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February 27th, 2023
GRWM: Everything You Need to Know About the Growing World of Online Influencers and the Opportunities it Presents for Lawyers
Advertising and Interactive Entertainment Counsel Dorian Slater Thomas is interviewed by Chambers Associate in the article, “GRWM: Everything you need to know about the growing world of online influencers and the opportunities it presents for lawyers.” The article speaks with prominent legal leaders on the growing market of social media influencers and the opportunities it presents for lawyers. Dorian is quoted saying, “There are so many entertainment spaces, and advertising has crept into all of those.”
Dorian adds that there are no set metrics as to how big an influencer’s following needs to be to warrant legal representation. He says, “I’ve represented emerging influencers who may have less than 10,000 followers on a platform, and negotiated brand deals with the biggest influencers whose last names start with K.” It’s more about the level of influence these personalities have over consumers, than the numbers themselves. Dorian notes that representing an influencer is almost a piece of a traditional talents job due to the high revenue from marketing dollars.
He also notes that influencer representation sits at the convergence of many areas of law. Dorian says, “I’ve seen deals where Twitch has engaged well-known streamers and essentially asked for a full-time job – 160 hours a month of streaming, so eight hours a day, five days a week. If that’s the case, it’s useful to have an attorney who is experienced in reviewing and negotiating those deals on things like industry standards, hours and compensation, how often you have to break for advertising, or how many ads you have to serve per hour.”
He adds that his entrance into the industry made sense coming from his experience in both advertising and interactive entertainment law. He says, “I work in two groups at Frankfurt Kurnit: the advertising group, which works on all the deals necessary to create a commercial (whether broadcast, social media, or experiential), and the interactive entertainment space, which was traditionally video game development and that genre of entertainment. I was sitting at the right nexus where I had experience in these interactive forms of entertainment and experience in advertising. Influencers straddle those two spaces within the law.”
Dorian recommends keeping up with the industry trades. He says, “Try to end up in the same physical spaces, too. Go to TwitchCon, Comic Con, VidCon. Go build that network of people in your life and they’ll turn to you.”
He adds that living in states where influencers live is helpful. “You’re not going to be stuck in LA or New York for your entire life, but if this is something you want to do then be prepared to spend at least a couple years of your life on either of the coasts.”
In conclusion Dorian says, “If you look back, it was unusual to make a bunch of money off social media, but now you’d be surprised if you tap into your network and realize how many people are making some kind of money, if not their entire income, off of social media, gaming, or some kind of interactive entertainment. As the industry expands, we will see further sophistication in how influencers are represented. He says, “We’re already seeing influencers evolve the same way that traditional talent and TV and movies have evolved, to the extent that we’re now seeing agencies like talent representation for influencers only.”
Read the full article here.
Other Quoted
Companies Sought Help From Privacy Vendors. They Still Got Fined
Daniel M. Goldberg is quoted in Bloomberg Law on problems faced by companies who have relied on compliance vendors to help them navigate new privacy laws. The article stated that vendors operating with little oversight, outdated tech have “left businesses with consumer-facing websites open to fines and other enforcement actions.”
Bloomberg Law noted, “For example, giving consumers the option to disable cookies may not turn off all of a company’s tracking technology. So consumer data could still be automatically sent to a third party for advertising.
“Vendors cannot just repurpose tools meant to comply with EU’s data protection law for California’s rules, said Daniel M. Goldberg, chair of the data strategy, privacy & security group at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC.
"‘Many solutions are solutions that are built for one purpose,’ Goldberg said, adding that some vendors’ ‘default configurations often aren’t drafted in a way that is sufficient to address US privacy law.’” View Article.
July 14 2025
The Battle over California’s Bill to Regulate how Insurers Handle Personal Data
Rick Borden is quoted in the Continuing Education of the Bar’s (CEB) DailyNews in an article on the proposed California data privacy law, Senate Bill 354, which would extend greater data privacy protections to the insurance industry. The Insurance Consumer Privacy Protection Act (ICPPA) 2025 would expand the California’s existing insurance-specific privacy law, known as the Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Act (IIPPA).
The article stated, “Rick Borden, a partner with Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz who focuses on data strategy and privacy, said California may be acting too soon because revised regulations and guidance are coming down the pike. A working group at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is moving ahead with updates to its Model law 672, which each state has either adopted or adopted in substantially similar form. ‘Let them do their stuff,’ Borden said.”
He pointed to the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) comment letter, written on behalf of 1,200 companies comprising nearly 60% of the country’s property and casualty insurance market. It also recommended CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) regulators to wait.
But the bill’s author Senator Monique Limón and its sponsor, California Insurance Commissioner Richard Lara, are moving forward with the bill.
Mr. Borden also noted “that advertising and marketing is one of the most important areas that California’s proposed new protections could cover.”
“‘Certain advertising is not subject to GLBA [Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act], so already would be subject to CCPA,’ he said. ‘Because you’re not their customer, yet. And this isn’t about a financial transaction with them.’ The revised insurance laws would cover data collection, including for advertising, that is a part of covered insurance relationships.” View article. (Cost-free registration required.)
July 8 2025
In a Data-Obsessed World, Attorneys Welcome Privacy Law Specialization
The Los Angeles Times quotes Daniel M. Goldberg on the California State Bar’s decision to offer a specialization in privacy law. Mr. Goldberg stated that the area of privacy regulation has been exploding with growth, with California on the forefront —driving a need for designating leaders in the field. “‘The law is very complex. But on top of the law being complex, the specialization really requires a level of technical expertise. The law talks all about measures that companies need to take with respect to collection, use, disclosure of data and opting out. But if you don’t understand how the technology works or how the ecosystem works, then it’s an area that would be very, very difficult for you,’ he said.”
“He added, ‘One thing about privacy law is that you also have to be an expert on what’s going on in the news, the latest changes and whether it has to do with ad-tech platforms or AI. If you’re not up with the latest changes, you’re going to fall behind very quickly.’”
Mr. Goldberg emphasized California's pioneering role in privacy regulation. He referenced the state’s passing “the first comprehensive privacy law (the California Privacy Act or CCPA) in 2018, which he said catalyzed the creation of similar laws across other states and established California as the national leader in privacy legislation.” He noted the state had also been a leader in enforcement, citing activity of the Attorney General’s office and the California Privacy Protection Agency’s multiple enforcement actions.
Mr. Goldberg also explained why data privacy is an increasing legal practice at law firms: “‘It’s incredibly lucrative just because it’s such a broad area. It really is a subject matter expertise that goes in so many different subcategories of practices, and so almost every firm now has to have a privacy expert.'" View Article
June 26 2025
