Jennifer A. Coughlin is a Founding Partner of Mullen Coughlin and its Managing Member, guiding the Firm in its commitment to provide effective and efficient data privacy and security legal services and develop, maintain and grow client and partner relationships. She focuses her legal practice solely on providing organizations of all sizes and from every industry sector in first-party data privacy and security incident response and third-party data privacy defense legal services.  

Jenn has counseled hundreds of organizations in investigating and responding to data privacy and security incidents compromising protected data and network and system security, such as ransomware attacks, business email compromises (BECs) and other network intrusions, among others. She works closely with various organizational and third-party incident response stakeholders including cyber insurance claims teams; forensic investigation and data mining firms; law enforcement; and business partners. Once the incident is contained and the nature and scope is identified, she relies on her knowledge of state, federal and international laws, as well as industry-specific guidance and regulations to assist the victim organization with identifying and complying with legal obligations stemming from the incident. 

While Jenn has represented organizations from virtually every industry group, she has a particular focus on organizations within the healthcare and life sciences; financial services; hospitality and entertainment; retail/e-commerce; and professional services industry groups. She also represents these organizations with follow-up inquiries related to data privacy and security incidents by state, federal and international regulatory agencies, including state attorneys general; state insurance and health departments; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (HHS-OCR). 

In addition to the first- and third-party legal services she provides, Jenn also assists organizations with pre-incident Advisory Compliance services. She routinely leads tabletop exercises and other training efforts for client’s employees, management and Board members. She also aids in data privacy and information security policy and procedure development, including the development of Incident Response Plans (IRPs). 

As the Firm’s Managing Member, Jenn leads the 110+ Mullen Coughlin attorneys in the provision of exceptional data privacy and security legal services and the management of client and third-party vendor relationships. She also, in collaboration with the Firm’s equity members and department chairs, oversees the development and implementation of legal, administrative and organizational strategies. 

Jenn is a frequent speaker and collaborator at industry, client and legal conferences and events. She is often sought after by organizations to present valuable information regarding incident response and data privacy to their teams and clients. In turn, she has developed strong relationships with cyber insurance carriers and brokers, industry thought leaders, third-party incident response partners and law enforcement. 

Prior to founding Mullen Coughlin with John Mullen, Chris DiIenno and Jim Prendergast (deceased) in 2016, Jenn was a Partner at a full-service law firm in their Data Privacy & Cybersecurity practice group. 

