Our people

Joe, a New York based partner in the global law firm of Reed Smith LLP, chairs Reed Smith’s global Advertising Technology & Media Law practice.  Joe has over 30 years of international experience across a wide range of sophisticated and complex commercial transactions, in industries including advertising, entertainment and media, financial services, travel-related services, technology and much more. Joe specializes in the law and policy arising at the intersection of advertising, technology and media, including online and behavioral advertising, social media, entertainment, finance, e-commerce, information security and digital rights, online gaming, promotions, privacy, security, risk management, and data protection, among others.   Joe’s experience includes virtual worlds, mobile marketing, digital payments and PCI compliance, digital broadcasting, co-branded credit and gift cards, loyalty rewards programs, branded entertainment, online product placement and endorsements, user generated content, buzz, word of mouth and viral marketing, licensing, software development and outsourcing.  Joe is also one of the leaders of the firm’s Digital and Social Media Task Force and a contributor and co-editor of the groundbreaking, Social Media White Paper entitled "A Legal Guide to the Commercial Risks and Rewards of the Social Media Phenomenon".

Joe also publishes and edits Legal Bytes, a monthly publication he launched  in 1996 that is dedicated to providing legal insights at the convergence and intersection of advertising, digital technology, media and entertainment and which is now published in blog format at www.LegalBytes.com.  Joe lectures and writes extensively, domestically and internationally, and, in addition to being the exclusive U.S. contributing author to the Media & Entertainment section of the International Law Office blog, among other publications he has authored a book on outsourcing (Outsourcing Agreements Line by Line; Aspatore Publishing, 2004) and a seminal law journal article on privacy (“Privacy on the Internet: Whose Information Is It Anyway?”; Jurimetrics Law Journal, 1998).  Joe is a past Council Member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Science and Technology and from 1994 to 2002 he served as one of six ABA appointed members of the National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists, a joint commission of the American Bar Association and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) based in Washington, DC.  Joe was appointed a member and subsequently Chairman of the Award Selection Panel of the AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom & Responsibility and has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University Law School and New York Law School, where he taught courses in Computer Law and The Law of Electronic Commerce and Information Technology. Joe remains a designated technology and intellectual property dispute resolution mediator for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Joe’s work has been cited by appellate courts, law reviews and journals, industry and trade periodicals. Joe is regularly quoted in widely respected publications such as the National Law Journal, Advertising Age, the American Banker, Euromoney and has been interviewed by National Public Radio and appeared as a commentator on CNBC’s Squawkbox and Business Unusual CNN Financial.  Joe is General Counsel & Secretary, and an ex officio member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee, of the Interactive Advertising Bureau and a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Law, Science and Technology at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU and a member of the Board, Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary to the Black Forest Group.

Prior to going into private practice in 1994, Joe was in-house at American Express, reporting to the General Counsel, where for almost 17 years, he had a wide range of senior management and legal responsibilities across American Express’ businesses, in the U.S. and abroad – including four years in Toronto, Canada, as Vice President, Secretary & General Counsel of American Express Canada. With a BS and MS, in addition to his JD, Joe taught chemistry and physics in New York for almost ten years before beginning his legal career.

Representative Matters

• Interactive Advertising Bureau: General Counsel, Secretary and ex-officio member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Advise and counsel in all aspects of operations, corporate domestic and international licensing matters, behavioral marketing, advertising and ad blocking initiatives, standards and transactional matters.

• Viacom/MTV Networks/MTV Games/Harmonix:  Outside counsel with respect to  start up of new digital channels and major joint ventures and cross-licensing arrangements, to international interactive gaming promotions, merchandising, licensing and syndication, wireless and wired content and advertising supported revenue marketing agreements. From widgets to satellite video, digital video and music and virtual reality, Joe has served as lead outside counsel to MTV Networks through numerous media, entertainment and advertising ventures, wired and wireless and more recently has been outside counsel in connection with the launch of Rock Band, Rock Band: The Beatles and LEGO editions, coordinating the legal and regulatory work necessary in the U.S. and markets around the world.

• Advertising Council: Outside counsel with respect to advertising, promotions, online and digital media, social media, content creation and ownership, CDA and DMCA compliance, among others.

• Ladbrokes plc: Outside counsel with respect to payments, credit card and online processing transactions, identity and security management, event sponsorships and participation and various ventures around the world.

• Hilton Hotels/Hilton HHonors: Outside counsel with respect to co-branded credit cards throughout the world (U.S., UK, Japan, Germany, etc.) and loyalty rewards programmes (HHonors). PCI compliance, data protection, privacy, information security and website/data mining compliance, payment processing, as well as technology and operational matters.

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Publications

• The RFP Handbook: Guidelines and Standards for The Preparation and Issuance of Requests for Proposals, (Rothstein Associates; 1996)
• Outsourcing Agreements Line by Line, (Aspartore Books; 2004)
• Numerous articles, interviews and speeches, published, pre-recorded broadcasts, webcasts and live television broadcasts. A comprehensive listing is available.

Experience

Legal Education

Graduate Education

Undergraduate Education

Professional Admissions / Qualifications

• New York

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court - Southern District of New York
• U.S. Federal Court

Interests

Joe enjoys skiing, tennis, motion pictures, music and stamp collecting.