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What are the primary strategic objectives for the Israel-focused legal team in the upcoming year, and how do they align with the overall goals of the global law firm?
To increase the firm’s visibility, to build on existing strategic relationships and to establish new ones. From an intellectual property and technology practice perspective, it is critical to think globally. The Internet and social media have resulted in businesses crossing borders like never seen before. Commerce is no longer local, but global and the patchwork of local, state, and country laws, as well as certain international treaties, have resulted in the need for a business operating across boundaries to have attorneys who are familiar with the challenges and the local laws. Israel-focused legal teams who represent clients who do business beyond the Israeli borders must be aware of challenges their clients face when operating cross borders. For example, an Israeli company that is marketing and selling goods or services in the U.S. must be compliant with a patchwork of U.S. state-based privacy laws, be familiar with the web accessibility laws under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act and similar state and local laws, must be aware of the state and federal laws regarding the use of another’s name, image and likeness, and be aware of industry-specific legal requirements, among others. Similarly, when U.S. attorneys have clients whose business extends cross-borders, it is critical for legal counsel to have local counsel in Israel and elsewhere throughout the world to be able to understand the local laws that will impact their clients. While this includes language translation, it extends far beyond administrative issues. U.S. legal counsel needs to be aware of local cultural, translation and legal nuances to ensure that clients are properly represented. It is therefore important for U.S. to develop a strong network of like-minded counsel and nurture those relationships through cross-border interactions, including at international conferences such as the INTA Annual Meeting.
How does the team collaborate internally and externally to stay abreast of the latest legal developments in Israel and globally?
Our Israel Practice Team meets periodically, discusses the landscape in Israel and around the world, and makes introductions for those of us that visit Israel. Our team regularly works with Israeli counsel on intellectual property prosecution issues (trademark and patent) as well as enforcement proceedings, through which we acquire knowledge as to the local customs, laws and procedure. In addition, we regularly follow international legal publications for new developments. And, by attending international conferences, we interact with Israeli counsel and learn about recent developments.
What opportunities does the head of the Israel-focused legal team foresee for expanding the firm’s presence and influence in Israel?
The changing economic climate in Israel creates the opportunity for our law firm to increase our market share of legal services to Israeli companies looking to establish a presence in the US, or to expand its presence. We offer a very competitive fee structure for the necessary legal work, including but not limited to corporate formations, leases, loan transactions, immigration, employment policies and manuals, intellectual property, privacy and web accessibility.
Uniquely, our firm also has particular expertise in dealing with insurance based claims, litigation and coverage issues and disputes. Regarding Intellectual Property and Technology, our team offers a unique internet-focused expertise, surrounding not only data security and privacy, which are significant issues in the U.S. and globally, but the structural and foundational issues involved in having an online presence in the U.S., including but not limited to domain acquisition; trademark selection, clearance and registration; copyright compliance, including clearance of the use of images and music; rights of publicity and privacy; preparation of policies including Terms of Use, Privacy Policies, Cookie Banners and Policies, Terms of Sale, Accessibility Statements, Disclaimers, Advertising Notices, and internal social media, artificial intelligence and inventions’ policies; false advertising, affiliation, and endorsement management; defamation avoidance; web accessibility; and more.
What are the challenges facing the firm’s Israeli desk? How does the team address potential cultural or jurisdictional challenges when working on cases that involve both Israeli and global legal perspectives?
The main challenge we face is increasing our visibility and expanding our network within Israel and around the world. With respect to case-related issues, we vet our local counsel and find counsel who share our objectives and morals. We then learn what we need to know and partner with our local counsel to provide the best combination of legal acumen to our clients.
What priorities do you have for the Israeli Desk in 2024?
To broaden our reach within Israel and to educate Israeli firms and clients on how they can best be served if they have businesses operating in the U.S.
Would you like to put a spotlight on any Israel related lawyer or practice?
We’d like to spotlight Adam Bialek, the Co-Chair of Wilson Elser’s Intellectual Property & Technology Practice Team who focuses his practice on trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, rights of publicity, privacy, false advertising, defamation, and media, with an emphasis on internet law. Adam is experienced with all facets of intellectual property law, internet law, art law, data security and privacy, and cyber/media risk matters, including insurance coverage pertaining to these areas. Clients rely on Adam for his extensive experience with cutting-edge internet-based issues and his success in using innovative tactics to enforce client rights. In addition, Adam combines the knowledge of an in-house counsel with his position in a leading national firm to enhance the role of outside general counsel to his IP clients.
Under Adam’s leadership, Wilson Elser’s IP team counsels numerous high-profile and prestigious U.S. and global clients. Additionally, they prosecute and defend lawsuits involving copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, franchise rights, rights of publicity, web accessibility, defamation/trade libel and privacy. The team also pursues trademark and domain name registration in countries around the world; prepares global trademark license agreements and registers licenses for franchisors and licensors; prepares software license agreements, development agreements and technology transfers; and performs due diligence in connection with corporate transactions. The team is adept at Internet Risk Management, performing website and social media audits, negotiating protection agreements, and working with clients and vendors to minimize the risks from operating in an online and digital environment.In litigating IP cases, Adam effectively resolves infringement actions for both rights holders and defendants, including copyright, trademark, trade dress, trade secret and patent infringement matters; false advertising; franchise disputes; trade libel; rights of privacy and publicity; domain name disputes; and complex international counterfeiting matters. Adam actively counsels clients in intellectual property rights planning and execution, as well as due diligence in transactions, including registration and licensing of trademarks, registering of trademark licenses, preparation of license agreements for software and other works, and brand-building. He audits company practices and websites for compliance with state and federal laws and prepares internet-related documents such as terms of use, privacy policies, terms of sale, accessibility statements and other industry required disclosures.
Data is only as good as a user’s ability to retrieve and use it, and technological issues can seriously thwart that ability. Adam and his team regularly address claims involving data that is lost, stolen, compromised or unrecoverable, often through the fault of a technology provider. Adam defends claims of failed implementations of hardware or software, defects in software or firmware, and technology providers’ negligence and breach of duty. In addition, Adam prepares software license agreements, cloud service provider agreements, health portal agreements and technology transfer agreements. Further, he counsels technology companies on risk and crisis management. Adam stays abreast of the new technologies under development so that his team can address issues such as artificial intelligence, NFTs, blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, virtual reality, and the metaverse.
Adam and his team regularly perform proactive, detailed website audits for infringing materials and compliance with state and federal laws. They counsel clients on intellectual property–related issues, negotiate rights protection and transfer agreements, and prepare internet-related documents (Terms of Use, Privacy Policies and Terms of Sale). Adam also prepares social media policies that help ensure online communications are compliant with the law and company messaging. In addition, he counsels clients on obtaining necessary rights and clearances for content. Adam prosecutes and defends lawsuits involving reputational risks, defamation and trade libel, and addresses media and First Amendment issues arising out of internet-related communications. He also defends claims of violations of rights of privacy, publicity and promotion, data breaches, and website inaccessibility pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar state statutes.
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, LLP
