Note: This Assignment consists of three parts. You will complete and submit Part 1 this week; you will complete and submit Part 2 in Week 4; and you will complete and submit Part 3 in Week 5.
For this Assignment, you will assume the role of a junior legal assistant for the legal department of XYZ Corporation. The organization has recently undertaken a number of efforts to increase its presence in the local community and is promoting corporate social responsibility and positive social change initiatives. The CEO, Isabella Torres, feels strongly that in order to have the most beneficial effects in the community, the company needs to set a good example by having a workforce that is serious about compliance and adherence to regulations. She is committed to the idea that in order to “do good,” you have to “be good” in all aspects of the business.
To support these positive social change initiatives and efforts at ensuring compliance among XYZ Corporation’s employees, Kate Braverman, Chief Counsel of the Legal Department, leads the company-wide Business Law and Compliance Fair to showcase some upcoming policy changes and hold Q&A sessions for all staff members. She asks you to assist with the Q&A. If someone’s question requires more details than a short answer can supply, you have been asked to gather the required information and submit it to your department head for review before passing it along to the requestor.
Part 1: Torts Report
Cameron from the IT department asks the following:
“We developed and have been managing an online professional matching service. The marketing department provided us with photographs and voice files of 10 individuals that we thought were safe for use; however, we have since found out that the individuals did not know that their information was going to be published online and made publicly available. They thought the service was going to be private, in a password-protected environment. Since the service went live and the identities were discovered, we have been bombarded with angry phone calls and e-mails from this group. I need to apologize to these people and discuss this further with my boss, but my main question is: Did we violate any laws or has my team exposed the company to possible legal consequences?”
To prepare for this Assignment:
- Review the Learning Resources, focusing on the definitions and implications of tort law, as well as examples of tort law.
- Review the Torts Report scenario involving Cameron and his team, which will serve as the basis for your Assignment this week.
- Refer to the Academic Writing Expectations for 2000/3000-Level Courses as you compose your Assignment.
By Day 7
Submit a Torts Report that addresses the following prompt.
- Write a report explaining what went wrong in the process detailed in the Torts Report scenario and what tort violations may have been committed. You will need to include any possible legal consequences for the actions of Cameron’s team. You should also include information about the potential negative effects of this breach of customer data on the company’s positive social change initiatives and explain what could be done in the future to prevent this type of situation from occurring again. (375–525 words, 5–7 paragraphs)
