Why you should attend
The world of communications and media law is robust with change, and this program, long recognized as the most comprehensive in its field, will highlight the hottest issues and case law in media, digital communications, intellectual property and privacy law. Reflecting an increased focus on the legal ramifications of an increasingly digital media environment, the program features a remarkable faculty comprising the country’s leading practitioners and in-house First Amendment and media law counsel. Providing you with the strategic and practical knowledge needed to keep apace in this constantly changing practice area, this program is not to be missed.
What you will learn
- Regulatory initiatives in privacy and data protection, both in the U.S. and abroad
- First Amendment issues arising in the context of the Internet, other digital speech, and traditional media
- Reporters privilege and media liability updates
- Hot topics in intellectual property practice
- Essential updates regarding the right of publicity
- New Topic! Social media issues for the communications lawyer
Special Feature
Earn one full hour of ethics credit! Lunch will be provided prior to the presentation.
Who should attend
Firm attorneys, in-house counsel and allied professionals who practice in the fields of media and telecommunications, corporate compliance, privacy, and First Amendment law.
Day One: 8:45 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Morning Session: 8:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
8:45 Electronic Media Regulation
- Should Internet access be regulated?
- How will the presidential election affect the FCC and U.S. communications policy?
- "Over the top," retransmission consent and more - where is the FCC going on video competition issues?
- Should spectrum be sold or shared?
- Will the FCC ever take action on indecency?
Speaker: Helgi C. Walker
Moderator: Jeffrey P. Cunard
Panel: Jane E. Mago, Sherrese M. Smith, Gigi B. Sohn
10:15 Networking Break
10:30 Developments in First Amendment Jurisprudence
- Where does the FCC's authority to regulate content on broadcast TV and radio stand as a result of the "fleeting expletive" and "wardrobe malfunction" cases?
- Does the First Amendment prevent Congress and the FCC from prohibiting political advertising on public broadcast stations?
- How did the Supreme Court clarify the application of the First Amendment to false speech in the "Stolen Valor" case?
- Is the Supreme Court pulling back on deregulating campaign finance or moving full speed ahead?
- How were the 2012 elections altered by the new campaign finance legal landscape?
Speaker: Paul M. Smith
Moderator: Lee Levine
Panel: Floyd Abrams, Adam Liptak, Jack M. Weiss
12:00 Lunch
Afternoon Session: 2:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
2:00 Reporters Privilege and Anonymous Speech
- The Risen subpoena and confidential sources in the National Security arena: Where are we now?
- The Chevron decision and the “independence” requirement: Has there been an impact on the press?
- Eisinger/Goldman Sachs: Does the right to cross-examination trump the reporters privilege?
- Can shield laws be used to protect anonymous Internet commenters?
- After the elections and the passage of time since Wikileaks, is there any hope for a federal shield law?
Speaker: George Freeman
Moderator: Lee Levine
Panel: Eve B. Burton, Joel Kurtzberg, Slade R. Metcalf
3:00 Access
- Is there a constitutional right of access outside the courts? The implications of Leigh v. Salazar.
- Has the Obama administration contributed to the problem of “secret law”?
- Breakthrough at Guantanamo: Have military courts embraced the First Amendment access right, and can that right override an agency’s designation of information as “classified”?
- What is going on in the states? Has the massive decline in statehouse reporters emboldened legislatures to restrict access to government information?
- What has been the fallout from the Supreme Court's Milner decision rejecting the "High 2" exemption?
Speaker: David A. Schulz
Moderator: Lee Levine
Panel: Lucy A. Dalglish, Karen Kaiser, David E. McCraw
4:00 Networking Break
4:15 Hot Issues in Social Media
- What are the upsides and downsides of social media discovery and social media use by jurors?
- What impact has the advent of social media had on student First Amendment rights?
- How are newsrooms crafting protocols for social media usage and limitations on reporters’ tweets?
- Do state statutes tackling the issues of cyberbullying, cyberharassment, and cyberstalking strike the right balance between preventing harm and preserving speech rights?
- How are the old rules of defamation and publicity actions translating to the new world of Facebook and Twitter?
- What restrictions have courts placed on the use of social media by courtroom observers?
- What limits may employers impose on their employees’ social media usage?
Speaker: RonNell Andersen Jones
Moderator: Jeffrey P. Cunard
Panel: Reggie Davis, John F. Delaney, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
5:15 Adjourn
Day Two: 9:00 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
9:00 Defamation, Invasion of Privacy & Related Claims
- Fifteen years after Zeran v. AOL: Does the Internet still need statutory protection from content claims, or is Section 230 encouraging irresponsibility?
- Dead celebrities and life-like video games: How are they changing the scope of the right of publicity?
- Has Britain checked out of the libel tourism business?
- Is the EU’s “right to be forgotten” now the biggest threat to disseminating content abroad?
- Is the passage of state SLAPP laws the new silver bullet in the defense of libel claims?
- Actual malice after Iqbal and Twombly: Can a libel plaintiff satisfy federal pleading requirements without discovery?
