I'm an attorney based in Washington, DC. I founded Lexero Law in 2007. My practice primarily concentrates in Intellectual Property and Information Technology matters.
I have appeared in some of the most prominent courts in the country, and I've been quoted or featured in major media outlets throughout my career. The law in these areas is complex and still largely unwritten.
Practice
- Lead counsel in more than three hundred civil litigations.
- First chair in jury and bench trials in state and federal court.
- More than one hundred fifty fact and expert depositions taken or defended.
- Class counsel in data breach litigation, including multidistrict matters.
- Appellate practice in the Fourth, Sixth, and Tenth Circuits, the D.C. Court of Appeals, and the Maryland appellate courts.
- Practice before the USPTO in trademark prosecution, and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in oppositions and cancellations.
Representative Matters
A selection from more than three hundred civil litigations. The full list is available on request.
Class Actions and Data Breach
I serve as class counsel in data breach litigation, including multidistrict matters. Most matters involve complex cybersecurity issues.
D.C. App.
French v. DataNet
Representation of a purported class against the information technology contractor that stored District of Columbia voter registration records, including appellate proceedings.
Circuit Ct.
Turner v. Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation
Healthcare data breach class action.
Ryan v. Capital Asset Management Group, Inc.
Data breach class action.
Roane v. GRMC, Inc.
Data breach class action.
D.C. App.
Moore v. District of Columbia
Class action arising from a government data breach, addressing whether a public entity's cybersecurity obligations are discretionary or ministerial for purposes of sovereign immunity.
Trademark, Trade Dress, and Domain Names
Trademark, trade dress, and domain name rights are commercial infrastructure. Disputes over them decide who trades under a given name and who customers find when they go looking.
E.D. Va.
Aardwolf Industries LLC v. Abaco Machines, Inc.
Trademark, trade dress, copyright, and domain name litigation for the same client across three actions in two districts, including Aardwolf LLC v. Aardwolf Industries (C.D. Cal.) and Aardwolf Industries LLC v. Aardwolf-USA.com (E.D. Va.).
N.D. Ga.
Hudson v. Nu Pagamentos S.A.
Trademark and domain name dispute against a multi-billion dollar financial institution litigating on two fronts.
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya v. Miski
Domain name litigation brought by the Libyan government, with the revolution occurring mid-case and unsettling the question of who could speak for the plaintiff.
E.D. Va.
Spy Dialer, Inc. v. Reya, LLC
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, trademark, and domain name matters for the same client on two fronts.
Copyright
Copyright work on both sides of the docket: asserting rights in private material that was disclosed without permission, and defending individuals named in high-volume enforcement campaigns.
D.C. Super.
D.C. App.
Roe v. Bernabei & Wachtel PLLC
Plaintiff-side copyright and privacy litigation arising from the unauthorized use and disclosure of private material, pursued on parallel federal and District tracks and through appeal.
districts
Defense of individuals in mass BitTorrent copyright actions
Representing individuals identified through subpoenas to internet service providers in early mass-joinder copyright litigation.
Appellate
Appellate courts shape the law that trial courts apply. The work is narrower than trial practice and the consequences reach further.
2019
Hately v. Watts, 917 F.3d 770
For the appellant. The Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded, holding as a matter of first impression that previously opened emails stored by a web-based service remain in electronic storage protected by the Stored Communications Act. Companion district court litigation, Hately v. Torrenzano (E.D. Va.), raised related Stored Communications Act and privacy claims.
2008
Portuguese American Leadership Council of the United States, Inc. v. Investors' Alert, Inc., 956 A.2d 671
For the appellant. The D.C. Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, holding that a private cause of action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act may be brought in Superior Court without enabling legislation by the Council of the District of Columbia.
2015
Campinha-Bacote v. Hudson, 627 F. App'x 508
For the appellee in a copyright action. Affirmed on lack of personal jurisdiction.
Education and Admissions
Education
Juris Doctor, The George Washington University Law School
B.A., University of Maryland, College Park — Government & Politics; Sociology
Bar Admissions
District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia
Federal Courts
Admitted to practice before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits, and to multiple U.S. District Courts. Admitted pro hac vice in federal district courts across more than twenty states.
While in law school I brought a case against a commercial emailer under Maryland's Commercial E-Mail Act, argued that federal law did not preempt it, and won on appeal. The Maryland Attorney General and the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association filed amicus briefs supporting our position.
Press and Commentary
Some of my interviews, on-air appearances, and quoted commentary.
- 2012The New York Times — In Texas, Political Chicanery Finds a Home on the Web
- 2012USA Today — Ex-employee sued over keeping Twitter account
- 2011CNN Money — 50,000 BitTorrent users sued for alleged illegal downloads
- 2008Forbes — Web Sales Tax Looms
- 2013Bloomberg News — on a domain name ruling
- 2015Fox News Channel — federal trademark debate
- 2013Fox News Channel — trademark and religion
- 2018Fox 5 Morning News, Washington, D.C. — on crowdfunding donations
- 2011The National Law Journal — on the Libya domain name case
- 2023Law360 — Drywall Co. Can't 'Backdoor' Purple TM Rights, Jury Hears
- 2014Courthouse News Service
- 2014Yahoo News — on image ownership and privacy
- 2017Sophos News — on copyright liability within a household
- 2013China Network Television — on cybersecurity regulation
- 2012Cosmopolitan Magazine — on digital privacy
Publications
- 2023Tussles Over Tacos on Tuesday — Legal Industry Reviews
- 2023Long-Term Domain Name Registrants Under Fire — Legal Industry Reviews
- 2023Practice Area News — Intellectual Property — Legal Industry Reviews
- 2007Taxing the Internet: Analyzing the States' Plan to Derive Online Sales Revenue — Journal of State Taxation
- 2005Electronic Privacy Rights: Communal, Private, and Public Civil Enforcement — Class Action Reports, Thomson-West
- 2002New Channels in the River: An Analysis of African American Faith-Based Community Engagement — Kettering Foundation, with David Bositis
- 2001Considering Alternative Voting Systems for More Equal Minority Representation — Focus Magazine
Speaking and Testimony
- 2022Role of Local Courts For Respondents After Failed UDRP Complaints — Internet Law Leadership Summit
- 2019Developments in Case Law and Litigation Strategy Under the Stored Communications Act — Internet Law Leadership Summit
- 2016FTC Native Advertising Rules and Regulations — Internet Law Leadership Summit
- 2010The Tax Man Cometh (Or Not) — Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition
- 2008Testimony on the District of Columbia Spam Deterrence Act — D.C. Council Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs
- 2007Escaping the Web: How to Recognize and Handle the Dark Side of Technology — Maryland State Bar Association Solo Conference
Service and Beyond the Practice
- 2025Bike MS — rode 100 miles and raised funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
- 2024Appellate argument competition judge — University of Maryland, College Park
- 2024Election protection volunteer — We The People, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- 2022Estate Planning in the Digital Age — Capitol Hill United Methodist Church
- OngoingRepresentation of individual clients on a pro bono basis across numerous matters since 2007
Contact
Professional inquiries are handled through Lexero Law.