By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Attorney Susan Benington recently joined Varnum LLP, whose many Michigan offices include several in Western Michigan. Benington has reconnected in the firm’s Data Privacy and Cybersecurity practice with her friend and former colleague Jeff Stefan, a leader in autonomous vehicle and emerging technology law.
“We make a great team and I’m thrilled to help clients with our combined unique skills and expertise.” she says.
“Autonomous technology is going to be a reality in transportation in our lifetimes—the passion and ingenuity of autonomous vehicle and connected device technology companies is unmatched. I love how the law is emerging before our eyes—the issues are always new and challenging. There is never a dull moment.”
Always passionate about technology, Benington earned her undergraduate degree in organizational studies with a focus on information systems from the University of Michigan.
She then worked for several years in Washington, D.C. as a technology consultant, managing teams responsible for deploying software solutions for federal government clients.
She also worked for an agency providing consulting services to the FBI, counseling clients and implementing technology to improve business operations. She supported the Director’s Office in developing a system whereby the FBI Director could gain a centralized view of how FBI field offices were performing.
While working in the nation’s capital, she saw the broad impact she could make as a lawyer—and her next career step was Michigan State University College of Law, earning her J.D. magna cum laude, and serving as a Managing Editor of the Law Review.
She interned in the summer of 2008 at the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit; and the following summer interned with The Honorable Avern Cohn in the Eastern District of Michigan. She returned to the federal district court after her 2010 graduation for a clerkship with the Judge, an experience she terms a highlight of her legal career.
After several years in private practice, Benington became Global Data Privacy Counsel for General Motors, supporting clients in launching connected vehicle data products and services and complying with emerging privacy laws, such as GDPR and CCPA.
Benington added to her credentials by earning a Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University in the area of national security law, which focused on emerging legal obligations in the areas of data privacy and cybersecurity, and she also is credentialed as an IAPP certified information privacy professional.
“I have a strong interest in data management from my pre-lawyer days as a manager at Accenture,” she explains.
“I had a hunch that data privacy and cyber security law would be an up-and-coming field of practice for commercial attorneys—allowing me to use both my prior technology experience and my legal experience to develop a niche practice.”
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/subscriptions
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
