Technology Law Section Annual Report to the Bar (2010-2011)

Annual Report to the State Bar of Georgia (2010-2011) I. Continuing Legal Education. High quality continuing legal education programs continued to be a signature of the Technology Law Section in 2010-2011. The Section sponsored its annual flagship event, the Technology Law Institute on October 22- “2010: A Tech Odyssey.” The event explored critical challenges for the world today--the economy, environment, and healthcare. The goal of the conference was to enable lawyers to make an impact and provide valuable services to their clients in these important areas. This year was the first year the Institute was simulcast to the State Bar office in Savannah. The event attracted approximately 60 paid attendees. The faculty consisted of contributors from premiere organizations such as AT&T, Emory University, Georgia Solar Energy Association, and McKesson. Participating law firms included Alston & Bird, FSB FisherBroyles, Hunton & Williams, and Morris, Manning & Martin.

The Section continued to offer smaller luncheon programs with CLE credit, including:

• Development, Licensing and Distribution of Mobile Applications
• Annual Technology Law Update on State and Federal Law
• Digital Media Matters: Attorney Advertising and Professional Guidelines

II. Website Enhancements. The Technology Law Section added numerous features to its website (www.technologybar.org) during the 2010-2011 year, including:

• Integration of the Bar’s Facebook Page to allow members to view Bar updates within the Section’s website
• Enhanced event pages with maps, driving directions, and online registration through the Bar’s membership portal
• Calendar page featuring upcoming events and annual calendars
• Redesigned logo
• Incorporation of the Section’s Twitter account to provided updates and reminders to members
• History page highlighting Section leaders for the past 25 years
• Incorporation of RSS feeds to incorporate news from Section members’ websites
• Ability for users to post comments on journal articles and share articles with social media sites
• Microsite for the Technology Law Institute (www.technologybar.org/tli2010) including agenda, speaker bios, sponsors, and event details

III. Participation by Section Members. This year the Section continued to increase participation of its members in Section activities. The Section hosted a networking event at Ri Ra Pub. Many current and prospective members attended in addition to several law students from area law schools. The Section has renewed its Law School Liaison position and continues to support student member participation in the Section.

IV. Community Involvement. During 2010-2011, the Technology Law Section continued to actively support important community development efforts. As in past years, the Section made a donation from the proceeds of the Technology Law Institute to Computers for Youth. Computers for Youth has been a long-time beneficiary of the Technology Law Section’s financial support. Computers for Youth is dedicated to increasing the availability of information technology to lower income households by providing donated computers to these families. The Section also made a donation to Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta and established an annual goal for Section members to complete projects for this organization. Pro Bono Partnership provided a training session for attendees of the Technology Law Institute.

Respectfully Submitted,

Stephen Combs

Section Chair

Technology Law Section

**Technology Law Section Annual Report to the Bar (2009-2010)

I. Continuing Legal Education. High quality continuing legal education programs continued to be a signature of the Technology Law Section in 2009-2010. The Section sponsored its annual flagship event, the daylong Technology Law Institute, on October 15, 2009. The event attracted approximately 100 paid attendees. The faculty consisted of contributors from premiere corporations such as Home Depot, Equifax and Invesco. Participating law firms included Alston & Bird, Troutman Sanders, Hunton Williams, The GigaLaw Firm and FSB Legal. In addition to the Technology Law Institute, the Section continued to offer smaller luncheon programs with CLE credit. On June 10, 2009, Section Members Stephen Combs and Jim Harvey presented a survey of social networking legal issues entitled, “Digging the Del.icio.us Facebook Twitter.” The winter program focused on the legal issues of bringing a startup venture from idea to commercial success. The presentation was made by Emory Law School Professor Anne Rector and Georgia Tech Professor Margi Berbari both from the TI:GER program. The spring program took place on March 30, 2010. Todd McClelland of Alston & Bird presented a program on the legal issues associated with Cloud Computing.

II. New Participation by Section Members. This year the Section put serious effort towards increasing participation in the Section. On May 11, 2009, the Section hosted a networking event at Turner Field which turned out to be one of the longest and most exciting games of the year. Many members that had never participated in the past came for the reception, game watching and networking. Building upon the success of the Braves event, the Section also hosted a Section Happy Hour at Gordon Biersch on October 8, 2009. Not only were current members invited, but also many new associates who had not yet joined the section.

