Maria Monastra is an Associate with Mullen Coughlin. Ms. Monastra’s practice focuses on providing counsel to clients who experienced a data privacy compromise or cybersecurity breach and are faced with responding to the incident. Ms. Monastra works across all industry sectors to advise clients on preparing for and responding to data incidents. When an incident occurs, Ms. Monastra assists clients in determining the nature and scope of the incident and identifying potentially impacted populations. Ms. Monastra advises each client as to the applicability of state, federal and foreign privacy laws, and in every event, works diligently with the client to ensure proper compliance with data breach notification requirements, proper disclosure to impacted populations and preservation of institutional goodwill.

Prior to joining the Mullen Coughlin team, Ms. Monastra served as Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Anne McDonnell, Presiding Judge of General Equity for the New Jersey Superior Court, Vicinage XV. There, Ms. Monastra assisted in authoring opinions on matters ranging from shareholder oppression disputes to actions for injunctive relief from an anticompetitive practice. Ms. Monastra is also a certified mediator with extensive experience settling matters through alternative dispute resolution.

During law school, Ms. Monastra’s worked for the Lewis B. Puller Veterans’ Benefits Clinic, where she successfully appealed a client’s disability rating and obtained increased benefits for the client, a veteran of the United States Navy.

Ms. Monastra’s research on the regulatory landscape of the United States cosmetic industry is published in the William & Mary Business Law Review.