Venable's Advertising & Marketing Practice Wins Chambers USA Award for Excellence

Award recognizes firm's leading edge work across the full spectrum of advertising and marketing law, including direct response, interactive, mobile platforms and social media, as well as privacy/data protection; heavy regulatory component to modern advertising practice - Where Madison Ave. meets Pennsylvania Ave.

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Venable LLP

Jun 11, 2010, 09:57 ET

WASHINGTON, June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- If TV's "Mad Men" fast-forwarded to 2010, the producers might have to shoot more than a few scenes in Washington, DC. For the advertising industry, that's where a lot of the action takes place these days, with the Congress and government agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, Food & Drug Administration, Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department exerting enormous influence over advertisers and marketers. In many ways, the sector's center of gravity is no longer just Madison Avenue – but also Pennsylvania Avenue, running from the White House, past the FTC and onto Capitol Hill.

Noting this important shift in axis, leading legal directory publisher Chambers has given Washington-based Venable LLP its annual Award for Excellence this year in the Advertising and Marketing Category. The award was presented June 10 in New York, coinciding with the release of the 2010 edition of Chambers USA. This is the second straight year that Venable has taken an Award for Excellence – which honors firms doing the most cutting edge legal work in a given area of law. The firm's Privacy & Data Security group, which works closely with Venable's advertising clients on interactive advertising issues, won the honor last year.

Venable is among the leading firms in both the Advertising: Litigation and Advertising: Transactional and Regulatory categories in the Chambers guide, which will be released on June 11. Venable was also ranked among the nation's top advertising firms in the recently released Legal 500 guide.

Long known as one of the nation's top law firms for advertising litigation, regulatory compliance and government affairs work, Venable represents a wide portfolio of leading advertisers, direct marketers, consumer products companies and associations serving those industries.

A critical part of Venable's practice is representing clients in Lanham Act cases, consumer class action defense, and litigation against the FTC and state attorneys general. The firm also has tremendous experience representing clients in claim substantiation matters and other enforcement matters before major federal and state regulators, including the FTC, FDA, state attorneys general and other enforcement agencies as well as industry self regulatory bodies such as the National Advertising Division of the Counsel of Better Business Bureaus and the Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program.

Venable also counsels companies as they launch advertising and marketing campaigns across every advertising channel, from cutting edge mobile and interactive and social media campaigns to campaigns utilizing more traditional television, radio, print advertising and direct mail channels.

"This is obviously an exciting and very challenging time for anyone in the advertising and marketing business," said Jeffrey Knowles, who heads Venable's Advertising, Marketing and New Media practice. "While the proliferation of multimedia platforms and channels marketers can use to reach customers has exploded, so has the aggressiveness of regulators and lawmakers who police industry practices and standards. The Chambers award is a testament to our stature as a go-to firm for today's marketers."

"Chambers' recognition of our practice reflects both extensive research by the publishers, and, more importantly, word-of-mouth from clients and other attorneys in determining which firms are at the top of their game," Mr. Knowles added. "Today, clients must have counsel that can navigate the complex and fast-changing regulatory and legislative landscape governing advertising and marketing practices. Venable has been at the center of every significant policy initiative affecting the industry in recent years, and we are at the forefront today. It is gratifying to receive this ringing endorsement from Chambers, our clients and our peers."

Venable's advertising group counts nearly 60 attorneys, many of whom have backgrounds in major industry associations as well as with key regulatory agencies. Members of the practice include:

Roger Colaizzi, co-chair of Venable's IP Litigation Group, has successfully secured or defended against more than 50 advertising-related preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders. Colaizzi is called out as a leading lawyer in the just-released edition of Chambers USA.
Thomas Cohn spent 17 years with the FTC, serving as Regional Director for the important Northeast Region, as well as in the Division of Marketing Practices, and as legal advisor to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
William Coston, co-chair of Venable's IP Litigation group, won a unanimous Supreme Court decision in Wal-Mart v. Samara Brothers, the landmark case that reshaped the standard for product configuration trade dress.
Edward Glynn served 14 years with the FTC, rising from trial attorney to Associate Director, where he led several of the most significant investigations undertaken by the Commission and represented the FTC extensively in litigation in U.S. District Courts and federal courts of appeal. He has litigated actively in the advertising field since joining Venable.
Stuart Ingis, who chairs Venable's Privacy and Data Security Practice, has been involved with Internet law and policy from the inception of the commercial Internet. Ingis is identified as a leading lawyer in the Privacy and Data Security categories of the most recent editions of Chambers USA and Legal 500.
Joshua Kaufman won a unanimous Supreme Court victory in CCNV v. Reid, a landmark copyright case on "work for hire."
Mr. Knowles, who founded and served for 13 years as general counsel to the Electronic Retailing Association, is regarded as the leading attorney in the direct response television industry. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Electronic Retailing Association and served as its Chairman. Knowles is identified as a leading lawyer in the just released edition of Chambers USA, as well as in the 2010 edition of Legal 500.
Melissa Landau Steinman advises clients on consumer promotions law, including gift cards, rebates, "free" gifts and rewards programs. She has extensive experience with prize promotions and Internet gaming, combining understanding of the law of promotional contests, electronic media, and regulatory law. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Promotion Marketing Association.
Ian Volner has participated in virtually all major rulemaking proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Postal Regulatory Commission on matters governing privacy, telemarketing, e-mail marketing, and direct mail.

Venable attorneys have also been thought-leaders in the field, publishing the Guide to Federal and State Regulation of Advertising, written and edited by Ms. Steinman and Mr. Coston. Ms. Steinman also contributed to the sixth edition of Promotion Marketing Law, a treatise on sweepstakes and prize promotions law. Mr. Glynn was an Editor of, and Ms. Steinman contributed to, the recently published American Bar Association's Consumer Protection Law Handbook.

Note: An American Lawyer top 100 law firm, Venable LLP has attorneys practicing in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property and government affairs. Venable serves corporate, institutional, governmental, nonprofit and individual clients throughout the U.S. and around the world from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and offices in California, Maryland, New York and Virginia. For more, visit www.venable.com.