Kathleen Porter is an intellectual property and technology partner in the Business Transactions Practice Group, resident in the Boston office, and former chair of the firm's Intellectual Property and Technology Practice Group.

Ms. Porter's practice straddles the areas of intellectual property, trade regulation, and Internet law, and includes import/export control issues, including compliance and enforcement issues, competition, privacy, and data security. She has extensive experience in structuring and negotiating sophisticated commercial transactions, including license, OEM, distribution, manufacturing and development agreements, acquisitions, outsourcing and partnering arrangements, strategic alliances, business opportunities, and joint ventures, including a number of cross-border transactions. Additionally, Ms. Porter regularly advises foreign companies on their entry into the U.S. market. Her clients include precision manufacturing, life science, energy, consumer products, software, Internet and e-commerce, and other technology-driven businesses.

Ms. Porter counsels clients on the development, protection, and commercialization of intellectual property and technology. In particular, she has significant experience with e-commerce and Internet law issues, specifically online contracting, including click-thru and browse-wrap agreements, mobile applications, social media, online advertising, promotions, blogs, testimonials and sweepstakes, terms of use, and electronic signatures; and with online and Internet-related agreements, including website development and hosting agreements and content and other licensing arrangements.

Ms. Porter advises clients on competition and regulatory issues, including price restraints and discrimination, volume discounts, MAP and other pricing programs, territorial and exclusive licensing restrictions, joint buying programs, and other trade association or group activities, consumer protection, promotions, and advertising. She also counsels clients on competition law compliance, including the preparation of competition law premerger filings, and coordinates the preparation of foreign competition law filings.

Ms. Porter is certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Data Privacy Professional/US (CIPP/US). She counsels businesses on the development and implementation of data security and privacy practices to comply with the patchwork of laws and rules applicable to the collection, use, safeguarding, sharing, and transfer of protected or personal data. She regularly structures arrangements with promoters, marketers, website exchanges, and other third parties for the purchase, sale, sharing, and safeguarding of personal data. Ms. Porter prepares and negotiates representations, warranties, and indemnities regarding personal or protected data and privacy and data practices. She also assists clients with privacy audits and works with third party certification organizations to obtain certification of companies’ privacy practices. She guides clients through internal investigations to assess and address notice and other obligations regarding privacy breaches. Ms. Porter often works closely with our litigation attorneys to manage external investigations such as those by federal or state regulators.

Ms. Porter is an editor and contributing author of e-counsel: The Executive's Legal Guide to Electronic Commerce, published by Robinson & Cole. She is a frequent speaker and author on e-commerce, intellectual property, privacy, and data security issues. She is active in trade and privacy focused professional organizations and attends professional, FTC, and state AG-sponsored workshops and programs to keep apprised of trade and privacy initiatives, trends, and legislative agendas as well as behavioral and dynamic marketing and emerging uses of personal data.
 

EDUCATION

—	J.D., cum laude, Western New England University School of Law, Law Review
—	B.A., cum laude, Fitchburg State University, English, Professional Writing Tract

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

—	American Bar Association, Business Section, Cyberspace Law Committee, Past Cochair; E-Commerce Subcommittee; Electronic Contracting Practices Working Group, Past Membership Chair
—	American Bar Association, Business Section, Intellectual Property Committee
—	American Bar Association, Antitrust Section, 2002 to present
—	International Association of Privacy Professionals, 2010 to present
—	Women's Competition Network, 2010 to present
—	CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, Member of Advisory Board on Privacy, 2003
—	Licensing Executives Society

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

—	Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled, Board of Directors, Member of Executive Board

HONORS AND AWARDS

—	Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® as Boston Lawyer of the Year in the area of Information Technology Law for 2013 (Copyright 2012 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC)
—	Certified Information Privacy Professional/US (CIPP/US) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
—	Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Information Technology Law since 2009 (Copyright 2012 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC)