Anthony Pierce
Anthony PierceThe explosive growth of Internet capabilities and electronic commerce has revolutionized the way in which business is conducted. As mature and start up internet companies continue to flourish, many practitioners are increasingly adding their legal expertise to the cyberspace revolution. Anthony T. Pierce, a partner and member of the litigation and technology practice group at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P. in Washington D.C., is such a lawyer. Pierce's e-commerce clients include America Online Inc., an industry leader in the high-technology field. He represents the company in commercial litigation matters involving vendors and e-business transactions as well as employment cases.
Additionally, Pierce represents several start-up, minority-owned companies, such as MyGovonline.com and GlobalExpand.com. MyGovonline.com is an e-government portal that was started by two Howard University graduates who help constituents conduct internet-based transactions with local municipalities. And GlobalExpand.com, an internet-based matchmaking resource for medium sized Spanish and Latin American companies who are interested in doing business in the United States.
Pierce says there are several key attributes to effectively represent an Internet company. "A lawyer who is effective at representing an e-business," Pierce explains, "has to have an understanding of the uniqueness of the e-business environment and the client's goals… coupled with an ability to provide legal solutions that are as creative and innovative as [the] business environment demands."
"Large firms, like Akin, Gump, (Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.) that are willing to adapt to that environment are successful because we can provide a complete range of legal services with a consistent team of lawyers devoted to a particular e-business client. The ability to offer a full-range of legal services to solve any technology industry legal problem is a tremendous asset," says Pierce.
Pierce says his secret to successfully representing mature and start-up Internet companies is being "technologically savvy"—he frequently checks his e-mail, carries his lap-top with him everywhere and keeps abreast of the latest litigation technology tools, including trial presentation and document management software. "All tech companies expect you to have this information," Pierce says. "Being on the cutting edge of technology makes you very efficient, and that reduces the costs to the clients, which is very important."
Pierce adds, an attorney who represents internet companies must not only understand the client's business, but must be able to move as quickly as the demands of cyberspace. "E-businesses are often run by younger entrepreneurial businesspeople who, because of the fast-paced nature of their business, demand quick high-quality solutions to legal problems. This calls for attorneys who place a special emphasis on understanding the unique business environment in which e-businesses operate [and who can]…creatively develop solutions to complex legal problems generated in that environment."
"If my client has a domain name dispute, I need to be able to resolve it as quickly as I can," Pierce explains. "These business operate in terms of months, not years."
Pierce says that attorneys should not shy away from marketing to e-businesses simply because they may lack an intellectual property background. "There is no such thing as a tech lawyer," Pierce says. "There are lawyers who are very good at what e-commerce businesses have to do to succeed. A lawyer or law firm can be multi-disciplined…What is important is the ability to understand the company's needs to help you sell yourself."
"The industry is made up of people who are creative and innovative [and] you want to be this way as well," Pierce continued. "Good lawyering is good lawyering [a lawyer can be successful] if you understand your client's business, and move at the speed that they move in.
Pierce also points that since many start-ups do not have a general counsel, a lawyer or law firm must "go where they are."
"Assuming that a firm has that core competency," Pierce says, "you then identify what companies you can provide those skills to and promote them through article writing, speaking at seminars, networking and looking for opportunities to add value." Pierce, for example, has published articles in Metropolitan Corporate Counsel Magazine, Corporate Law Weekly, New York Law Journal, and Employment Law Strategist. He is also involved in the technology business economic development efforts for the District of Columbia and for the Washington Board of Trade, and also serves on the Government Relations Committee of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, an organization that Akin, Gump is a member of.
Pierce also says that a lawyer or law firm should be willing to work with the particular needs of an internet start up. Akin, Gump, for example, "defer[s] payment of legal fees for certain e-business start-ups who are in need of corporate legal work as they locate initial financing in return for equity," Pierce says. "We also link entrepreneurs with our extensive venture capital and other financing resources throughout the country. We even have our own investment fund. In addition, Akin Gump participates in incubator programs where emerging companies are provided shared office space, business services, and networking opportunities to assist in the growth of their business…the key is to be a lawyer that can adapt to the nature of the e-business environment with innovative ways to deliver legal services."
Pierce adds that "the best marketing, though, is establishing a record of legal success and letting people know about it. As with most things in life, personal relationships matter and hence networking plays the same role that it plays in any marketing effort."
Peter Chen
Peter Chen
Other attorneys are joining the e-commerce revolution by taking the ultimate plunge and going in-house. Peter Chen, a registered patent attorney and former partner at the Silicon Valley law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, recently joined Keen.com as the start-up's first Vice President and General Counsel. Armed with over 16 years of legal expertise, Chen is responsible for the legal affairs of the 60-employee San Francisco based internet company which was launched last November and which has already raised over $70 million from key investors. Keen.com is the internet's first "Live Answer Community," a website that uses the internet to facilitate telephone calls between its user-members so that those who use the site and have a need for answers to their specific questions (which may run the gamut from choosing the best mutual fund to discussing shared sports interests) can quickly be connected to each other. Keen.com also permits its users to charge a per-minute fee for talking on the telephone, thus enabling those with expertise in a host of areas to hang a virtual shingle on its website.
While Chen is primarily engaged in the practice of intellectual property, corporate practice, and technology-based transactions, he cheerfully adds that his duties as a new general counsel are multi-dimensional. "No job is too small," Chen explains, "fortunately, I came from a firm that had a 'roll-up-your-sleeves' kind of mentality." Chen adds that his law firm experience is invaluable to his current position and helped make his foray into the world of e-commerce much easier.
Moreover, while Chen believes that it is useful to have some experience in intellectual property, general corporate practice, and technology-based transactions when working with internet companies, he says that "there is no set criteria for the ideal general counsel." Chen for instance, specialized in intellectual property issues at Wilson, Sonsini, including litigation, counseling, and transactional matters involving patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, and domain name issues for the firm's clients, which included Internet startups and Fortune 100 companies. Chen has also published several articles on intellectual property issues in publications such as Upside, Electronic News and Corporate Counsel Monthly; serves on the Advisory Boards of SuperKids Educational Software Review and The Cyberspace Lawyer; and, frequently lectures on intellectual property issues.
Chen stressed the importance of networking for lawyers who are considering a move in-house. "For me, it was a matter of networking with people with whom I had become acquainted with over the years," he says. "I had built up a fairly decent list of contacts."
Chen says that an attorney considering a move in-house should also realize that "there is some element of risk tolerance involved in such a decision [in that] law firms are often fairly conservative institutions, more so than start-up companies." He adds that career stability should not really be a concern because "it seems that in today's economy, if you don't produce, you may not have a lot of stability, regardless of who you're working for."
Chen adds that the ideal attributes of an effective in-house counsel for an internet company are that it is "important to know one's own limitations and to be able to identify and respond to a broad variety of issues." He says that even though some internet companies may appear to be "fairly high energy and youthful," he adds that, "I think startups are by nature imbued with a sense of urgency, regardless of whether the employees are 25 or 65." Chen indicated that if and when he hires outside counsel to work for Keen.com, he will look for practitioners with "substantive expertise—along with the quality of service and depth of understanding of our business."
From the May 2000 issue of Diversity & The Bar®