A Toolkit for Success: What Brand Lawyers Need to Know

Only available as part of a package

Historically, there were distinct legal teams dealing with different issues facing brands—the trademark team dealing with what a company owns, the marketing legal team dealing with advertising issues, and the regulatory team addressing potential regulatory challenges, and more. As timelines shorten and legal issues blur and overlap, trademark legal teams are transforming to brand legal teams dealing with a myriad of issues, including advertising, copyright, regulatory, and messaging in a socially conscious world.

What tools are needed to be an effective counselor to business? Who delivers the message? How do you work with your creative teams and marketing teams so everyone understands his or her role and responsibilities?

From real-world examples, learn how to face these issues head on—to work effectively across functions, internally and externally, and understand the key role the brand legal team must play in business today.

Topics to be addressed are:
Key advertising and social media legal issues that every trademark counsel should know
Regulatory, collaboration, and design issues when operating in an online world
Data privacy and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) dos and don’ts, including the role of the brand legal team in both avoidance protocols and addressing breaches in real time
And more!

Megan Bannigan

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Megan K. Bannigan is a member of the Litigation and Intellectual Property & Media Groups of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, focusing on trademarks, copyrights, false advertising, rights of publicity, design patents and licensing and other contractual disputes. She represents clients across a range of industries, including consumer products, cosmetics, entertainment, fashion and luxury goods, financial services, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, professional sports and technology. Ms. Bannigan has extensive trial experience, helping to secure an over $20 million jury verdict for client Learning Annex in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, among other matters.

She also has experience representing clients before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the International Trade Commission. Recognized by Managing Intellectual Property’s IP STARS, The Legal 500 and Law360 as a Rising Star, she is known for “translat[ing] complex legal issues into clear pragmatic legal advice.” Ms. Bannigan is also a frequent speaker and panel member for business, legal practice and educational groups across the country and is frequently quoted, mentioned and published in national and international publications, including Bloomberg, Reuters, Managing Intellectual Property, The World Trademark Review, Practical Law, Intellectual Property Magazine, Law360 and The International Trademark Association Bulletin, as a legal authority on trademark and copyright matters. In December 2019, Ms. Bannigan testified as an expert before the United States Senate Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee on the issue of fraudulent trademarks. Ms. Bannigan is also an adjunct professor of Fashion Law at Rutgers School of Law. She previously was a Clinical Visiting Lecturer at Law at Yale Law School, leading the team of students that helped secure the landmark decision in Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding v. Rell, where the Court declared that several features of Connecticut’s system of education, including the formula for distributing funding to school districts, were unconstitutional.

Ms. Bannigan is active in intellectual property-related professional organizations, including the International Trademark Association, for which she spearheaded the development of INTA’s Pro Bono clearinghouse, was a member of the 2019 Presidential Task Force focusing on corporate responsibility and brands for a better society and, in 2017, was awarded the Volunteer Service Award for Advancement of the Association. She is also Chair of the American Bar Association- Intellectual Property Section’s Trademark Litigation Committee, as well as Publications Chair for the Fashion Law Committee, and a member of the New York City Bar IP Council.

Lindsay Donn Mann

Calvin Klein, Inc.

Lindsay Donn Mann, Esq. holds an A.B. from Washington University in St. Louis, a J.D./M.B.A. from Rutgers University, and an L.L.M. in Intellectual Property from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Lindsay joined Warnaco’s legal department in 2012. At that time, Warnaco owned Warner’s, Olga and Nancy Ganz and licensed Chaps, Speedo, Calvin Klein Swimwear, Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein Underwear. PVH acquired Warnaco in 2013 to “unite the house of Calvin”. During her time at PVH, Lindsay worked as Legal Counsel for Calvin Klein, Speedo and Tommy Hilfiger. Since 2015, Lindsay has been 100% focused on Calvin Klein specializing in intellectual property, corporate contracts and regulatory law.

Prior to her fashion industry experience, Lindsay worked as an Associate at Cole Schotz where she was deeply involved in Coca-Cola’s acquisition of Fuze Beverage, Coca-Cola’s investment in ZICO Coconut Water, and Icahn Enterprises' purchase of Atlantic City’s Tropicana Casino and Resort out of bankruptcy. She has also clerked on the federal judiciary for the Honorable Clarence C. Newcomer of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Lindsay currently serves on INTA's Commercialization of Brands Committee.

Austin Phillips

Facebook, Inc.

Austin Phillips practices trademark, copyright, and IP marketing law at Facebook where he manages the Instagram global trademark portfolio, related enforcement disputes, and provides IP and marketing guidance to the business. Before Facebook, Austin was an Associate at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton working in all aspects of trademark law.