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Stefanie L. Hood

630.510.4923  |  shood@rathjelaw.comV-card |  Linkedin | Download Bio

Practice Areas
  • Litigation
Education
  • University of Illinois Chicago Law (J.D., 2009)
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (B.A., 2005)
Admissions
  • 2009 Illinois Supreme Court
  • 2011 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • 2012 U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois

Stefanie Hood focuses her practice in the areas of litigation, data privacy, healthcare regulatory compliance, and non-profit governance and operational matters.  Throughout her career, she has had an active litigation practice involving general commercial litigation, medical and dental malpractice, skilled nursing and long-term care matters, premises liability, and product liability. In particular, Ms. Hood has developed expansive subject matter experience in data privacy and regulatory compliance.  She is accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) as a Certified Information Privacy Professional in United States privacy law (CIPP/US).  She uses her skills and knowledge to counsel clients across multiple industries, including healthcare, banking, manufacturing, and insurance.

In addition to her litigation and data privacy practice, Ms. Hood actively counsels her clients in the financial and healthcare industries to mitigate risk and avoid future disputes. For example, Ms. Hood counseled a financial institution on Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) regulation compliance for third-party risk management and federal and state licensing requirements for multi-state transactions. She also advised a multi-state Business Associate client whose contract with a publicly traded health insurer required state and federal privacy law compliance and training on HIPAA. Ms. Hood has also represented healthcare professionals in licensure matters and investigations before the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Hood is committed to giving back to her community. She is an appointed DuPage Housing Authority Commissioner and a board member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) DuPage.

Ms. Hood received her undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005. She also studied International Economics at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. She graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law in 2009. While in law school, she served as a legal intern to the General Counsel of the U.S. Agency for International Development in Washington, D.C. In that capacity, she worked on the issues regarding humanitarian assistance to foreign nations.

  • Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US)
  • International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

 

  • Contributing Author, The Law of Medical Practice in Illinois, 3d. Section 14:13 Biometric Data (2023 Third Edition, Cum. Suppl. 2023 West Group)
  • Safety in DuPage, Chamber 630, October 2022; Topic: The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act and its impact on the business community.
  • Keeping our Kids Cyber-Safe, Glen Ellyn Civic Center, September 2022; Topic: Cyber-crime and its risks to children and families through social media and gaming.
  • Whose Data is it Anyway? National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), Driving Diversity & Leadership Conference, March 2022; Topic: Panelist for a Continuing Learning Education (CLE) presentation discussing the 21st Century Cures Act, data compliance strategies, state law compliance and preemption, and related business risk issues.

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