Mullen Coughlin, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy

Cybersecurity & Data Privacy

Mullen Coughlin LLC is a law firm uniquely dedicated exclusively to representing organizations facing data privacy events, information security incidents, and the need to address these risks before a crisis hits. Founded by John Mullen, Jennifer Coughlin, Jim Prendergast, and Chris DiIenno, our team of accessible and motivated attorneys have handled thousands of events and possess experience and talent in data breach response, regulatory investigation defense, pre-breach planning and compliance, and privacy and security litigation defense unmatched in the industry.

Meet Our Team

  • Richard J. Aponte-Boyd Partner
    (267) 930-4888

    Richard Aponte-Boyd, a Partner at Mullen Coughlin, focuses his practice on data privacy and security incident response. Working with organizations […]

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  • J Coughlin Jennifer A. Coughlin Partner & Managing Member
    (267) 930-4774

    Jennifer A. Coughlin is a Founding Partner of Mullen Coughlin and its Managing Member, guiding the Firm in its commitment […]

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  • C DiIenno Christopher J. DiIenno Partner
    (267) 930-4775

    Christopher Dilenno is a Founding Partner of Mullen Coughlin, focusing his practice on assisting organizations as they respond to, and […]

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  • Elizabeth R. Dill Partner & Co-Chair, Advisory Compliance
    (267) 930-5327

    Elizabeth (Liz) Dill, CIPP/US is a Partner at Mullen Coughlin, located in Richmond, Virginia. She focuses her practice on counseling […]

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  • Kevin E. Dolan Partner & Co-Chair, Advisory Compliance
    (267) 930-4861

    Kevin E. Dolan is a Partner at Mullen Coughlin and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Advisory Compliance practice group. As Co-Chair, […]

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  • Kevin M. Farrell Partner
    (267) 930-4691

    Kevin Farrell is a Partner at Mullen Coughlin. He represents organizations, particularly in the healthcare and life sciences industry, through […]

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  • Edward J. Finn Partner
    (267) 930-4776

    A Partner at Mullen Coughlin, Ed Finn assists organizations in various industry groups with ensuring compliance with a wide variety […]

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  • B Fox Brian F. Fox Partner
    (267) 930-4777

    Brian Fox focuses his practice on privacy and data security matters, helping clients navigate the various state, federal and international laws that govern the protection of data. When a privacy event occurs, he assists clients with locating the source of the breach, identifies affected individuals and prepares the legally required notice to individuals and regulatory officials.

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  • A Freind Angelina W. Freind Partner
    (267) 930-4782

    Angelina Freind is a Partner with Mullen Coughlin, LLC. Ms. Freind assists clients with the preparation for and response to data security incidents.

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  • Paulyne Gardner Assistant General Counsel & Co-Chair Litigation
    (267) 930-2098

    Paulyne Gardner is a Partner in Mullen Coughlin’s Litigation practice, handling all aspects of third-party claims, including single-plaintiff and class […]

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Firm News & Events

Between a Rock and a Hard Drive: Navigating Cyber Extortion

Mullen Coughlin is proud to sponsor and participate in the 2025 PLUS Conference in Orlando, FL from November 10-12. This year’s Conference is themed around emerging risks and the critical issues that keep insurance, professional liability and other risk management professionals up at night.

On November 11, Managing Member Jennifer Coughlin, joined by Travelers’ Christine Mapes and CRA’s Bill Hardin, present during the session “Between a Rock and a Hard Drive: Navigating Cyber Extortion.” During this live, interactive demonstration, Jenn and the panel reveal how ransom negotiations unfold in real-time between legal counsel, forensics, negotiation firms, cyber insurance claims professionals and the cyber extortion threat actor. Attendees gain practical insights into negotiation tactics, effective communication strategies, legal and regulatory payment considerations and critical decision-making processes that help manage and mitigate cyber extortion incidents.

