Key Contacts
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Artificial Intelligence
A Strategic and Multidisciplinary Approach to Helping Clients Develop and Use Artificial Intelligence (AI)
WilmerHale is the leading legal partner for clients that want a strategic and multidisciplinary approach to developing and using AI, machine learning and other advanced data-driven technologies. We take a forward-looking, comprehensive approach in our client representations, helping clients build AI-governance structures and make informed decisions now so they are well positioned in a rapidly developing legal and regulatory environment. Our practice works with clients across industries to navigate pivotal deals, intellectual property issues, and implementation, architecture and compliance concerns, as well as to mitigate litigation and regulatory risk and shape public policy.Strategic Counseling and Response
We help our clients navigate the complex issues that arise as they develop AI tools or seek to integrate them into their operations. We take a practical, risk-based approach when counseling clients on how to address concerns relating to intellectual property, competition, data privacy, ethics and consumer protection. We assess legal exposure under existing regulatory regimes as well as proposed legislation and regulation in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere. We help clients get ahead of AI-related issues by drafting AI governance structures, conducting risk assessments and audits, and counseling on incident preparedness.Regulatory Investigations, Enforcement and Litigation
We have unparalleled experience representing clients in contested high-stakes matters where technology and the law are at a crossroads. Drawing on our extensive roster of former federal and state officials—including alumni from the US Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and offices of state attorneys general—we help our clients navigate AI-related investigations, enforcement proceedings and litigation examining algorithmic bias and discrimination, privacy, unfairness, advertising, and data ethics in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere.Corporate and Transactional
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AI presents a range of considerations for our corporate clients. We help our clients negotiate a variety of AI-related agreements, including agreements to license data and AI technologies, provide AI-based services to a customer or develop novel applications for AI technologies. In considering these contracts as well as potential AI applications across organizations, we advise our clients on appropriate governance mechanisms and checks to mitigate the risks of using AI. We also help our clients consider AI in the context of a merger or acquisition, where purchasers may acquire a combination of rights and potential liabilities concerning ownership, licenses and use of AI and related algorithms, models and data. WilmerHale vets the risks and advises on ways to mitigate them by combining our corporate experience with our leading intellectual property and privacy capabilities and the technical insight of more than 120 lawyers who hold degrees in a variety of technical and scientific fields. In addition, each year, we assist our clients in hundreds of complex joint ventures, strategic alliances, and outsourcing and licensing transactions. -
Automotive
The automotive industry has adopted many new technologies at the center of the Big Data revolution. Connected cars gather data about driving habits through means like electrical system sensors, radar technology, cameras, and monitoring of braking, acceleration and steering. They also track location, and even the music that drivers listen to. Big Data brings with it great promise, but also myriad challenges, including cybersecurity, privacy, contract issues, ambiguities about data ownership and intellectual property, and negative public relations from those concerned about such data collection.Learn More -
Communications / ISPs
Big Data raises profound opportunities, but also fundamental challenges, for the communications industry. Dizzying innovation and lightning-fast transformation in sectors ranging from mobile broadband to IP voice and interactive cable offerings present novel and complicated issues on a daily basis. All players in the industry will need to grapple with these issues, including infrastructure providers, cloud computing companies and service providers. From privacy to cybersecurity, data mining, antitrust and surveillance, Big Data issues will define the future of the entire industry.Learn More -
Education
Collection and analysis of data about students and educators offer unprecedented opportunities to improve student learning, assess educator performance, and understand what techniques and technologies actually make a difference in learning outcomes. But this new frontier also presents serious risks and challenges for schools and the educational vendors that serve them. Because major advances in data science are so new and applicable laws have not kept pace with these changes, important unanswered questions surround innovative uses of Big Data in the education sector.Learn More -
Electronics / Internet of Things
