Privacy Law Approved as Certified Legal Specialty: California Lawyers Association Recognized for Expert’s Role

July 2025

California Lawyers Association’s (CLA) Privacy Law Section has played a pivotal role in the State Bar of California’s official approval of Privacy Law as a certified legal specialization. The approval means that for the first time, a formalized track will allow attorneys to demonstrate their advanced proficiency in this rapidly evolving law specialty practice area.

The historic achievement is the culmination of years of dedicated advocacy by leaders in the privacy law field, notably CLA Privacy Section Executive Committee member Jeewon Kim Serrato, Esq., CIPP. The milestone recognizes the growing complexity and importance of privacy, AI, data protection, and cybersecurity in today’s legal landscape.

Serrato served as chair for the 13-member Privacy Law Group, appointed by the State Bar of California, and tasked with studying the practice area to assess whether there was sufficient need to create a specialty. The Privacy Law Group determined that certification was feasible.

“It has been a tremendous experience. We were asked to conduct research and to prepare recommendations as to whether the area of law was specialized enough to be considered a specialty, to identify what privacy law is, and to ensure it could be properly defined and tested,” explains Serrato, who dedicated hundreds of hours of volunteer time alongside her Privacy Law Group colleagues. “We also had to demonstrate that there was a need and a demand for this specialization.”

Serrato’s commitment to undertake the incredible endeavor began in 2017. “I thought it was important to create a privacy law community in California. I have absolutely benefited from having mentorship. I am a product of having people ‘show me the ropes.’ I am a Berkeley Law grad. I grew up in California, went to school in California, and then moved to Washington, D.C.,” Serrato shares. “I learned the value of networking, the power of relationships, and how important it is to have those relationships. When I returned to California in 2017, one of my goals was to develop a privacy law community.”

At the time, the antitrust and privacy law practice areas were recognized under a single umbrella by CLA. “I was able to convince CLA that privacy deserved its own section and that’s how this whole initiative came about,” recalls Serrato, who took on the responsibility to act as the inaugural chair for CLA’s privacy section.

“This is an incredibly important accomplishment,” says Nick Ginger, current CLA Privacy Law Section Chair. “Privacy is one of the fastest changing and most relevant areas of law that impacts the day-to-day of all people. Ensuring that a person can control whether their data can remain private is at the core of privacy law. I always hoped that the specialty certification would happen. This field is constantly evolving.”

CLA is the largest volunteer bar association in the state, with more than 50,000 attorneys representing 18 legal practice areas. The organization’s dedicated privacy law section has more than 1,200 members and was a key supporting factor in considering the need and demand for California’s new specialization certification. In addition to its privacy law section, CLA supports attorneys in fields ranging from criminal law to environmental law to labor and employment law, among many others.

The State Bar of California Program for Certifying Legal Specialists was created by the California Supreme Court to promote attorney competence and provide consumers with means to verify an attorney’s qualifications. The program is administered by the California Board of Legal Specialization (CBLS) and is the only program authorizing California-licensed attorneys to receive a designation as a specialist in specific areas of law. This new Privacy Law Specialization is the only method by which privacy lawyers licensed to practice in California will be able to advertise themselves as a certified specialist.

Work to establish the new legal specialization began by the appointed members of the Privacy Law Group in November 2022. The team developed and presented draft certification standards for review by the CBLS and the State Bar Board of Trustees. The CBLS voted to approve the new specialty in late 2024. The State Bar Board of Trustees gave its official approval in May, 2025. A 90-day public comment period is now underway, with final approval and adoption expected in September 2025.

“I am very proud of our achievement,” says Serrato. “This is a community that has been built by and for privacy lawyers and friends. To have this kind of support, and to be able to have the specialization is truly remarkable, and I definitely know how important it was to get it right. We worked very hard to identify what the public should expect and what is the level of expertise that attorneys should possess. This is going to set the standard, not for just California, but for all privacy law practitioners globally.”

Serrato is quick to credit others who tried in the past to attain certification approval. “There were many attempts to achieve where we are now,” she says. “I stand on the shoulders of the other groups who advocated for this, and I appreciate the countless hours given by the people who came before me.” She notes that with the surge in emerging technologies, like big data and generative AI, the timing is now right. Serrato will continue to be involved over the next two years to develop the processes for approving applicants, drafting exams, and establishing procedures.

California has been at the forefront of privacy protection over the past several years. “We were the first state to require data breach notification. Now all states have breach notification laws,” Ginger points out. “California was also the first state to pass a comprehensive privacy law in 2020. Today, 19 states have comprehensive privacy laws.”

Ginger is highly complementary of Serrato’s work, noting that many highly regarded people applied to be part of the 13-member Privacy Law Group and were not accepted.  He and Serrato are both heavily involved in CLA. “Privacy law is so new and so welcoming,” says Ginger. “Because Privacy law is so new, there are fewer barriers to entry.  This is something newer attorneys have noticed.  I think this is represented by the diversity of our section, both in our membership and at the leadership level. Our CLA section also includes lawyers, technologists, and project managers. This is a burgeoning area of law.”

This is the first time the CBLS has recognized a new legal specialty field in more than a decade. A wide range of continuing legal education topics in privacy law were approved, including: online privacy, children’s privacy, health information, and financial privacy.

While formalized testing is under development, applicants for the new privacy law specialty certification must meet rigorous educational and experience requirements, as well as providing multiple peer reviews from attorneys, clients, or judges attesting to the applicant’s law qualifications. It is expected that attorneys in the private sector will be the most likely to apply for the specialist designation. Lawyers working in government, in-house, or other capacities are also eligible. The Privacy Law Specialist designation is not intended to show competence but rather indicate a high-level of expertise. Re-certification will be required every five years.

To learn more about the certification process, please visit: https://www.calbar.ca.gov/About-Us/Who-We-Are/Committees/California-Board-of-Legal-Specialization/Privacy-Law-Group.

To conduct a search and identify certified specialists in the area of privacy law,  the public is invited to visit the Certified Specialist Search at: https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/members/ls_search.aspx.

For information about California Lawyers Association, its 18 specialty law practice areas, continuing education (MCLE) programs, and unique member benefits, go to: https://calawyers.org/.