facial recognition technology.
    • Aldo Group. Lead counsel in Aldo’s ongoing defense of card brand and card issuer claims resulting from an alleged data security breach that the retailer discovered in early 2010.
    • Arby’s Restaurant Group. Lead counsel in defending Arby's against all third-party claims arising from a payment card incident announced in February 2017 and also in litigation against Arby’s former payment card processor, Visa, and MasterCard in connection with Visa’s and MasterCard’s issuer reimbursement assessments relating to the data security incident.
    • Chegg. Lead counsel for Chegg in defending consumer class action litigation and related arbitration demands stemming from a data breach discovered by Chegg in 2018.
    • Destination Hotels and Resorts. Lead counsel in DH&R’s defense of the card brand claims stemming from the data security breaches suffered in 2010 by certain hotels managed by DH&R.
    • Donnelly Financial Solutions. Lead counsel in Donnelly’s defense of a consumer class action brought against Donnelly in 2020 based on a data breach suffered by Mediant Communications in 2019.
    • Fortune 100 Insurance Company. National coordinating counsel with respect to the litigations and regulatory inquiries arising from the criminal cyber-attack on a certain portion of a Fortune 100 insurance company’s computer network.
    • Genesco. Lead counsel for Genesco in addressing its various legal obligations and exposures resulting from a substantial data security breach that Genesco discovered in late 2010.
    • Hannaford Brothers. Lead counsel in Hannaford’s defense of the card brand claims stemming from the data security breach announced by Hannaford in 2008.
    • Heartland Payment Systems. Lead counsel in Heartland’s ongoing defense of the card brand claims, the card issuer class action, and the FTC investigation stemming from the data security breach announced by Heartland in 2009.
    • Hilton Worldwide. Lead counsel regarding potential card brand claims stemming from two separate data security incidents that affected certain Hilton-branded hotels around the world in 2014 and 2015, and also in litigation against Hilton's former payment card processor in connection with a commercial dispute relating to the data security incidents.
    • The Home Depot. Advised and represented Home Depot in responding to card brand inquiries stemming from the data security breach that Home Depot announced in September 2014.
    • LabMD. Represented LabMD in its successful petition to the U.S. Court of Appeals resulting in the first-ever court decision overturning an FTC cybersecurity action.
    • Landry's. Lead outside counsel for Landry's on third-party claims brought by Landry's against two major card brands arising out of their allegedly unlawful conduct in imposing substantial assessments on Landry's acquiring bank as a result of a data security breach suffered by Landry's.
    • Neiman Marcus. Advised and represented Neiman Marcus in responding to card brand inquiries stemming from the data security breach that Neiman Marcus announced in January 2014.
    • Nordstrom. Lead counsel for Nordstrom in defending a consumer class action brought against Nordstrom based on a data breach suffered by a Nordstrom service provider in 2019.
    • Sally Beauty Products. Advising and representing Sally Beauty in responding to card brand inquiries stemming from the data security breach that Sally Beauty announced in March 2014 and also in litigation against Visa in connection with Visa’s issuer reimbursement assessment relating to the data security incidents.
    • Sony. Global coordinating counsel with respect to the multiple litigations and investigations that have arisen from the criminal cyber-attacks on certain of the Sony’s computer networks.
    • Supervalu Inc. Lead outside counsel for Supervalu in defending and responding to all litigation claims, and regulatory inquiries stemming from the data security breach that Supervalu announced in August 2014.
    • Target. Lead outside counsel advising and representing Target Corp. in responding to card brand inquiries and defending card issuer litigation stemming from the data security breach that Target announced in December 2013.
    • The TJX Companies. Lead counsel in TJX’s defense of the card brand claims and the card issuer class action stemming from the data security breach announced by TJX in 2007. 
    • Twitter. Lead counsel for Twitter in defending a consumer class action brought against Twitter based on alleged violations of Washington telephone records privacy statute.
    • Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Lead counsel in Wyndham’s defense of the card brand claims stemming from the data security breaches suffered by certain of the Wyndham-branded hotels in 2008–2010; co-lead counsel in Wyndham’s defense of FTC enforcement action stemming from these intrusions.
    • Zoosk. Lead counsel for Zoosk in defending a consumer class action brought against Zoosk based on a data breach discovered by Zoosk in 2020.