Andrew Folks Awarded International Association of Privacy Professionals Westin Privacy Law Fellowship

Pepperdine Caruso Law third-year student Andrew Folks has won the prestigious International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) Westin Privacy Law Fellowship. The fellowship is a post-graduate award that supports students who have the potential to become leaders in the field of privacy and data protection. Professor Gregory McNeal, who specializes in legal and  regulatory issues associated with emerging technologies, notes that the IAPP award is highly competitive among top law students across the country. 

Prior to coming to Caruso Law, Folks first became aware of privacy law while working at a mental health startup where he reviewed HIPAA administrative enforcement actions. He later developed a passion for privacy law when he had the opportunity to study the subject in Professor McNeal's class, while at the same time helping with privacy management during his internship at JAKKS Pacific, Inc. Privacy law incorporates diverse issues related to consumer protection, data security, surveillance, free speech, competition, health, and employment, and Folks very quickly became deeply interested in the privacy field.

Folks is currently serving as a law clerk at the California Privacy Protection Agency, primarily assisting with the California Privacy Rights Act rulemaking package. Following his graduation, Folks looks forward to being a Westin Fellow at the IAPP from August 2023 to August 2024, at which point he hopes to transition into privacy and data protection practice at a firm or in government. 

Folks comments, “Privacy is a novel and quick-moving area, so gaining knowledge through coursework and externships, while monitoring developments in my free time, has been invaluable in being able to communicate about increasingly salient issues and anticipate problems that may arise.” 

For more information on privacy law courses at Caruso Law, please contact Professor Gregory McNeal.