CHICAGO, March 2, 2026 — Chicago Attorney Erin Hines, vice-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Emerging Data Privacy Trends practice, has been named a 2026 “Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s Chicago Business magazine.
Crain’s “Notable Women in Law” highlights 120 Chicago-based women attorneys, recognized for their professional excellence, demonstrated leadership within their firms and communities, and mentorship to other women in the legal field.
Hines is profiled in the March 2 special section of the magazine in both print and online editions, accessible via the link here.
Hines co-leads one of the nation’s first biometric privacy and pixel-related class action defense practices, one of few such women-led practices in the country. Over a 25+ year career, she has represented marquee clients in complex matters governing the collection, use, storage, disposal, tracking, and disclosure of sensitive personal and health-related consumer and employee information.
A national leader in biometric privacy law, Hines and her Biometric Privacy team have defended more Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) class-action lawsuits than any practice across the nation and lead the BIPA appellate strategy for Illinois. She obtained a landmark win in Fernandez v. Kerry Inc. where the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recognized, for the first-time, preemption of BIPA claims under the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) – impacting numerous subsequent BIPA class-actions involving employees governed by LMRA collective-bargaining agreements.
Hines also represents clients nationally in privacy and data-related class actions, “mass” and individual arbitrations, and class action defense litigation in federal and state courts, including BIPA, CIPA, data breach, the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), and claims involving pixels, cookies, and website analytics.
In addition, Hines is at the forefront of defending litigation based on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and currently is defending clients in AI-based class actions. She also provides privacy-related compliance counseling and regulatory advice – focusing on the long-term goals of her clients and provides compliance counseling.
Hines received her J.D. (1999) from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and her B.A. (1991) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
About Cozen O’Connor
Established in 1970, Cozen O’Connor has more than 1,000 attorneys who help clients manage risk and make better business decisions. The firm counsels clients on their most sophisticated legal matters in all areas of the law, including litigation, corporate, and regulatory law. Representing a broad array of leading global corporations and middle market companies, Cozen O’Connor services its clients’ needs through 35 offices across two continents.