Joseph McNelis III

Joseph McNelis III practices in Connell Foley’s Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Incident Response Group. An experienced legal advisor, Joe guides clients in their response to a variety of cybersecurity-related issues, including data breaches, wire transfer fraud, and other privacy incidents. When serving as breach counsel, he brings swift and decisive direction to clients in the midst of cyber attacks that threaten their operations.

Joe has extensive experience assisting clients when data privacy incidents result in legal action. He has defended organizations against data breach class actions in federal and state courts throughout the country and in cases arising out of email compromise, wire transfer fraud, and unauthorized disclosure of personal or health information. Joe has also assisted numerous organizations in responding to regulatory inquiries and investigations stemming from data privacy incidents.

Prior to joining Connell Foley, Joe worked as an employment attorney for a national AmLaw 100 firm and as a litigation attorney for a cybersecurity and data privacy boutique law firm. As an employment attorney, he defended employers against individual and collective wage-and-hour claims and served as a trusted advisor to businesses seeking to keep pace with the ever-changing employment law landscape. Joe brings this blend of litigation and compliance experience to bear for clients in the data privacy and cybersecurity arena, where he provides proactive counseling to help minimize legal risk and works with businesses to obtain the best possible result when faced with litigation or an investigation arising out of a data privacy event.

While in law school, Joe served as the Notes & Comments Editor of the Temple Journal of Science, Technology & Environmental Law. He was also a Mock Trial Coach for St. Joseph’s Preparatory School and a member of the Temple American Inn of Court. During his undergraduate studies, he was a member of the Fordham University Mock Trial Team.