Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)

In the years following the seminal decision from the Illinois Supreme Court in Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, which drastically reduced the threshold required for an individual to seek redress for alleged violations of the Biometric Information Privacy Act ("BIPA" or “the Act”), companies with operations in the Prairie State have seen a tidal wave of litigation. Although we have been providing counsel and litigating under BIPA for years, Lewis Brisbois was the first firm in the nation to create a specialized BIPA Practice Group to assist organizations likely to face challenges under the Act, which requires all private entities that collect or use biometric information to take action with respect to its collection, disclosure and retention.

Our BIPA team is at the cutting-edge of defense in the wave of high exposure class action litigation being brought against Illinois employers and other groups under the Act, handling cases for companies and large insurers. We recognize the challenges that the decision in Rosenbach and the evolving legal landscape raises for organizations, both in terms of compliance with the Act and in avoiding costly violations. BIPA allows plaintiffs to recover $1,000.00 per negligent violation and $5,000.00 per intentional or reckless violation. Legal arguments have been crafted by the plaintiffs’ bar to assert potentially astronomical recovery, for instance, as much as $20,000 per employee, per day, for use of a biometric timekeeping device without consent.

If you, your organization, or your clients collect and/or maintain any biometric data within the State of Illinois, you need certainty as to your obligations under BIPA. Our dedicated attorneys are available to outline the legal landscape and provide strategic direction to address all aspects of compliance, insurance coverage, litigation and the BIPA horizon.

Lewis Brisbois, with the largest number ABOTA-certified trial lawyers in the nation, is uniquely positioned to immediately spearhead the aggressive and strategic defense of BIPA litigation.

Chairs

• Mary Smigielski (Partner) - Mary.Smigielski@lewisbrisbois.com, 312.463.3377
• Josh Kantrow (Partner) - Josh.Kantrow@lewisbrisbois.com, 312.463.3445