Christopher Wolf

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Christopher Wolf (b. Washington, DC 1954) is an American attorney best known for his work in Internet and privacy law. MSNBC called him "a pioneer in Internet law", reflecting his involvement in early precedent-setting cases. He has written and lectured widely on the subject, including as an adjunct professor of law at Washington & lee University School of Law, and as a lecturer at Stanford University, Harvard University, the University of Chicago, the University of California at Berkeley, Boston University, and Howard University. He is the editor and lead author of the Practising Law Institute (PLI) legal treatise "Proskauer on Privacy" (2006). He also chairs an international consortium of NGO's fighting online hate speech, the International Network Against Cyber-hate (INACH). He also is know for having represented Joseph Wilson and his wife Valerie Plame Wilson during the CIA leak grand jury investigation and in the early stages of their civil litigation against Vice-President Cheney, Karl Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.. Wolf is a partner with the law firm Proskauer Rose LLP in Washington, D.C., which he joined in 1989. For his firm, he handles cases involving electronic privacy, internet and computer security, as well as more traditional litigation cases.

1 Education
2 Interests
3 Involvement with CIA leak grand jury investigation
4 Electronic privacy, computer security, and other internet cases
5 See also
6 External links
- 6.1 Opinion Pieces
- 6.2 Miscellaneous

[edit] Education

Wolf received an undergraduate degree cum laude from Bowdoin College in 1976, and graduated magna cum laude Order of the Coif from Washington & Lee University School of Law in 1980. He was a member of the Washington & Lee Law Review, 1979. he also attended the General Course at the London School of Economics and Political Science (1974-75). Wolf clerked with the Hon. Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., United States District Court, District of Columbia, 1980-1982.

[edit] Interests

Wolf is chairman of the International Network Against Cyber-Hate (INACH) and the Anti-Defamation League's National Committee on the Internet. He chairs the ADL Technology Committee and previously was reginal chair of the Washington, DC ADL Board (1998 - 2002) as well as the national ADL Strategic Planning Committee. His is on the Executive Committees of the National Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, and the Board of Directors of Food & Friends, where he was Board President (1996 -1998). Wolf was the first president of Responsible Electronic Communication Alliance (RECA), an organization started to promote professional standards for online communication and marketing. He is co-chair (with former Clinton Press Secretary Mike McCurry) of Hands Off the Internet, the Internet coalition which lobbies against regulation of high-speed Net access.

An expert on Internet privacy and security, Wolf speaks regularly at international conferences and represents clients in high profile cases. He has spoken in Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Paris, Warsaw, Toronto and Ottawa, and across the United States, on the subject of Internet hate speech He spoke at a Stanford Law School Symposium: Securing Privacy in the Internet Age on March 13, 2004. Wolf addressed a session on "The Nature and Extent Between Racist, Xenophobic and anti-Semitic Propaganda on the Internet and Hate Crimes." in Paris, France June 16, 2004.

[edit] Involvement with CIA leak grand jury investigation

Valerie Plame, a covert CIA agent, was outed by syndicated columnist Robert Novak. Novak mentioned Plame in a column refuting an opinion piece written by Wilson. Wolf, who lives next door to and is friends with the Wilson family, did not know Valerie Wilson was a CIA agent until it was revealed by Novak. Wolf defended the Wilsons in opinion pieces in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and USA Today.

[edit] Electronic privacy, computer security, and other internet cases

Represented Raymen and Hansen, plaintiffs in a four-count lawsuit that halted the distribution of an advertisement and alleged that the use of the couple’s image without permission constituted an invasion of privacy, was libelous, violated their right of publicity and constituted an intentional infliction of emotional distress. This ad had an unauthorized use of the couples wedding picture, and was widely distributed on the internet. Richard M. Raymen and Steven P. Hansen, Plaintiffs v. United Seniors Association, Inc. d/b/a USA Next and Mark Montini, Defendants. The case, considered by many in the legal community to be misguided and legally unsound, was dismissed by both the district court and court of appeals.
Challenged the U.S. Navy in federal court under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act for their improper contact with America Online, McVeigh v. Cohen 1998.
Represented The Washington Post in a challenge to a reporters' use of the Internet, winning a summary judgment.
Represented the recording industry in the first successful lawsuits against online piracy.
Litigated domain name disputes, jurisdictional issues and the limits to online and e-mail marketing.
Trademark law challenge to the use of Google "adwords" for marketing purposes.