Sarah Hutchins leads the firm's Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Team and is certified as a legal specialist in privacy and information security law by the North Carolina State Bar.
Sarah helps clients navigate business litigation, government investigations, and data privacy, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence (AI). She has significant experience representing clients in business disputes, including over noncompetition and non-solicitation agreements, trade secret misappropriation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices. She represents clients across a range of industries, including financial services, energy, manufacturing, and healthcare. Her deep understanding of the digital aspects of business litigation allows her to assist clients in quickly identifying a digital trail and isolating key material.
Sarah also has extensive experience in large-scale government investigations featuring the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), among other regulators. Her work includes investigations involving alleged financial fraud, antitrust issues, and consumer protection claims, as well as representing both corporations and individuals in high-stakes enforcement actions and parallel proceedings. A seasoned litigator, she is admitted to practice before state and federal courts in North Carolina and Virginia, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Sarah's experience with business litigation and government investigations strengthens her cybersecurity and data privacy practice. She is recognized by the IAPP as a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US), the gold standard for privacy professionals in America, and serves on the leadership council of the North Carolina Bar Association's Privacy & Data Security Section. This background informs her role as lead counsel in high-stakes data privacy and cybersecurity litigation, including putative class actions and insurance subrogation matters stemming from large-scale security incidents. She defends public and private companies in federal and state courts, including business courts, and in related appellate proceedings. Her work includes data breach class actions involving nationwide companies and complex statutory claims under state privacy laws, as well as other civil litigation involving data privacy, security, and information technology.
Sarah counsels multinational corporations on compliance with federal and state data privacy and security regulations, advises on the cross-border transfer of personal data, coordinates data breach responses with governmental and quasi-governmental entities, including statutory notice obligations and regulator engagements, and guides clients through the intersection of data privacy and AI. She regularly advises on compliance with a wide range of U.S. and international privacy laws and emerging state privacy regimes. Her work includes designing and implementing data governance programs, advising on the storage, use, and sharing of consumer and customer information, and developing and negotiating data processing, information security, and data sharing agreements. She also advises on privacy and cybersecurity considerations in mergers and acquisitions, including diligence and post-closing integration, and on cross-border data transfers.
Within Parker Poe, Sarah serves as a member of the firm's Professional Review Committee and its Security Team.
While at the William & Mary School of Law, she was a member of the Journal of Women and the Law and the William & Mary Moot Court Team.