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS & PRESENTATIONS

• “Sleep Better at Night: Executing a Resilient Cyber Program,” American Financial Services Association (AFSA) Vehicle Finance Conference, Las Vegas, NV, January 31, 2024
• “Cyber: Prepare, Prevent, Mitigate, Restore,” Travelers Institute, Dallas, TX, November 28, 2023
• “Cyber: Prepare, Prevent, Mitigate, Restore,” Travelers Institute, Bellevue, WA, November 10, 2023
• “Building Resilience: What Can We Learn from Cyber Claims,” ITC Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, November 1, 2023
• “Insuring the Digital Future: Cyber Insurance in an Evolving Threat Landscape,” 11th Annual Cyber Warfare Symposium, New York, NY, October 18, 2023
• “How to Legally and Proactively Respond to Cyber Threats,” Law & Forensics, Virtual, July 20, 2023
• “2022 Claims & Losses Update,” NetDiligence Cyber Risk Summit 2023, Philadelphia, PA, June 1, 2023
• “Cyber: Prepare, Prevent, Mitigate, Restore,” Travelers Institute, Charlotte, NC, May 23, 2023
• “Cyber: Prepare, Prevent, Mitigate, Restore,” Travelers Institute, Portland, OR, April 17, 2023
• “Cyber: Prepare, Prevent, Mitigate, Restore,” Travelers Institute, New York, NY, March 21, 2023
• “Claims: This One Is Not Like The Other,” NetDiligence Cyber Risk Summit 2023, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, February 20, 2023
• “Ransomware and Cyber Insurance,” 2023 IR Forum Ransomware, Virtual, January 12, 2023
• “Cyber Defense – What to Do After an Incident,” Iowa Chapter of Healthcare Financial Management Association’s (HFMA) Winter Meeting, Virtual, January 11, 2023
• “Cyber Attacks: How Not to Lose Your Practice,” NY Regional Society of Plastic Surgeons (NYRSPS) Annual Meeting, New York, NY, November 19, 2022
• “Cyber Insurance Day,” Cowbell Insurance, Washington, D.C., November 2, 2022
• “Battle of the Breach Coaches,” Advisen 2022 Cyber Risk Insights Conference, New York, NY, October 25, 2022
• “State of the Market: Cyber Claims Evolution,” Mullen Coughlin/Tracepoint CLE/CE, Devon, PA, September 29, 2022
• “Incident Response Fireside Chat,” AWAC Cyber Symposium, Boston, MA, September 21, 2022
• “Cyber Claims Process and Trends,” RSUI Professional Claim Seminar, Atlanta, GA, September 20, 2022
• “Cybersecurity: Risks and Opportunities for Associations,” National Association of REALTORS, Virtual, September 14, 2022
• “Debunking Common Cyber and Cyber Insurance Myths,” Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA), Virtual, August 31, 2022
• “The Future of Cyber Insurance: Where is the Market Going in These Uncertain Times,” Advisen, Virtual, June 9, 2022
• “How to Navigate a Vendor Data Breach,” Law & Forensics, Virtual, June 3, 2022
• “2022 Claims & Losses Update,” NetDiligence Cyber Risk Summit 2022, Philadelphia, PA, June 2, 2022
• “Surviving An Attack,” Deerfield Healthcare Cyber Education Series, Virtual, May 18, 2022
• “Cyber Attack Simulation: We’ve Been Hacked! Now What?,” ResCon, New Orleans, LA, April 21, 2022
• “Who Do You Call When You’ve Been Breached?,” TrueNorth Companies Digital Risk Webinar, Virtual, April 14, 2022
• “Top Three Cybersecurity Threats and the Industries Most Affected,” Chattin Cyber, Podcast, April 6, 2022
• “Righting the Ship: How Insurance, Legal, Technical and Law Enforcement Play a Role in an Organization’s Ransomware Preparedness and Response Efforts,” 2022 CLM Annual Conference, Palm Desert, CA, March 25, 2022
• “What Was, What Is and What Will Be in Cyber Claims,” PLUS Cyber Symposium, New York, NY, March 2, 2022
• “Ransomware and Cryptocurrency: Facts, Threats and Countermeasures,” DHS Corporate Security Symposium, Philadelphia, PA, February 17, 2022
• “Incident Response,” MJ Sorority, Virtual, February 2, 2022
• “The Cybersecurity Playbook: What You Need to Know,” The Travelers Institute’s Wednesdays with Woodward®, Virtual, December 1, 2021
• “The State of the Cyber Marketplace Post-Pandemic,” Insurance Brokers’ Association of New York, Virtual, August 26, 2021
• “2020 Claims & Losses Update,” NetDiligence Cyber Risk Summit 2021, Philadelphia, PA, July 14, 2021
• “The Best Cyber Control Measures for Today’s Cyber,” PLUS Cyber Symposium, Virtual, May 6, 2021
• “Cyber Attack Simulation: All The Right Moves,” RIMS Live 2021, Virtual, April, 19, 2021
• “Data Security Incidents and Cyber Insurance,” Incident Response Forum Masterclass 2021, Virtual, April 8, 2021
• “Cyber Attack Simulation on Ransomware,” ABA Risk 2021, Virtual, March 25, 2021
• “Alternative Compliance/Inapplicability of State Law,” Continuing Legal Education, Wayne, PA, February 6, 2019
• “Cyber Update – Legal and Forensic Foundations and Trends,” In-house Training for National Insurer, Hartford, CT, December 12, 2018
• “Cyber Update – Legal and Forensic Foundations and Trends,” In-house Training for International Insured, Hartford, CT, December 11, 2018
• “GDPR Updates,” In-house Training for International Insurer, Jersey City, NJ, November 13, 2018
• “The Three Cs of Cyber: Claims, Capacity, and Competition,” Advisen Cyber Risk Insights Conference, New York, NY, October 25, 2018
• “You’ve Been Breached: Now What?,” Seminar Series for International Brokerage Firm, Raleigh, NC, October 23, 2018
• “You’ve Been Breached, Now What?,” Seminar Series for International Brokerage Firm, Richmond, VA, October 10, 2018
• “You’ve Been Breached, Now What?,” Seminar Series for International Brokerage Firm, Falls Church, VA, October 9, 2018
• “International Regulatory Update,” NetDiligence Cyber Risk Summit, Santa Monica, CA, October 2, 2018
• “Real Estate, Hotel & Gaming – Cyber Event and Post Event Actions,” Conference for International Brokerage Firm, Plano, TX, September 13, 2018
• “Breach Avoidance/Preparation: Counseling Companies Before the Inevitable Breach (Including Cyber Insurance),” Incident Response Forum 2018, Washington, DC, April 18, 2018
• “Excel Training for Attorneys,” Continuing Legal Education, Wayne, PA, March 21, 2018
• “Evolution of Ransomware,” In-house Training for International Insurer, Jersey City, NJ, March 14, 2018
• “Cybersecurity: Its Impact on You and Your Customers,” 2017 PMMI Annual Meeting, Richmond, VA, November 6, 2017
• “Mitigating Cyber Exposures: A Risk Manager’s Role,” Client Advisory Board for International Insurer, “Miami Beach, FL, November 1, 2017
• “Recent Developments in Cyber Risk Management, Claims and Insurance in the Banking and Capital Markets Industry,” Seminar for International Brokerage, New York, NY, October 17, 2017
• “Claims and Losses Update: 2017 Trends,” 2017 NetDiligence Cyber Liability Conference, Santa Monica, CA, October 11, 2017
• “Legal Update – New State Laws, Canada’s PIPEDA and Digital Privacy Act, and EU’s GDPR,” In-house Training for International Insurer, Jersey City, NJ, September 28, 2017
• “Lawyers – Victims and Advisors in Cyber Attacks,” Cyber Claims Round Table for International Brokerage Firm, Philadelphia, PA, September 14, 2017
• “The Rise of Cyber Claims: What Insurers Need to Know,” America’s Claims Event, Charlotte, NC, June 21, 2017
• “Best Practices for Incident Response,” Cyber Risk Symposium for International Insurer, New York, NY, June 13, 2017
• “Managing a Ransomware Attack and Extortion,”  2017 NetDiligence Cyber Liability Conference, Philadelphia, PA, June 6, 2017
• “Mullen Coughlin: Best Practices from Leading Data-Breach Experts,” 2017 Insurance Company Conference for International Insurer, New York, NY, May 25, 2017
• “2017 Cyber Claims – Trends and Forecast,” Cyber Symposium for International Insurer, Morristown, NJ, May 23, 2017
• “Cyber Liability: Evolving Claims, Exposures, and Regulatory Enforcement,” Internal Training for International Insurer, Philadelphia, PA, April 6, 2017
• “Expanding World of Cyber Claims,” PLUS, Chicago, IL, April, 5, 2017
• “Evolution of Cyber-Risk,” International Insurer, Whitehouse Station, NJ, March 27, 2017
• “Tackling Evolving Cyber Threats,” Cybersecurity Symposium for International Insurer, Hartford, CT, March 22, 2017
• “Cyber Attack…What Now?,” ABA Insurance Risk Management Forum, Coronado, CA, February 5, 2017
• “What is a Breach Coach,” Webinar Series for International Insurer, Hartford, CT, November 10, 2016
• “Breach Response: Expert Advice from the Trenches,” Conference for International Insurer, Los Angeles, CA, October 21, 2016
• “We Have a Breach, What Now?,” Cyber Response Forum for International Insurer, Blue Bell, PA, April 27, 2016
• “Cyber/Privacy Liability,” IIAP Fraud Day, Philadelphia, PA, March 25, 2016
• “Is Healthcare Really a Radioactive Risk for Cyber Insurance?,” HB Litigation Conferences, March 23, 2016
• “Mock SQL Injection,” Training for International Insurer, Hartford, CT, December 7, 2015
• “Cyber Liability: Evolving Claims, Exposures, and Regulatory Enforcement,” In-House Presentation for International Insurer, Morristown, NJ, November 4, 2015
• “The Ever-Changing Landscape of Cyber Risk,” RIMS, Naples, FL, July 29, 2015
• “Discussions on Cyber Liability,” International Insurer, Hartford, CT/Boston, MA, May 11-12, 2015
• “Corporate Compliance with HIPAA in the Event of a Major Data Breach,” Philadelphia Area Society for Healthcare Risk Management Annual Spring Conference, Plymouth Meeting, PA, April 23, 2015
• “Reputational Risk – Real or Fallacy?,” Advisen Cyber Risk Insights Conference, London, UK, February 10, 2015
• “CyberRisk Policy Virtual Training,” International Insurer, Virtual, January 29, 2015
• “Trends in Cyber Liability,” In-house Presentation for International Insurer, December 2, 2014
• “Data Security in the Age of Cyber Breaches,” Avant Resources, Virtual, November 20, 2014
• “Cyber Edge Tool Presentation,” International Insurer, Webinar, October 24, 2014
• “Cyber Risk: Threats, Loss Control, Liability & Claims,” Pennsylvania Association for Health Care Risk Management, September 26, 2014

