William R. Denny

Biography

William R. Denny has a business and litigation practice, focusing on commercial and corporate transactions, vendor management, mergers and acquisitions, data privacy and security and information technology. Mr. Denny is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) and a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). He has represented public and privately held companies and government entities in a wide range of technology transactions, including negotiating complex cloud services agreements, software and IT infrastructure development, maintenance and support agreements, long-term materials supply agreements, outsourcing agreements, transition and site services agreements, technology licensing agreements, sales of internet domain names, and website terms of use and privacy policies. Clients include major corporations in the industrial, chemical, medical and technology sectors, as well as technology and information systems service providers and developers.

Mr. Denny has litigated disputes over the interpretation and enforcement of many types of technology contracts, general commercial contracts and liability insurance policies. He has tried jury and non-jury cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts, before arbitration panels, and by use of other alternative dispute resolution techniques.

Mr. Denny took a leading role in drafting and negotiating Delaware’s amendment to its computer security breach law, 6 Del. C. §§ 12B-100 et seq., which was enacted in June 2017 and came into force in April 2018.

Mr. Denny writes extensively on technology and business issues, including:

• “Vendor Contracting Project: Cybersecurity Checklist,” Second Edition, published by the American Bar Association's Cybersecurity Legal Task Force, April 2021
• “Mitigating Your Business Risk: Board Responsibilities in Cybersecurity,” published by Business Law Today, February 2020
• “Legal Obligations and Best Practices for Maintaining Security in the Cloud” and “Warranties, Indemnities and Limitations of Liability in Cloud Contracts,” published in Lifshitz, L and Rothchild, J, ed., Cloud 3.0: Drafting and Negotiating Cloud Computing Agreements (American Bar Association 2019)
• “Mitigating Your Business Risk: Board Responsibilities in Cybersecurity,” published in Delaware Business magazine, November/December 2019
• “Mitigating Risk: Protect your Business Against Ransomware,” published in Delaware Business magazine, September/October 2019
• “Mitigating Your Business Risk: Compliance With Data Privacy Laws,” published in Delaware Business magazine, July/August 2019
• “Representations and Warranties in M&A Agreements,” published in Smedinghoff, T. and Trope, R., ed., Guide to Cybersecurity Due Diligence in M&A Transactions (ABA Publishing 2017).
• “Standing and the Circuit Court Split in Data Breach Litigation” in Corporate Disputes, January-March 2018
• “Representations and Warranties in M&A Agreements” in the ABA's Guide to Cybersecurity Due Diligence in M&A Transactions, December 2017
• “What's Changed Under Delaware's New Data Breach Law” in Law360, August 24, 2017
• “Building Your Cyber Incident Response Plan” in Delaware Business, May/June 2017
• “Cybersecurity as an Unfair Practice: FTC Enforcement under Section 5 of the FTC Act” in Business Law Today, June 2016
• “Legal Considerations for Business Contracting in Cloud Computing Services” and “Essential IT Due Diligence in Corporate Transactions” in Internet Law for the Business Lawyer (Second Edition) (American Bar Association 2012)

Mr. Denny frequently speaks at seminars, programs and meetings on topics including technology, e-discovery and cybersecurity, among others:

• November 18, 2020, at a Delaware State Bar Association panel, Mr. Denny discussed developments in litigation, legislation and regulations relating to data security and privacy.
• October 27, 2020, at the Secure Delaware 2020 Workshop, Mr. Denny presented “Privacy in a Pandemic: Critical Legal Developments and Practical Guidance.”
• March 29, 2019, at the ABA Section of Business Law Spring Meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Mr. Denny presented: “Cross-border Cybersecurity Compliance Issues.”
• November 14, 2018, at a program sponsored by the Delaware State Bar Association on Cybersecurity Recent Developments, Mr. Denny presented on the California Consumer Privacy Act and the move toward new federal legislation in privacy.
• October 31, 2018, at the Secure Delaware 2018 Workshop, organized by the State of Delaware’s Department of Technology and Innovation, Mr. Denny presented “Data Privacy and the Double Trouble of the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018”.
• September 14, 2018, at the ABA Business Section Annual Meeting in Chicago, Mr. Denny moderated a program entitled “Blockchain Basics for the Business Lawyer – Smart Contracts, Crypto Offerings and Other Transformative Applications.” 
• August 2, 2018, at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago, Mr. Denny presented “Cybersecurity Law: Deciphering the Landscape of Legal Requirements Applicable To Businesses and Law Firms.”
• May 31, 2018, at the Business Law Basics Webinar sponsored by the American Bar Association, Mr. Denny presented on Data Privacy.
• May 2, 2018, at a program sponsored by the Delaware Bioscience Association, Mr. Denny presented on Data Security for IP.
• April 12, 2018, at the ABA Section of Business Law Spring Meeting in Orlando, FL, Mr. Denny moderated and presented on a program panel entitled, “Best Practices for Compliance Programs to Mitigate Risks of Cyber Incidents.”
• January 25, 2018, at a Delaware State Bar Association program, Mr. Denny presented Cybersecurity Recent Developments.
• December 6, 2017, at a program sponsored by the Delaware Bankers Association, Mr. Denny presented Staying Secure in the Cloud.
• October 11, 2017, at the Secure Delaware 2017 Workshop, organized by the State of Delaware’s Department of Technology and Innovation, Mr. Denny presented “Trends in Data Breach Disclosure Laws” and “After the Breach,” discussing incident response planning.
• September 14, 2017, at the ABA Section of Business Law Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, Mr. Denny moderated and presented on a panel entitled Vendor Risk: The Weakest Link in your Cybersecurity Strategy.
• November 9, 2016: at a program sponsored by the Delaware State Bar Association, Mr. Denny presented “Recent Developments in Data Security.”

• September 28, 2016, at a program sponsored by the Delaware Small Business Development Center, Mr. Denny presented “Data Breach and Vendor Risk Management.”  This presentation focused on necessary due diligence, essential contract terms and follow-up activities to minimize the risk of harm caused by a vendor cyber security event.

• September 7, 2016: 2016 Secure Delaware Workshop, Mr. Denny presented "Data Breach and Vendors: Strategies to Limit Your Risks of Data Breach and Protect Yourself from Vendor Vulnerabilities."
• December 15 and 16, 2015: National Business Institute Seminar entitled “Legal Ethics of Email.” Mr. Denny was one of two principal speakers.
• October 3, 2015: Delaware State Bar Association Seminar, “Managing E-Discovery Effectively.” Mr. Denny focused on recent developments in e-discovery.
• September 29, 2015: Delaware Cyber Security Workshop, “Changing Legal Landscape in Cybersecurity: Implications for Business.” Mr. Denny focused on recent developments in cybersecurity laws and regulations at a full-day seminar sponsored by the State of Delaware.
• May 6, 2014: Delaware Cyber Security Workshop. “Changing Legal Landscape in Cybersecurity: Implications for Business.” This presentation focused on the latest developments and implications for businesses as they seek to protect their critical infrastructure and comply with laws and regulations for data protection.
• April 10, 2014:  ABA Business Section Spring Meeting, Cloud Computing and IT Services Subcommittee. Mr. Denny presented on recent developments in cloud computing contracting practices.
• February 6, 2013: Delaware Cyber Security Workshop. Mr. Denny led a roundtable discussion on data security and data breach notification laws at the full day conference on cybersecurity sponsored by the State of Delaware.
• January 2013: Technology Inn of Court of Wilmington. Mr. Denny led a panel discussion on e-discovery.
• October and November 2013: Client presentations on indemnification and limitation liability provisions in commercial contracts.

Practice Areas