Speaker: Kelli L. Sager
Moderator: Lee Levine
Panel: Stephanie S. Abrutyn, Sandra S. Baron, Honorable Robert D. Sack, Barbara W. Wall
10:30 Networking Break
10:45 Intellectual Property
- Who are the winners and losers in the YouTube and Veoh DMCA safe harbor litigations?
- Is streaming live television over the Internet an infringing "public performance"?
- What's next for IP in the new Congress?
- Was Rosetta Stone v. Google a surprise? How will it affect Google's AdWords program?
- Does the unauthorized appearance of trademarks in video games result in infringement or is it protected free speech?
Speaker: Mary Snapp
Moderator: Bruce P. Keller
Panel: Andrew P. Bridges, Jeffrey P. Cunard, Jennifer L. Pariser, Jonathan Zittrain
12:15 Lunch
Please note that lunch will be provided.
Afternoon Session: 12:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
12:45 Legal Ethics for Media Lawyers: Current Issues
- What additional ethics and liability risks does the persistence of the Great Recession present for in-house and outside counsel?
- Do modern technology and cybersecurity concerns create new ethics and risk management dangers for practitioners?
- Will tightening corporate budgets, repeated personnel changes, and proliferation of corporate mergers and dislocations create more conflicts of interest and similar problems?
- Has the e-discovery beast been domesticated?
- Do international legal issues, involving multiple offices for clients or lawyers, raise new ethics dilemmas?
Speaker: Bruce E. H. Johnson
Moderator: Bruce P. Keller
Panel: Pamela A. Bresnahan, Sue C. Friedberg
1:45 Networking Break
2:00 Global Privacy and Advertising Developments
- The aftermath of IMS Health v. Sorrell: When does privacy justify limiting commercial speech?
- Where is the European Union headed in its overhaul of data protection regulations?
- Are social media passwords and digital cameras free from governmental and non-governmental searches and seizures?
- Are there no limits to tracking consumer behavior on the Internet?
- Are there new “rules of the road” for combining online and offline consumer data for marketing and advertising purposes?
- What new issues are raised by government surveillance of reporters' digital communications?
Speaker: Jane E. Kirtley
Moderator: Bruce P. Keller
Panel: David Bender, Katrina Blodgett, Steven G. Brody, S. Jenell Trigg
3:30 Networking Break
3:45 Newsgathering Liability
- Are there lessons to be learned from news coverage of the Occupy movement?
- Do law enforcement authorities need subpoenas and search warrants to identify sources and access journalist’s work product in the digital age?
- What does “ag-gag” legislation prohibit?
- Is there a First Amendment right to record police officers in public places?
- What’s happening abroad? The post-Leveson landscape and the criminalization of the newsgathering process
Speaker: Thomas S. Leatherbury
Moderator: Lee Levine
Panel: Kevin T. Baine, James C. Goodale, Mark Stephens, John W. Zucker
5:15 Adjourn
Co-Chair(s)
Speaker(s)
David Bender ~ Adjunct Professor, University of Houston Law Center, The Law Office of David Bender
Katrina Blodgett ~ Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Federal Trade Commission
Eve B. Burton ~ Senior Vice President and General Counsel, The Hearst Corporation
Lucy A. Dalglish ~ Dean, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland
Reggie Davis ~ Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Zynga Inc.
Karen Kaiser ~ Associate General Counsel, The Associated Press
Jane E. Kirtley ~ Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law, University of Minnesota
Adam Liptak ~ Supreme Court Correspondent, The New York Times
Jane E. Mago ~ Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Legal and Regulatory Affairs, National Association of Broadcasters
David E. McCraw ~ Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, The New York Times Company
Jennifer L. Pariser ~ Senior Vice President, Litigation & Anti-Piracy, Recording Industry Association of America
Mary Snapp ~ Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Products & Services, Microsoft Corporation
Barbara W. Wall ~ Vice President and Senior Associate General Counsel, Gannett Co., Inc.
Program Attorney(s)
New York City Seminar Location
PLI New York Center, 810 Seventh Avenue at 53rd Street (21st floor), New York, New York 10019. Message Center, program days only: (212) 824-5733.
New York City Hotel Accommodations
Due to high demand and limited inventory in NYC, we recommend reserving hotel rooms as early as possible.
The New York Hilton & Towers, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. 1 block from PLI Center. Reservations 1-800-HILTONS or, 1-877-NYC-HILT. Please mention that you are booking a room under the Practising Law Institute Corporate rate and the Client File # is N495741. Reservations on line at www.hilton.com and enter the same Client File # in the Corporate ID # field to access Practising Law Institute rates.
The Warwick New York Hotel, 65 West 54th Street New York, NY 10019. 1 block from PLI Center. Reservations 800-223-4099 or, hotel direct 212-247-2700. Please mention that you are booking a room under the Practising Law Institute Corporate rate. Reservations on line at www.warwickhotelny.com Click reservations in menu bar on left. Select desired dates. In 'Special Rates' drop down window select Corporate Rate. In 'Rate Code' enter PLIN. Click search and select desired room type and rate plan. Or, you may email reservation requests to: res.ny@warwickhotels.com