Potomac Law is committed to innovation, excellence, and professionalism. Our value stems directly from the talent and commitment of our attorneys who practice law throughout the United States. Our attorneys have outstanding academic credentials and impressive professional experience, with an average of seventeen years at top national firms and/or in-house at major corporations. Clients recognize our attorneys’ skills and creative strategies, as well as their common sense and practical solutions.
Potomac Law is a full-service, national law firm that advises clients on complex legal matters at a fraction of typical industry rates. We use a modern business model that eliminates much of the costly overhead and over-staffing generally associated with large, traditional law firms. Through its innovative approach to law firm management, Potomac Law is able to offer clients exactly what they seek: sophisticated legal advice from knowledgeable attorneys at very attractive rates.
The firm's attorneys are highly responsive and accessible advisors who understand our clients' businesses. With an average tenure of 17 years at the nation's premier law firms and corporations, our attorneys are committed to bringing real-world experience and practical business judgment to the practice of law.
We serve as counsel to clients representing a broad range of industries and developmental phases, from Fortune 500 companies to early-stage startups. Our clients include corporations, venture capital and private equity funds, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and individuals.
Our corporate attorneys provide sophisticated legal advice on the full range of business activities. Agile and experienced at providing knowledgeable counsel, our attorneys advise shareholders and businesses ranging from start up ventures to large multinational corporations, including both public and privately held corporations across a diverse range of industries. For some clients, we function as sole legal counsel, providing critical advice on day-to-day issues and operations, as well as transactional representation. For other clients, we work together with their in-house legal departments, either on discrete areas of the law or as part of a major transaction team. Regardless of the scope or context of our representation, our goal is always to help our clients achieve their business objectives in the most efficient and advantageous manner possible.
Our corporate attorneys bring specialized expertise on a broad spectrum of commercial issues, while coordinating with attorneys across the firm’s other practice groups, when appropriate, to provide sophisticated, comprehensive legal advice to meet our clients’ business needs. Whether negotiating a single agreement or structuring a complex international transaction, our attorneys are equipped to advise clients through all stages of a transaction. In addition to advising clients on corporate transactions, our attorneys provide guidance on a wide range of compliance, securities, and corporate governance issues. A number of the firm’s corporate attorneys have not only developed their skills at prominent national law firms, but also have held positions as in-house counsel at large and small companies or, in some cases, even have run their own businesses. Given this depth of experience, our attorneys possess particular sensitivity to clients’ need for legal advice that is sound, pragmatic, and cost-effective.
We understand that our clients’ most valuable assets are often their intellectual property, and our Intellectual Property practice group offers clients a comprehensive range of legal services for enforcing, defending, commercializing, exploiting and acquiring all types of intellectual property. We have considerable depth in the full array of intellectual property rights, including patents, copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks. Our vibrant practice encompasses skilled practitioners in patent preparation/prosecution and patent counseling, as well as attorneys with deep and diverse expertise with copyrights, trademarks, and domain names. We tailor our approaches based on our clients’ needs, and give practical advice with respect to asserting, defending against, or settling intellectual property claims.
Our intellectual property transactions practice handles complex business deals and we have significant experience in structuring, drafting and negotiating transactions that include mergers and acquisitions; licenses and cross-licenses; strategic collaborations, corporate partnerships and joint ventures; technology arrangements; manufacturing and supply agreements; commercial transactions; research and development agreements; marketing and promotion agreements; consulting and services agreements; and outsourcing. We employ a goal-oriented approach, and help clients prioritize among the many issues that arise during the course of negotiations. Working closely with our Media, Entertainment, and Communications group, we serve as strategic advisors to our clients. For example, we help companies evaluate and manage intellectual property risks; provide key advice on intellectual property protection and enforcement programs; work with clients in the restructuring of intellectual property assets; and help guide companies through branding and licensing strategies.
Our trademark attorneys handle the full range of trademark matters: counseling and assisting clients with trademark searching and selection, preparing, filing, and prosecuting U.S. trademark applications for our clients, and assisting clients in maintaining their existing registrations. We also have substantial experience internationally, managing our clients’ global trademark portfolios with the assistance, as necessary, of foreign counsel. On the transactional side, our attorneys have significant expertise preparing, reviewing, and negotiating trademark licensing agreements. On the prosecution and enforcement side, we routinely resolve disputes for our clients via cease and desist letters or through negotiated settlements, but we also bring years of collective experience litigating in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and in federal court, should litigation become necessary. In addition, we have significant experience with domain name disputes and have advised clients on the new Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD) Program.
