GDPR and CCPA for expert offices: a practical compliance checklist

Expert offices are data controllers under GDPR and covered businesses under CCPA the moment they accept a case involving an EU or California resident. The threshold is low; the obligations are not.

Start with a register of processing activities. For every case type — property, agriculture, business valuation, court — document what personal data you collect, why, on what legal basis (contract, legal obligation, legitimate interest), how long you retain it, and who you share it with (carrier, court, sub-contractor).

Second, a data processing agreement (DPA) with every sub-processor. Cloud storage, e-signature, translation service, expert witness — each needs a DPA on file. GARAASSETS publishes its own DPA and a subprocessor list; use them as your template.

Third, subject rights. Individuals can request access, deletion, or portability of their data. Build a 30-day workflow: intake form, identity verification, data extraction, review for privileged content, response. GARAASSETS's Data Rights module exposes this end-to-end.

Fourth, breach response. GDPR requires notification within 72 hours of awareness. Have an incident response plan on file, a designated contact, and a template notification letter. Testing this once a year is not optional — it is the difference between a 72-hour response and a 7-day panic.