Interview with:Kevin Giles [kpgps]
LAW
 | What did you study? What did you specialize in? The Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 |
| What has been your professional experience in the arena of law? How long have you been in the profession? I am not a trained lawyer but I have over 21 years experience of working and advising on The Data Protecton Acts and 6 years of Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
I have produced and delivered many training packages to all walks of life and can design and bespoke any prsentation to your company's requirements |
| Are there any links we can follow to see something more about you? |
| What types of cases interest you most? Any cases that deal with the loss of personal data, my recent blog is the result of an MP who had been putting out personal papers for recycling (very green) but a local resident was coming along and removing some of them from each bag. Now who is the criminal here? Find out at my blog page http://kpgps.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/is-vince-cable-reall (...) |
| How do clients find you? Why do you think they choose you? They can find me through my website at http://www/kpgprofessionalservices.co.uk where a full list of the services I can offer are displayed. I get some referrals through the column I write for the Perth Hub fortnightly newspaper http://www.hubnewsperth.co.uk/
They should choose me as I have such a great depth of understanding of the Acts and can deal with anything from a simple notification through audits, Subject Acces Requests up to a professional helpdesk operation |
| How do you set your rates? Does it have to do with time commitment , what is at stake, or with the financial ability of the client? My rates are set to reflect the more work I do the cheaper it becomes. I charge out at UK£50 per hour, UK£250 per day and UK£1000 per week. This allows for the customer to get something back for investing in my time |
| How do you sell a client on the strategy you develop for litigation? I do not get involved with litigation as I am not a qualified lawyer but I have defended 25 cases brought about by the Information Commissioner, winning 24 and we agreed the other one was a technical draw. Most have been at the assessment stage but I also successfully defended a serious breach when over 70,000 pieces of sensitive personal data were lost in a break-in |
| Clients can sometimes be emotionally upset. How do you get them to adopt a realistic and rational attitude? You need to sit them down and listen to what they are worried about, analyse the facts then explain what you are going to do to help them. I find this works best in the situations I have been in |
| What do you do when your gut says your client is lying to you? I ask them for the truth, I cannot do anythin without that |
| Have you ever defended someone's innocence while knowing with certainty that he/she was really guilty? Yes, when I defended the company against the loss of the sensitive personal data I knew they were as guilty as sin but I was able to put together a defence package that worked and they were exonerated |
| What reasons would you have for not taking on a case? How would you justify it? I would never refuse a case on Data Protection as I know I have the ability to put forward a positive argument to prevent the client from getting stung. |
| What strategy is usually effective, an aggressive and intimidating one, or one that seeks a reasonable compromise? I always go for the reasonable compromise as this is endemic with the Data Protection laws and the Commissioner is more likely to fall in with your argument than if you went in all guns blazing |
| Is courage needed to practice your profession? No, courage is the wrong word, self-belief and a sense of justice are better description |
| What is justice? Is there a way to measure it, or is it only a sentiment? Justice is an emotive sentiment but it can be measured when a decision is passed down as it should be balanced and all the facts considered. Failure to consider all the facts would not give a fair balance and therefore the belief that justice has not been done |
| Should the social repercussions of a sentence, i.e., the message that it sends to society, be kept in mind? Yes, the Information Commissioner has powers to seek a financial penalty of up to UK£500,000 for wilfull or reckless loss of personal data. The more of these he issues the louder the shout will be that companies need to be more aware of Data Protection. |
| A video shows the guilt of the defendant, but because it was recorded illegally it is not admissible as evidence and the defendant goes free. Is this absurd justice? No, it is lazy investigating. Having said that, where cameras are being used there must always be warning signs and I always ensure these are in place when I do audits and site inspections to prevent just this sort of thing happening |
| What continuing education do you receive in order to keep up-to-date? I am continually learning about the nuances of The Daat Protection Act 1998 and am a member of several forums where we discuss the latest issues |
| Where are you headed professionally? What would you like to be doing five years from now? I am still in the gradual climb through start-up just now and would like to progress to become one of the leading consultancies in Scotland for these services.
In five years time I see myself overseeing several other consultants and working with other associated companies to deliver a first class service |
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Kevin Giles
Perth, Scotland
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