With the Firm’s sponsorship and continued support, the 2025 PLUS Conference is one of the premier educational and business development events of the year. In addition to Jenn, Mullen Coughlin CEO John Mullen will be in attendance.

Learn more here.

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Mullen Coughlin Welcomes Three New Associates in September

In September, Mullen Coughlin welcomed three (3) new Associates to the Firm: Celia Uwaekwe to the Incident Response practice and Jacob Schultz and Travis Randle to the Litigation practice.

Celia, based in Texas, is a former Law Clerk with the Firm and re-joins the Firm now licensed to practice in Texas. She will continue to build on her Law Clerk experience, assisting organizations respond to and investigate data privacy and security incidents. With particular experience counseling organizations in the financial services industry, as well as those regulated by the SEC, Celia is well-versed in the relevant laws and regulations that pertain to them in the context of data protection, privacy and information security. In addition to her J.D. from Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law, she also holds a Master of Laws in Cyber Law and Data Privacy from Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and a BBA cum laude in Economics from Kennesaw State University.

Jacob joins the Litigation practice and is based in Devon. A former litigator at an AmLaw200 law firm, he has over five (5) years of experiencing defending organizations in security and privacy litigation, including single-plaintiff, class action and B2B. In addition to being well-versed in common defenses, he has vast experience in successfully identifying and arguing novel legal theories related to data privacy and security incidents and related litigation. Jacob received his J.D. from Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law and a B.A. in East Asian Languages and Civilization from the University of Chicago. Jacob is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is business-level fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and French, and conversational in German and Italian.

Travis also joins the Litigation practice and is based in Maryland. With over five (5) years of litigation experience, a majority with AmLaw100 firms, Travis is well-versed in defending organizations from numerous highly-regulated and complex industry sectors such as healthcare and life sciences, financial services, education, and government. At Mullen Coughlin, he will build upon his previous regulatory and compliance experience by defending organizations in single-plaintiff, class action and B2B privacy and security disputes in U.S. state and federal courts nationwide. Travis is licensed to practice in Washington, DC and Virginia. He holds a J.D. from Howard University School of Law, a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and a B.A. cum laude from Morehouse College.

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Mullen Coughlin LLC Strengthens Litigation Practice with Addition of Experienced Litigator, Dennis N. Lueck, CIPP/US, as Senior Partner

Mullen Coughlin welcomes Dennis N. Lueck, CIPP/US, as a Senior Partner to its Litigation practice. Dennis brings 20 years of trial experience in privacy and security cases. He has regulatory experience with agencies such as the California Department of Consumer Affairs (CA DCA), New York Department of Financial Services (NY DFS), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As part of our litigation practice, Dennis will leverage this extensive experience to represent organizations in a wide variety of third-party privacy- and security-related disputes and regulatory investigations.

“I am thrilled to become part of Mullen Coughlin. It’s a privilege to contribute to the Firm’s focused success with specialized privacy- and security-related defense cases. I look forward to our future together,” said Dennis.

Based and licensed in Colorado, Dennis is also licensed in California and New York, as well as numerous U.S. federal courts nationwide. Dennis received his J.D. magna cum laude from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Lawand a B.S. cum laude in Sociology from the University of Utah. As a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), he holds a U.S. Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US).

On behalf of the Litigation practice, Co-Chair Carolyn Purwin Ryan said about Dennis, “We are thrilled to have Dennis join us! His two decades of litigation experience and his enthusiasm will be a tremendous asset to the team.”

“Mullen Coughlin is a leader in the security and privacy litigation space,” said Managing Member Jennifer A. Coughlin. “We’ve been at it a long time throughout the country. Dennis’s exceptional talents and decades of experience will allow us to continue to deliver positive results.”

Mullen Coughlin’s nationwide litigation team possess deep subject-matter knowledge, industry experience and insight in data privacy and security class action litigation. We have successfully managed thousands of litigation and regulatory investigation matters on behalf of organizations of all sizes and across all industry sectors in the United States.

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