III. New Initiatives. During 2009-2010, the Executive Committee of the Technology Law Section continued to look for new ways to increase membership and benefits to Section members. The Section completed the following initiatives in 2009-2010:

• Added a “Law School Liaison” position to the Executive Committee. This member is a law student who publicizes Section events to the Georgia law schools in an effort to generate future membership in the Section.
• Upgradedthe Section website to handle “push notifications” to members of upcoming events. When an event is posted on the website, members who subscribe will be alerted not only of the date, but the details of the event. From there, users are only a mouse-click away from secure on-line registration for the event. The site also provides links to iTunes where many Section events have been recorded as podcasts

IV. Community Involvement. During 2009-2010, the Technology Law Section continued to actively support important community development efforts. As in past years, the Section continued to make a donation from the proceeds of the Technology Law Institute to Computers for Youth. Computers for Youth (formerly, Tech Corps Georgia) has been a long-time beneficiary of the Technology Law Section’s financial support. Computers for Youth is dedicated to increasing the availability of information technology to lower income households by providing donated computers to these families. This fiscal year, the Section went beyond financial support. On November 14, 2009, Section members volunteered their day at the Computers For Youth Family Workshop. Section members spent the day setting up and instructing families on how to use a personal computer. At the conclusion of the training, deserving families got to leave with the computer that they trained on.

Respectfully Submitted,

W. Charles “Chuck” Ross Section Chair Technology Law Section

**Technology Law Section Annual Report to the Bar (2008-2009)

I. Continuing Legal Education. High quality continuing legal education programs continued to be a signature of the Technology Law Section in 2008-2009. The Section sponsored its annual flagship event, the daylong Technology Law Institute, on October 16, 2008. The event attracted approximately 100 paid attendees. The faculty consisted of contributors from lawyers at premiere corporations such as Cox Communication, Southern Company, ING, ARRIS Group, and Allstate. Participating law firms included Troutman Sanders; Smith, Gambrell & Russell; Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore; Morris, Manning & Martin; and King & Spalding. The keynote speaker was Dr. Diane Lewis from the National Nanotechnology Manufacturing Center, a nationally recognized leader in nanotechnology. In addition to the Technology Law Institute, the Section continued to offer smaller luncheon programs. The fall program was a joint presentation with the Atlanta Bar’s Intellectual Property Law Section on “Internet Advertising Legal Issues.” The presentation was lead by Stephen Combs, Discovery/HowStuffWorks.com and Kari Mueller, Turner Broadcasting System. The Section’s winter program was presented by Mari Myer of Friend, Hudak, & Harris on “Drafting and Enforcing NDAs and Covenants Not to Solicit.” II. The Georgia Journal of Technology Law. The Section also provides a valuable resource to its members in the form of The Georgia Journal of Technology Law. Stephen Combs and Sandra Gardiner served as co-editors for the 2008-2009 year. The Journal is filled with informative, scholarly articles that keep Section members up-to-date on the latest developments in technology law, as well as Section activities. It is distributed in an attractive, colorful, and completely web-based format. Past editions are archived on the Section’s website.

III. New Participation by Section Members. This year the Section renewed its goals to increase participation in the Section across Georgia and with different members of the Bar. The Section has had prior members return to participate on the Executive Committee. Current plans also include sponsoring events with law schools to mentor and provide information to prospective attorneys.

IV. New Initiatives. In fiscal year 2008-2009, the Executive Committee of the Technology Law Section continued to look for new ways to increase benefits to Section members. The Section completed the following initiatives in 2008-2009:

• Secured nationally recognized experts from outside of Atlanta for the Technology Law Institute, making it one of the premier CLE programs of its kind in the United States
• Implemented new website features including online event registration, RSS feeds, subscribe by email, video/audio podcasts, commenting on articles, and search capabilities.
• Enhancements to the website enabled the Section to host approximately 8 hours of video from the Technology Law Institute. This presentation and future presentations of the Section will be archived and available to people across the Internet.

IV. Community Involvement. In fiscal year 2008-2009, the Technology Law Section continued to actively support important community development efforts, through its annual financial contribution to a worthy non-profit. In October 2008, the Section donated approximately $1,000 in proceeds from the Technology Law Institute to Computers for Youth. Computers for Youth (formerly, Tech Corps Georgia) has been a long-time beneficiary of the Technology Law Section’s financial support. Computers for Youth is dedicated to increasing the availability of information technology to lower income households. In addition, the Section continued to encourage its members to volunteer pro bono legal services to non-profits with particular needs in the area of technology. The Section includes volunteer opportunities on its website. This year’s Technology Law Institute included a presentation on the “Environmental Friendly Law Firm.”

Gaines Carter Section Chair, 2008-2009 Technology Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia