Edward Copeland is a Shareholder practicing in Butzel Long's New York office. He concentrates his practice on employment matters, media and communications law, and complex litigation. Mr. Copeland represents clients throughout the country in trial and appellate courts.
In the employment field, Mr. Copeland represents a variety of employers ranging from large multinational companies to small local businesses. He regularly represents and counsels employers on the full range of employment matters, including contracts, federal and state discrimination laws, wage and hour laws, ERISA, privacy, and data security issues. Mr. Copeland has a particular expertise in matters involving the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar laws. He often represents employers in the health care industry as well as non-profit corporations. Mr. Copeland has experience representing clients in individual, multi-party, and class actions.
Mr. Copeland also represents clients on media, communications, and technology law matters, including First Amendment and other constitutional issues. He has represented numerous individuals and entities in the entertainment and media fields, including radio stations, authors, publishers, theater companies, television networks, talk show hosts, sign companies, and producers of content. Mr. Copeland represents clients in defamation matters, copyright and intellectual property disputes, media companies' rights to access places and records, and constitutional challenges to regulatory schemes.
Mr. Copeland has extensive experience in litigating challenges to government actions and regulations. He has successfully challenged restrictions on the right to charitable solicitation, the right of groups seeking to advertise in public places, and the regulation of signs and other commercial speech issues. In related areas, Mr. Copeland has successfully represented clients in lawsuits against the federal government. He represented Freedom Rider James Peck in an historic case that established the federal government's duty to intervene to protect individuals exercising their civil rights. Mr. Copeland has represented religious groups and individuals in litigation matters that asserted their rights to exercise their religion against improper burdens or discriminatory practices.
Mr. Copeland also has experience in international extradition matters, representing both individuals and foreign governments. He has represented foreign governments in various disputes in the United States and occasionally abroad. As part of his litigation practice, Mr. Copeland represents clients in complex financial litigation matters.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Copeland served as General Counsel for the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, a public interest law firm that practices in the disability, health, and environmental law fields. He has served as counsel to various civil liberties organizations and has represented various civic and community groups.
Mr. Copeland has been a member of the Board of Directors of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts since 2005. He is currently a member of the Communications and Media Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He has served on various other association committees, including the Federal Courts Committee, the International Law Committee, the Environmental Law Committee, and the Land Use, Planning, and Zoning Committee. Mr. Copeland is also a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, and the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
Mr. Copeland's publications include Grokster and the Future of Digital File Sharing in Delaware Lawyer (Winter 2005/2006). He frequently gives presentations on employment law and issues related to media and intellectual property, including presentations on "Employment Class Actions" and "Starting and Maintaining the Employment Relationship" at the AIG/National Union Employment Law School for Managers in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Newark; and "Challenges in Litigating Trademark and Copyright Infringement Cases" as part of the Intellectual Property Rights Judicial Consultations program sponsored by the United States Department of Commerce for Judges from Southeast Europe.
Mr. Copeland is a graduate of Clark University (B.A., 1975) and of New York University School of Law (J.D., 1978, cum laude, Order of the Coif) where he was an Arthur Garfield Hays Fellow in Civil Liberties. While in law school he was one of the founders of the Public Interest Law Foundation, Inc. He also attended Durham College at the University of Durham in England under the auspices of the Institute for European Studies.
Mr. Copeland is admitted to practice in New York; the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits; and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York.
News
Media Releases
04.24.12, Butzel Long attorney Edward Copeland featured during Lex Mundi Labor and Employment and Employee Benefits and Pension Joint Practice Global Meeting in London
01.05.12, Butzel Long elects shareholders
Publications
Articles, presentations & briefs
03.08.12, Media Law - Recording the Police in Michigan: Protecting Yourself from Arrest in a Post-Occupy World
Memberships
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts - Board of Director (2005 - Present)
American Bar Association of New York - Communications and Media Law Committee
New York State Bar Association
Professional Liability Underwriting Society
International Association of Privacy Professionals
Published Works
"Grokster and the Future of Digital File Sharing", Delaware Lawyer (Winter 2005/2006)
(Resident, New York, N.Y. Office)