ATLANTA, June 28, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The changing face of the Web and new ways people share information online has ushered in a new crop of legal issues. Attorneys with Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP are responding to that by starting a new "Web 2.0" legal group. The team focuses on the legal implications of the growing business uses of social networking and content provided by those who are not controlled by the business.
Partners Paul Arne and Sandra Gardiner will provide a workshop for clients and invited friends at the firm on Wednesday, July 11. They've already delivered several lectures on the topic, including earlier this month at the 17th Annual Seminar on Computer and Cyberspace Law in Dayton, Ohio.
"Legal life gets more complicated when a business starts to use content received from sources it doesn't control," Arne says. "Viacom is suing YouTube for $1 billion dollars, and Craigslist was sued because its users posted classified ads that allegedly violated the Fair Housing Act. Last month Digg.com removed information that may have violated the law only to have it re-posted multiple times by users."
The attorneys say they hope to ease the strain on companies by empowering them with up-to-date information that helps them stay ahead of rapidly evolving issues.
"Identifying legal issues in a 'Web 2.0' world requires more than knowledge of applicable law from normally disparate legal disciplines," adds Gardiner. "It depends on a clear understanding about how the technology is, and may be, used."
Arne, who co-chairs Morris, Manning & Martin's Technology group, has extensive background assisting companies with technology issues involving international transactions, open source software, privacy, outsourcing and Internet law. He is a respected writer and a prolific speaker.
Gardiner co-chairs the firm's Green Business group and is also a member of the Privacy and Security group. Her groundbreaking work includes helping one of the nation's largest Internet providers negotiate deals with several cities for municipal Wi-Fi services. She also counsels companies on new media, clean energy, intellectual property, electronic commerce, telecommunications, payment processing, joint ventures and strategic alliances. She is also a contributor to the book The Law of the Internet.
For more information about attending the upcoming workshop, contact Barbara Honeysucker at 404-504-7634 or call bhoneysucker@mmmlaw.com.
For more information about the legal services related to the Web 2.0 group, contact Paul Arne or Sandra Gardiner at 404-233-7000.
Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, (www.mmmlaw.com) enjoys national prominence for its corporate finance, securities, litigation, technology, real estate and real estate capital markets, environmental, insurance and healthcare practices. The firm has offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Princeton.