It has been estimated that as of 2020, the Internet of Things will include more than 50 billion cloud-connected devices. This is an unprecedented opportunity for the electronics industry, both for companies that design and build the devices, and for those that make the hardware, software and networks connecting them. But these devices will collect and share a tremendous amount of sensitive data—from power grid controls, to manufacturing secrets, to personal health information—forcing the electronics industry to grapple with many privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property, contracting, antitrust and other challenges.Learn More -
Emerging Companies and Startups
Effective collection, analysis and use of data often dictate success or failure for emerging companies. Big Data is the lifeblood for startups in nearly all industries, including financial services, healthcare, connected devices, real estate, cybersecurity, retail, marketing and human resources. But establishing and enforcing ownership and use rights for Big Data can be complicated, and the processing of such data is highly regulated. Successfully navigating these issues and appropriately protecting and monetizing valuable data are essential to turning emerging companies into established businesses.Learn More -
Energy / Utilities
Utilities, oil and gas companies, energy project developers, transmission and distribution companies, and energy service providers are using Big Data to modernize and manage their operations. Big Data is facilitating the proliferation of distributed generation and energy storage, while improving demandside management. It is also being used by energy companies to detect, mitigate and prevent losses and inefficiencies. But along with its benefits, Big Data also raises concerns for the energy industry regarding privacy, security, safety and reliability, disclosure requirements, and more.Learn More -
Financial Services
Collection, analysis and monetization of Big Data are rapidly changing the financial services industry, upending the longstanding business practices of traditional financial institutions, giving rise to innovative alternatives and breathing life into a host of service providers. By leveraging vast data repositories, companies can make better investment decisions, reach new customers, improve institutional risk control and capitalize on trends before their competitors. But given the sensitivity of financial information, Big Data also spawns a variety of legal and other challenges for financial services companies.Learn More -
Life Sciences and Healthcare
Big Data is transforming the life sciences and healthcare sectors. Analysis of massive data sets is bringing new insight into physiological processes, pharmaceutical research, clinical decision support, patient records, outcomes analysis and healthcare program management, among other areas. But the torrent of data—and limits on how it can be collected, used and shared—present unique challenges for data collectors, data users and data subjects, including ownership of data, privacy, cybersecurity, discrimination, transparency in research and financial accountability.Learn More -
National Security / Intelligence
Big Data was born in US military and intelligence agencies. But the recent emergence of ever more powerful data collection, processing and analytics capabilities has revolutionized the role of Big Data in the fields of national security and intelligence. This sector is increasingly data driven, yet also increasingly overwhelmed by data. Both the government and its service providers must learn to capitalize on Big Data while avoiding its pitfalls. For companies and institutions in the national security and intelligence realm, Big Data is more than a new trend; it is a core competency.Learn More -
Online Ecosystem
The collection, use and sharing of Big Data present complex and constantly evolving challenges for companies throughout the online ecosystem, including social networks, cloud providers, search engines, online advertising networks, mobile application providers, content-streaming services and software developers. Whether they are global behemoths or tiny startups, all online companies must grapple with a constellation of interrelated, data-centric issues that go far beyond ensuring customer privacy and securing data from cyber threats. These issues include negotiating appropriate data ownership and licensing agreements, establishing and enforcing intellectual property rights, complying with international data transfer prohibitions and data localization requirements, navigating thorny antitrust issues, responding to data incidents and other crises, and addressing concerns raised by policymakers and consumer advocates about data processing. Successfully navigating these challenges is essential to success in an increasingly competitive online marketplace.Learn More -
Retail
Today's retail industry has evolved into a multi-channel shopping experience. The collection of data through new inputs—from online tracking to video analytics to mobile location tracking—makes it possible for retailers to glean deep insights about customers and prospects, and to reach them with targeted offers based on their likely affinity for specific products. And Big Data has many other applications, such as prediction of demand and optimization of inventory. At the same time, collection, analysis and monetization of Big Data present a multitude of legal and other challenges for retailers.Learn More
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Financial institutions engaged in analytics and data mining