Our intellectual property attorneys regularly counsel and assist clients with all aspects of copyright law. We help our clients obtain the necessary rights for any given transaction, and routinely prepare and negotiate a wide variety of copyright-related agreements concerning ownership of and licensing of copyrights, including publishing agreements, distribution agreements, work-for-hire agreements, assignments, and other transactional documents. We regularly advise clients on complicated copyright issues, including digital media and Internet issues, permissible uses of content, and fair use analyses. Our attorneys also assist with copyright registration matters and review draft works prior to publication or broadcast, advising on any necessary revisions or rights that should be obtained and assisting clients in securing those rights. We frequently handle copyright disputes and work closely with our clients in an effort to resolve disputes in the most efficient manner, whether through a negotiated settlement or litigation. We are also accustomed to conducting due diligence reviews of copyrighted assets for clients. With years of experience litigating copyright disputes in federal court, our attorneys have handled numerous cutting-edge, precedential copyright cases and have managed large-scale copyright enforcement efforts.
Our firm offers a full range of services related to commercial real estate transactions including construction, permanent, mezzanine and other secured and unsecured financing; acquisitions and dispositions; planning and development; tax structuring; construction; and all aspects of commercial, office, retail and industrial leasing representing both landlords and tenants. Our real estate practice is supported by colleagues with significant relevant experience in tax, securities, environmental law, bankruptcy, government contracts, international transactions, litigation and other fields relevant to real estate transactions, all of which are essential in a highly sophisticated real estate practice representing clients with complex structuring requirements. We take pride in developing a deep understanding and appreciation of our clients’ businesses, and we bring both creativity and common sense to our representations. Our real estate clients include institutional and regional lenders, debt funds, life companies, borrowers, developers, sponsors, investors, institutional and fund managers, landlords and tenants.
We have more than 50 years of experience in privacy, information management, and cybersecurity matters across many different industries. Our attorneys have served clients ranging from publicly-traded multi-national corporations to small startups as in-house counsel, counsel to the board, and in private practice. We regularly counsel clients on the effects of privacy and cybersecurity requirements on their business operations, and have extensive experience in representing their interests before federal regulators and policymakers. Our clients range from early-stage start-ups to some of the largest companies in the world.
We regularly advise clients on privacy laws and cybersecurity issues in the United States and internationally. We have performed audits and privacy risk analyses and advised clients on legal issues pertaining to website operations, behavioral advertising, mobile applications and location-based services. Our attorneys have broad experience in developing and revising privacy policies, business associate and data protection agreements, website privacy programs, and training and awareness programs for various industries.
Our attorneys have counseled clients on issues ranging from student privacy, telemarketing, online marketing, and employment privacy to international cross-border data transfers and the use of privacy by design to accommodate worldwide data protection requirements. As technological innovation occurs, we have helped our clients stay ahead on emerging issues such as text messaging marketing, Bring-Your-Own-Device, cloud security, facial recognition software, records management and data retention policies, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, and the Internet of Things. Managing and advising as to the cross-functional integration of data privacy and security policies, marshaling the resources of information technology security, human resources, finance, sales, marketing, and public relations, as well as legal expertise also plays a role in our practice.
The firm’s attorneys also regularly assist our clients in developing and implementing cybersecurity policies and procedures, as well as developing a layered approach to data breaches and incident response. This includes legal, technical, and forensic capabilities and the ability to protect what matters. Working closely with our clients, we devise comprehensive plans to protect critical data and counsel on new and evolving domestic and international developments in the areas of data collection and cybersecurity. We conduct and oversee tabletop exercises, which help to identify and remediate key cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Our practice group’s attorneys are available around the clock to help clients immediately respond to data breaches and other cybersecurity incidents. If a client experiences a data breach, we conduct internal investigations, data breach investigations, and comprehensive compliance assessments, and ensure that the client fulfills notification obligations under state and federal laws. Our longstanding relationships with the nation’s top cybersecurity forensics firms enable us to quickly engage technological experts to assess and remediate damage caused by the incident. We coordinate and oversee the work of these forensics experts, and communicate with services providers and law enforcement when necessary. We have deep experience in analyzing corporate insurance coverage for cybersecurity coverage and, when necessary, negotiating coverage with carriers.
We also have years of experience in advocating our clients’ positions before Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and state attorneys general in regulatory policy and enforcement proceedings involving privacy and cybersecurity. Our attorneys also have significant experience in assisting clients with related legislative matters before the Congress.
The firm’s Restructuring and Bankruptcy practice is collaborative with depth and expertise in the four pillars of bankruptcy:
(1) reorganizations and out-of-court workouts
(2) bankruptcy litigation, including avoidance actions and claims litigation
(3) business litigation in courts of all jurisdictions; and
(4) business transactions.
The Restructuring and Bankruptcy practice draws upon the deep experience within the firm in finance, M&A, tax, litigation, internal investigations, financial institutions, and real estate to provide the full spectrum of services that is required in a restructuring situation.
The Restructuring and Bankruptcy practice is also strategic. We have a proven track record of seeing opportunities that others have overlooked in the distressed situation and then, crucially, successfully executing that strategy whether through litigation or transactional work.
We represent debtors, trustees, committees, DIP lenders and general unsecured creditors in both chapter 11 and chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code.
