Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Kaye Scholer's Technology and Competition Practice Group provides a wide range of services to companies that operate in the New Economy.

New technologies increasingly affect relationships with partners, customers, and competitors. At the same time, a rapidly evolving legal and regulatory landscape is rewriting the "rules of the game." This new environment demands an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving. Our Technology and Competition practice accordingly includes attorneys with experience in, among other areas, antitrust, e-commerce, consumer protection, internet privacy, unfair competition, copyright, patent, trademark, and technology licensing. Most attorneys in Technology and Competition practice in multiple fields.

The Washington, DC-based Technology and Competition practice includes attorneys in our Los Angeles and New York offices and in our e-commerce, antitrust, and intellectual property practices. Clients are able to draw on the experience of each group and each office in building successful legal strategies.

The Cutting Edge Of The High Tech Economy

Attorneys in our practice participate in matters at the High Tech Economy's leading edge, including:

High Technology and Competition Law
We counsel B2B electronic marketplaces regarding compliance with United States and European antitrust laws, advise clients on antitrust issues in licensing intellectual property, litigate high-tech antitrust and Internet-related unfair competition cases, and represent companies in technology fields in matters before the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.

Internet Privacy and Consumer Protection
In conjunction with our e-commerce attorneys, we assist companies in developing and defending Internet privacy policies against legal challenge, represent individuals and entities in litigation involving Internet message boards, and counsel companies on regulatory issues relating to Internet marketing, including Internet promotions and sweepstakes. We have also represented clients before Congress on legislation that would regulate the use of electronic monitoring in the workplace.

Intellectual Property Counseling and Litigation
We represent clients in intellectual property matters as diverse as online trademark disputes and biotechnology patent cases, and we successfully litigated one of the first anticybersquatting cases. Working with our e-commerce lawyers, we advise clients on Internet domain name issues, and provide a wide-range of services for clients involving technology-related copyright and trademark issues.

Leaders In The Field

Our Technology and Competition practice includes former senior officials at the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the United States Senate, the New York Attorney General's Office, and the advisory board of the Patent and Trademark Office. We are also active participants in the technology community and in organizations devoted to the role of law and regulation in technology markets. Our attorneys are members of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the American Bar Association's Antitrust and Intellectual Property Sections, the United States Council for International Business, and the International Trademark Association.

A Dedication To Excellence

Our Technology and Competition lawyers carry forward Kaye Scholer's dedication to legal scholarship. We write and lecture frequently on the impact of high technology on business and the law. We have written and given presentations on comparative approaches to United States and European Internet regulation, the role of competition policy in high tech marketplaces, the legal and business issues presented by B2B marketplaces, anti-cybersquatting legislation, and the protection of trademarks in the Internet age.

Kaye Scholer is committed to fostering diversity in a positive and supportive work environment. We firmly believe that a diverse group of lawyers, including differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or any other underrepresented status in the legal community, increases the value of our law firm, strengthens our firm's ability to attract talented individuals, and enhances our ability to retain and serve our clients.

Our commitment to cultivate and maintain a diverse workforce remains at the core of our recruiting, retention and promotion efforts as we strive to maintain a firm culture that taps into the potential of every Kaye Scholer employee.

The Diversity and Recruiting Committees work together, recruiting at job fairs such as the BLSA Northeast Job Fair and the DuPont Minority Job Fair. We conduct on-campus interviews at law schools, and we actively seek out diverse candidates at every school. Kaye Scholer is an original signatory to the Statement of Goals of New York Law Firms and Corporate Legal Departments for Increasing Minority Hiring, Retention and Promotion, and we have surpassed the goals in each of the years of their existence. We are also an original signatory to the Statement of Goals of New York Law Firms and Corporate Legal Departments for the Retention and Promotion of Women, and we have participated in the City Bar Fellowship Program since its inception.

Kaye Scholer was the recipient of the 2006 "Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association Law Firm Diversity Award" at the 26th Annual Conference of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA). The "Conference Chairs' Welcome," published in the "Conference Journal" distributed to all attendees, said about Kaye Scholer: "Our Law Firm Diversity Award recipient this year is the law firm of Kaye Scholer, LLP. With offices from New York to Shanghai, and points in between, this firm has made significant contributions to the entertainment legal community. We acknowledge Kaye Scholer for being a consistent supporter of BESLA and its programs, a corporate sponsor of BESLA's conferences, and for its continuous efforts in the areas of diversification by recruiting and hiring qualified minority professionals, including in particular, members of this organization."

Our partners' commitment to diversity extends beyond the firm. Sheila Boston, a partner in Kaye Scholer's Litigation Department, was named the Chair of the Committee on Recruitment and Retention of Lawyers, a committee devoted to enhance diversity in the profession at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. This special committee is charged with encouraging the hiring, retention and promotion of professionals from all walks of life in New York law firms and corporate legal departments. All of us at Kaye Scholer take great pride in her appointment, and we pledge our full support to the work of her committee in this important area.