PUBLICATIONS

• “Recent Evolution of Ransomware and Business Email Compromise Events,” Chapter in The Cyber Insurance Landscape: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, 2022 (PDF)
• “U.S. Department of Treasury Issues Updated Advisory on Facilitating Ransomware Payments,” September 24, 2021
• “DOL Releases Cybersecurity Guidance and Best Practices for Pension Plan Sponsors, Fiduciaries and Participants,” April 26, 2021
• “New CCPA Regulations Address Consumer Opt-Out Rights and More,” March 23, 2021
• “Newly Amended CCPA Creates New Enforcement Agency and Increases Liability for Non-Compliant Businesses,” February 12, 2021
• “Two Global Cybersecurity Developments in the Last Twenty-Four Hours,” January 28, 2021
• “The Threat Is Real: Cyber Attacks Against Architectural Firms,” AIA Trust
• “The Important Role of Internal and External Legal Counsel in Security Incident Investigation and Response,” AIG White Paper
• “Inside Tennessee’s Revolutionary Data Breach Notice Law,” Law360
• “Privacy Attorneys, Lynchpin to Success, Industry Experts Report: What Every CISO Needs to Know About Cyber Insurance,” Symantec White Paper,
• “Privilege & Expertise: What a Difference a Breach Coach Can Make,” The Willis Cyber Claim

AWARDS & HONORS

• Zywave Cyber Risk Industry Person of the Year – USA (2022)
• Cybersecurity Docket Incident Response 50 (2018-2023)