At the Centre of It: Brandon Graves

What’s the biggest asset to Centre Law & Consulting? Easy answer: the people; in particular, our expert attorneys. As a firm, we have a wide range of practice areas and unique individuals who have become industry leaders in return. As we continue to grow and evolve it’s important that continue to highlight those who make this firm one of a kind. In this blog series “At the Centre of It” we’ll introduce you to our attorneys to better get to know them as professionals and behind the curtain as individuals! This week you’ll meet Brandon Graves. He is a partner at the firm that manages our Cybersecurity, Data Rights and Technology Law practice areas, among many things.

What are your areas of expertise / practice areas?

My practice focuses on technology, especially cybersecurity, privacy, and data rights.

What areas of your practice have you seen the most change in the last year or so?

Cybersecurity is constantly changing with technology, but the legal landscape is in flux, too.  President Biden’s executive order has created a lot of agency action.  We are still waiting to see the full impact of those changes, but they are coming.  The threats themselves are evolving, which makes response more difficult.  On the privacy side, state level laws are creating compliance nightmares for countries that deal with data.  Finally, aggressive work by the government on data rights has led many companies to re-examine old contracts to determine their exposure.

How does your practice area align with your purpose? Both as an attorney and an individual?

I enjoy helping people, especially when they are in a stressful situation.  A lot of my work starts out as a client emergency, whether it is a data breach or the government making a demand.  Helping people work through those situations and continue with their own lives is very rewarding.

What is the best part about what you do?

The intellectual stimulation.  My work has a lot of legal analysis and technical work.  Those require different ways of thinking, so it keeps me on my feet.  The landscape is always changing as well, so it is impossible to stand still.

What areas of the law interest you the most? 

Actually, constitutional law.  I’m reading a great book on the history of the First Amendment and censorship in this country.  The Constitution is the foundation of our legal system, so it is important to know.  It can also have an outside influence on our day-to-day lives (think criminal justice), so it is more than just an academic exercise. 

What is it about Centre that you think allows you to thrive as an attorney? How is Centre different from other firms?

Centre has extraordinary talent with attorneys that have both the experience and talent to answer the complicated questions that occur in the legal industry today.  If a client has a question that I can’t answer, I can ask colleague and likely find the answer.

Who are you outside of work? Hobbies, interests, etc. How do you let your hair down! 

A lot of my outside time is spent with my kids and their activities.  When I do have some down time, I enjoy chess, exercise, and computer programming, among other things.

Outside of work, what are the causes that you care about the most and how do you actively participate in those causes?

How we care for veterans.  I assist veterans in a variety of ways, including before the VA.  I think it is critical that we take care of all wounds caused by service, including the mental ones.

What is one thing about you that may surprise people who only know you as an attorney?

I was a Division-I wrestler in college.

What do you hope to achieve this year and beyond both at work and outside of work?

I hope to continue building out our technology practice here at Centre.  Outside of work, I hope we can start traveling again so that I can watch my kids see new things.

To get in contact with Brandon or to learn more about our Cybersecurity, Data Rights & Technology Law practice you can visit here, connect with him on Linkedin or contact Centre at [email protected].