Nicholas P. Merker is an engineer, video game enthusiast and privacy advocate with a practice focus on data security and privacy, intellectual property and digital media representation. As a leader in digital law, he chairs Ice Miller's Data Security and Privacy Practice and leads the Firm's Esports and Video Game Law Practice. Nick's experience, with respect to digital law, is unique, as he is one of a handful of lawyers in the country who worked as a computer systems, network and security engineer for 10 years before practicing data security and privacy law. Nick's real-world experience translates to applicable legal solutions that empower organizations to feel confident in their legal strategy as it relates to data security and privacy. Any lawyer can tell you what the law says. With Nick's technology experience and passion for new media, he is equipped to apply laws to emerging technologies to identify and mitigate legal risk efficiently. That is, Nick strives to provide practical advice to clients that they can implement immediately rather than generate long-winded academic answers to basic legal questions. Nick knows what information security and privacy regulators expect, how to actually comply with information security and privacy provisions in contracts clients have negotiated, and guides clients to practical compliance. Nick's action-oriented approach helps to keep his clients compliant and ready to combat any cyberthreat, should one arise.