Legal Ops Tips: GDPR related checklists

GDPR related compliance can be extremely challenging. There are few that would disagree with this proposition.

GDPR themed laws are often over-reaching - from the definitions of "personal data" and "processing" on which they rely, right through to their and purported extra-territorial reach.

GDPR challenges are also exacerbated by the proliferation of information systems and software, which underpins the data driven world in which we all now live.

Personal Data can be almost anywhere instantly ... and pretty much anything you do with personal data is, or will soon constitute, processing.

As a result, GDPR related compliance can be hugely difficult to fully embrace and can absorb significant resources. It is complex, it is territorial and it operates in a constantly changing context.

Did you ever want to know what the most important legal department checklists that your in-house legal team should be maintaining to assist GDPR compliance?  

In this blog we unpack some of the most powerful privacy related checklists that we recommend in-house legal teams should prepare and utilize.

GDPR Checklists

Complying with the GDPR should be a on ever legal team's mind - even when not based in the European Economic Territory.

Creating a checklist is a super efficient way of supporting your GDPR compliance efforts. Some of the most common GDPR / privacy related checklists that legal teams maintain include:

• Privacy Policy Infrastructure
• Data Protection Impact Assessment
• Data Subject Access Request
• Data Breach Incident Response
• Data Protection Breach Protocol/Notification
• Data Protection Processing Arrangements – When to Implement?
• Data Retention & Destruction
• Records Retention & Destruction
• Data Security & Confidentiality
• Employee Data Protection Training
• Data Protection Compliance Audit
• DP Law Compliance
• Data Transfer & Cross-Border Data Flow
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Response

Compliance checklist driven performance

The use of checklists correlates positively with in-house performance capabilities. The best performing teams use them extensively, the worst performing teams are too busy to prepare them.   

Checklists are easy to prepare and devastatingly efficient in their contribution to in-house legal team performance. So checklists are a “must have” for any team trying to improve performance.  

They quite literally are the nutrition, sleep and exercise of in-house legal team health. There is no aspect of in-house legal team operations that they do not substantially improve. 

Your next GDPR compliance steps

Using privacy related checklists can be a powerful means to de-leverage the in-house legal team burden in relation to privacy compliance. It is a means by which your workplace / legal team can be presented with some easy-to-follow guiding light.

Creating a checklist template that your in-house team can use to whip up checklist assets is a great first move. You can check out our Blog - GLS Legal Ops Tools: The Simple Checklist - for a guide on how to create a great checklist.

Of course, most in-house teams are extremely busy - their time is valuable and in scarce supply. As such, the GLS Legal Operations Centre offers a wide range of GDPR / privacy related checklists that will allow you to put this incredible department resource to work for your team.

Do check out the solutions on the right - all are available from the GLS Legal Operations Centre right now.

Ready To Transform Your Legal Team?

Please check out the GLS solutions and know-how resources listed on the right side of this page – they might assist your legal team with the issues explored in this Blog. 

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