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Professionals

Madison "MJ" McMahan

Associate

MJ McMahan focuses her practice on data privacy, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) governance, and technology transactions, as well as various litigation matters.

Overview


  • Boston University School of Law, J.D., 2024
  • University of Georgia, B.A. in Cognitive Science, 2018, cum laude
  • Tennessee, 2024
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, 2025
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 2026

MJ is an associate in the Firm's Memphis office and a member of the Advocacy Department. As part of the Data Protection, Privacy and Cybersecurity Team, she advises clients on U.S. and international data privacy compliance, cybersecurity risk and incident response, AI governance, product counseling, and technology transactions. She helps clients navigate evolving state, federal, and international privacy laws and regulations – including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and emerging comprehensive state privacy laws – and advises on the regulatory and contractual dimensions of AI development and deployment. MJ also counsels clients on website and mobile application privacy, including terms of use, privacy policies, cookie notices, and ad tech compliance.

On the advisory and transactional side, MJ supports technology agreement negotiations – including software-as-a-service (SaaS) agreements, statements of work (SOWs) for AI-enabled product development, and vendor master services agreements (MSAs) – with an emphasis on data protection and cybersecurity.

MJ's experience also includes assisting with contracts, managed care, and complex commercial litigation. Since joining the Firm, she has handled a variety of complex civil matters through all stages of litigation, including drafting pleadings, discovery requests, dispositive motions, and Daubert challenges, and supporting class action defense in data breach and wiretapping matters.

Prior to joining Baker Donelson, MJ served as a health law legal extern for the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health, where she conducted extensive legal research and regulatory analysis in support of public health initiatives, including evaluation of state health statutes and proposed regulatory frameworks.

  • Served as lead associate defending a regional health care system in a proposed class action under the California Invasion of Privacy Act involving wiretapping claims.

  • Drafted and revised an acceptable use policy addressing generative AI deployment in regulated employment contexts and employee use of third-party AI tools in environments involving sensitive data for a global company.

  • Developed compliant data subject access request (DSAR) response workflows for a global company processing cross-border data under the GDPR and FDAP.

  • Counseled a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company on global data protection compliance for international research partnerships, including genetic data governance under the Texas Genetic Privacy Act, data security program requirements, and NIH data-sharing obligations.

  • Drafted and supported the negotiation of SOWs and SaaS agreements for a global medical device company governing AI-enabled device development.

  • Conducted a HIPAA security risk assessment for a health care software vendor to determine breach notification obligations.

  • Supported the design and facilitation of a tabletop incident response exercise for a financial services firm.

  • Assisted in the defense of a national services company in multistate data breach class actions.

  • Supported complex managed care litigation and arbitration on behalf of national health care providers, including drafting pleadings, Daubert challenges and replies, and managing large-scale exhibit and discovery materials.

  • Successfully drafted a Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy complaint for a transportation company in an intellectual property dispute, resulting in the transfer of an infringing domain name.

  • Successfully resolved a privacy breach dispute for an industrial manufacturer by drafting a dismissal motion and preparing a settlement agreement, resulting in early and favorable resolution of all claims.

  • Drafted an appellate brief for a municipality in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights appeal.

  • Drafted a global settlement offer and demand for arbitration in a multimillion-dollar commercial litigation dispute.

  • Drafted a Daubert motion in a complex multimillion-dollar, multidistrict class action involving allegations of fiduciary breach and negligence related to the management of an employee pension fund.

  • "Women Leading Privacy," International Association of Privacy Professionals, Memphis Chapter (February 2025)

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