We are advising a number of financial institutions on Big Data analytics and data mining based on the behavior of consumers, small businesses and corporations. We help global banks, large and small investment advisors, insurance companies, and many other clients identify and implement lawful ways to draw insights from the data that they collect themselves or that they obtain from data brokers and other third-party data sources. Challenges in this space include laws with respect to privacy and cybersecurity, consumer protection, and securities/insider trading (e.g., Rule 10b-5), as well as questions of contractual obligations, industry-adopted regimes (such as rules imposed by credit card companies), and potentially negative public-relations impacts. -
Connected cars
IP/data ownership, consumer protection and public-relations considerations with respect to data collected by modern cars. This includes potentially sensitive information, such as real-time location data and driving telemetry/behavioral data. In one such project, we provided guidance on how to improve an industry-wide self-regulatory regime developed to address these Big Data issues in a comprehensive way that was palatable to the industry, regulators and consumer advocates. Likewise, we have provided advice about services and devices that are integrated with automobiles that also collect information (GPS-integrated information systems, in-dash browsers, sound systems, monitoring devices supplied by insurance companies, etc.). -
Online companies, data brokers and others grappling with antitrust issues
We are closely following and advising our clients on the recent interest of legislators and regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission, the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office, in the antitrust implications of companies holding large amounts of data. This issue is of increasing concern to data brokers and many of our clients in the online ecosystem, including social networks, mobile app developers, search engines and online advertising technology providers. We counsel these and other clients on a range of matters, such as evolving legislative proposals and developments, merger filings and regulatory approvals, and Big Data-related investigations by authorities for potential abuse of market power. -
Electronics and equipment manufacturers navigating the Internet of Things
Mobile devices, televisions, home speakers, thermostats, wearables and even refrigerators are collecting significant amounts of data about consumers and how they behave—not just out in the world, but also in the privacy of their own homes. And much of this data is sensitive, such as health information, real-time location data, video programming watched, individual voiceprints and exercise habits. What can be collected, how it can be used and who it can be shared with is subject to multiple legal regimes, contractual obligations, public-relations concerns, data security considerations, and a wide variety of other factors. We counsel, and advocate for, electronics and equipment manufacturers and other Internet-of-Things clients on all of these issues. We also assist clients seeking patents and other IP protections for innovations related to the Internet of Things, including integrated circuits, computer chips, wearables, and a plethora of consumer devices and components of such devices. -
Energy producers and utilities
We help a variety of energy producers and utilities address the challenges of Big Data and leverage it to their advantage. We have counseled such clients through serious data breaches and data security missteps, as well as the potential regulatory and public-relations fallout from such incidents. We also advise utilities about their mining of Big Data to detect electricity theft, including illegal connections, unbilled consumption and non-payment. We also are helping clients use Big Data to detect revenues lost from transmission and distribution inefficiencies. Our substantial experience with and understanding of the energy industry is essential to this work, given the unique legal issues that arise in this highly regulated space, including requirements and standards with respect to testing, reporting, recordkeeping, reliability and financial disclosures. -
Technology companies entering into data-centric transactions and licensing agreements
Increasingly, agreements in the technology transactions and licensing space involve one or both parties receiving access to some large set of data, either from the other party or its end users. Such deals involve a range of privacy and data security issues, as well as the fundamentally important issue of what rights each party will have to exploit the data being collected. For example, we represent software company clients with machine learning/data analytics Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings encountering conflicts between their contractual obligations and their desire to use client-supplied data to improve the performance of their predictive models for the benefit of all of their customers generally. We also regularly draft data licensing agreements, public-facing website terms of service, and other service agreements for a range of companies whose business models are focused on collecting data and/or exploiting it. -
Companies and government entities negotiating international trade deals
A number of recent trade negotiations (including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) have included important provisions on data localization, data transfer and data use. Indeed, Big Data issues have been key sticking points in such deals because the United States and various foreign countries have quite different views concerning data protection. We have helped different clients lobby and negotiate such Big Data issues in the context of trade agreements.