Petrina Hall McDaniel is the co-leader of our Class Action & Multidistrict Litigation Practice. As a high-stakes litigator and Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), Petrina knows that legal problems are business problems. Through this lens, Petrina leverages creative advocacy and strategic focus to defend her clients' thorniest problems and competitive risks in consumer class actions and bet-the-company litigation. Regarded as an “experienced and efficient legal tactician” who “provides legally comprehensive and business-oriented advice,” Petrina has successfully defended complex commercial cases and putative class actions with potential billions in exposure in state and federal courts across the country, including appellate and ADR fora.
Class Action Defense, Regulatory Investigations and ESG
Petrina litigates and arbitrates all manner of company-critical litigation that affects her clients’ short- and long-term business objectives. As a legal strategist and trusted advisor to a range of clients – from private equity firms and privately-held companies to large publicly-traded Fortune 500 companies – Petrina has defended national and multinational clients in wide-ranging disputes and high-stakes controversies in diverse matters, including consumer class actions, unfair business practices, fraud cases, contract disputes, business torts and regulatory investigations. Petrina has represented clients across a variety of sectors, including retail, insurance, automotive, telecommunications, aviation, technology, healthcare and financial services, among others.
In addition to litigation, Petrina has successfully defended numerous clients in investigations by States’ Attorneys General and regulating agencies. She has first-chaired an administrative trial, and has coordinated responses to CIDs, subpoenas and other investigatory inquiries.
Petrina also advises on mitigating risks related to ESG reporting and sustainability, including developing compliance and litigation strategies to reduce legal and reputational risks to businesses and their stakeholders. Working with a dedicated global cross-practice ESG group, Petrina helps devise solutions to address ESG risks and opportunities, and resolve ESG-related litigation, with an eye towards early dismissals or favorable negotiated resolutions.
Consumer Protection and Privacy
Petrina has built a nationally recognized defense litigation practice under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and regularly serves as lead defense counsel in individual and class action litigation across the country, including in Georgia, California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Minnesota and Indiana. Petrina’s record of accomplishment of securing dismissal of individual and class claims and negotiating favorable settlements has earned her recognition as a seven-time Super Lawyers’ “Rising Star” in Business Litigation and Class Action Defense, America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators, and Best Lawyers in America (2020-2022). In an issue of first impression in the Eleventh Circuit, Petrina recently secured a first-in-nation ruling, creating precedent-setting law.
Petrina also defends, counsels, and represents clients in matters relating to a myriad of consumer privacy statutes, including the Communications Decency Act (CDA), Michigan's Video Rental Privacy Act (VRPA), Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the CAN-SPAM Act, and a patchwork of other federal privacy statutes and their state analogs. In addition to her defense litigation practice, Petrina creates consumer-facing marketing strategies to comply with federal regulations promulgated by the FCC and the FTC, and provides strategic compliance related to state and federal privacy statutes.
The privacy and consumer protection landscape is constantly shifting, and Petrina believes in staying ahead of the curve in helping clients identify legal and regulatory privacy risks that impact their businesses today and potentially in the future. Petrina is a frequent author and speaker on the consumer protection and privacy trends, and enjoys conducting client trainings on these topics.
Petrina’s additional honors include recognition by The Best Lawyers in America for “Privacy and Data Security Law” in 2023, National Black Lawyers Top 100 (2019), American City Business Journal’s 2019 “BizWoman Headliner,” The Atlanta Business Chronicles’ 2018 “40 Under 40,” Georgia State University Alumni Association’s 2018 “40 Under 40,” and one of 30 top Georgia lawyers “On the Rise” by the Daily Report in 2017. The Atlanta Tribune named her a “Superwoman” in 2017.
Petrina believes it is her professional responsibility to ensure the legal profession is reflective of the world in which we live and practice. She is a member of the firm’s task forces committed to the advancement of women, African-Americans and other diverse professionals. Petrina is also a Diversity Champion for the firm’s African-American Resource Group, and serves on the Squire Patton Boggs’ Foundation, which promotes the role of public service and pro bono work in the practice of law and the development of public policy.
Petrina has received widespread recognition for her professional and charitable leadership. She has participated in numerous leadership programs, including LEAD Atlanta, the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers Leadership Academy, and the Emerging Leaders Retreat sponsored by the Atlanta-Black Jewish Coalition.
Petrina currently serves on the Board of the Atlanta Volunteers Lawyers Foundation (AVLF). She also volunteers with the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, the Atlanta Legal Aid and the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys. In addition to her board service, Petrina served as pro bono counsel for CARE USA, where she worked with the legal department to address organizational data privacy and cybersecurity risks.
A supporter and advocate of education, Petrina endows the “Empowering Excellence Scholarship Award” on behalf of the Georgia State University Honors College, which recognizes top-performing, diverse first-generational college students. Petrina also co-founded the R.E.A.C.H. Scholarship Award, a scholarship service she created for the benefit of high school students graduating from her alma mater, which she managed for more than 18 years.