Last year Kaye Scholer entered into a partnership with the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice. Kaye Scholer attorneys have coached the school's mock trial team in a state competition, conducted a mock labor negotiation with the students, and judged several moot court competitions at the school. Next year we will initiate a mentor program.

Other organizations in which our partners are involved include the Asian American Bar Association of New York, Committee 504 (Minorities and Women in the Profession) of the ABA's Intellectual Property Law Section, Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal Defense & Education Fund, Inwood House, Just One Break, National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), American Bar Association's Section of Litigation's Women In Products Liability (WIPL), National Hispanic Bar Association, and Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA).

We are proud to have received several awards recognizing our commitment to offering equal employment opportunities to all.

Diversity Statement from Managing Partner

At Kaye Scholer LLP we are proud of our commitment to diversity and equal opportunity. We work actively to foster an inclusive work environment, support minority-owned vendors and enrich our firm's culture through our diversity and inclusion initiatives for lawyers and staff.

The firm's commitment to diversity and equal opportunity is reflected in its mission to attract, retain, and advance a diverse group of lawyers and staff. Kaye Scholer is home to individuals from varied cultural, educational, religious and ethnic backgrounds, making it a vibrant and engaging community. We strongly believe that promoting diversity in background and perspective strengthens our entire firm.

At Kaye Scholer, we recognize that diversity among our professionals is a necessity if we are to best serve the needs of our increasingly diverse clientele. Kaye Scholer enthusiastically supports programs designed to ensure that our own makeup adequately reflects the growing ranks of diversity in business today. Our commitment begins early, when we urge summer associates to meet with more senior lawyers to develop enduring mentoring relationships. Our affinity group programs continue to support our attorneys as they develop in their careers. Kaye Scholer has an active Diversity Committee consisting of approximately thirty attorneys of all levels of seniority, including partners, counsel, senior attorneys and associates. Working through various subcommittees, the members of the Diversity Committee assist in attracting and hiring a diverse class of attorneys, promote community-building, and provide training as well as host events that promote awareness of diversity issues.

We at Kaye Scholer are committed to fostering and maintaining an inclusive work environment where individual differences among us are respected, valued and recognized as a source of strength of the firm. We believe that offering diverse perspectives to our clients enhances our counsel and sparks intellectual energy within the firm.

Barry Willner
Managing Partner

Diversity Training

All Kaye Scholer lawyers participate in the Firm's mandatory diversity training program. Diversity training sessions are composed of a combination of partners, counsel and associates from various departments in the Firm. Through discussion, videos and case studies, the program enables participants to gain insight into the different viewpoints and workplace challenges of both their peers and others.

Mentoring Program

In 2008, the Firm rolled out a revised mentoring program designed to assist associates' career development and enhance their experience at the Firm. Highlights of the program are:

• all associates are paired with mentors for a period of at least two years at a time
• associates are encouraged to select rather than be assigned mentors
• virtually all mentor/mentee communications are confidential

In addition, there are four Program Coordinators who monitor the mentoring relationships to ensure that mentors and mentees are meeting in a timely fashion, to ensure that the mentor-mentee pairings are appropriate and to evaluate the extent to which the program is functioning successfully.

Ombuds Program

Recently, the Diversity Committee established an Ombuds Program, a confidential resource for all attorneys. The Ombuds Representatives are neutral confidants who advocate not for a specific individual, but for equity, fair process and compliance with firm policy and procedure. The program was established with a special emphasis on issues concerning women, minorities, sexual orientation and religion. The Ombuds Representatives are available, however, to assist all attorneys in resolving work-related concerns in an informal, confidential and impartial manner. The primary goal of the program is to improve the overall working environment at Kaye Scholer.

Affinity Groups

The Firm recognizes the importance of active affinity groups for lawyers who share common interests or backgrounds. With the Firm's support, our attorneys have voluntarily formed African American, Latino, Asian, Women and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) affinity groups. Participation in these affinity groups accelerates professional development, provides additional mentoring opportunities and increases networking opportunities. 

Diversity Events

Kaye Scholer is a proud participant and sponsor of a wide range of programs that celebrate and promote diversity in the legal community. The Firm's Diversity Committee believes that exposure to diverse speakers and points of view promotes professional development and growth. The Committee has hosted several speakers, panel discussions and movie nights. Recent speakers include Clarence B. Jones, a speech writer and attorney for Martin Luther King Jr., as well as lawyers from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF), the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) and from Lambda Legal.

Movie nights have become a tradition at the Firm. The Diversity Committee arranges screenings of thought-provoking films such as "Crash" and "The Namesake." The movie is followed by a lively and stimulating discussion of the diversity and community issues that the film addresses.