Blaine Kimrey

A former journalist at two daily newspapers, Mr. Kimrey is a trial lawyer who has dedicated almost 20 years to working for and defending media entities. Mr. Kimrey’s practice, however, extends well beyond media defense, focusing on a broad range of direct and class-action litigation involving topics as diverse as privacy, consumer deception, intellectual property, entertainment, insurance, banking, real estate, civil rights, telecommunications, and mass catastrophes and torts. Mr. Kimrey is the founding partner of the firm’s Chicago office and is the Partner in Charge. He also founded and chairs the firm’s Digital Privacy & Data Protection Group, and currently serves as the executive editor of the firm’s blog, Media, Privacy & Beyond.

Recognized since 2011 by Chambers USA as a leading media and entertainment litigation lawyer in Illinois, Mr. Kimrey also was named in 2008 to Chicago Law Bulletin’s “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” list and designated a 2009 Benchmark Litigation Future Star in Illinois. As lead counsel, Mr. Kimrey has defended media and Internet clients in direct and class action litigation in state and federal courts across the country. His media and Internet litigation has focused on defamation, invasion of privacy, the right of publicity, rights of access, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Communications Decency Act § 230, the CAN-SPAM Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, California Business & Professions Code § 17200, data security and breach, the Illinois Computer Crime Prevention Law, the Illinois Electronic Mail Act, the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, spam, digital trespass, and other related claims. He also provides prepublication and pre-broadcast review of content for media (including Internet) entities. In addition, he drafts and negotiates Web development, licensing and other technology agreements.

In his other commercial litigation work, Mr. Kimrey served on a team featured in The American Lawyer magazine for its success in representing a major property and casualty insurance carrier with respect to homeowners’ policy claims arising out of Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Kimrey has served as lead counsel in a multimillion dollar employment covenant arbitration and in several breach of contract and franchise actions. Mr. Kimrey also has participated in corporate internal investigations and proceedings brought by multiple state regulatory authorities (including two matters brought by former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer) against Fortune 500 companies. In addition, he has played a significant role in telecommunications, banking, insurance, and other commercial litigation matters and has substantial experience in handling digital discovery issues. Also as part of his practice, Mr. Kimrey performs pro bono work on behalf of media entities and indigent criminal defendants.

Prior Legal Experience:

• 2006-2009 - Partner, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP (now SNR Denton), Chicago, Illinois
• 2003-2006 - Associate, Winston & Strawn LLP, Chicago, Illinois
• 1998-2003 - Associate, Lathrop & Gage LLP, Kansas City, Missouri

Court Memberships

• Illinois
• Kansas
• Missouri
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
• U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas

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Honors

• Martindale-Hubbell® “AV” Rating  
• Illinois Band 2 in entertainment and media litigation, Chambers USA, 2012
• Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, 2012
• Selected for Illinois Super Lawyers, 2012, 2013
• Benchmark Litigation Future Star in Illinois, 2009
• “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch,” Chicago Law Bulletin, 2008
• Commitment to Public Service Award, Winston & Strawn LLP, 2005 
• Award for Highest Achievement in Mass Communications, University of Texas School of Law 
• Albert P. Jones Presidential Scholarship for Excellence in Oral Advocacy, University of Texas School of Law 
• Finalist, Vanderbilt First Amendment Moot Court Competition 
• Regional winner and 11th Best Oralist at International Rounds, Jessup Moot Court Competition 
• Semifinalist and Best Brief, Pace Environmental Moot Court Competition 
• Order of Barristers, 1998
• Review of Litigation, Chief Articles Editor, 1997-1998
• Phi Beta Kappa and Kappa Tau Alpha, 1992
• Walter Ewert Award for Outstanding Reporting, University Daily Kansan

Events

Professional Affiliations

• Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US)
• Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
• Chair, Teleseminar Committee, ABA Forum on Communications Law, 2012
• Chair, ABA TIPS Media, Privacy and Defamation Law Committee, 2009-2010 
• Co-Chair, KCMBA Media Law Committee, 2009-2011 
• Member, Chicago Bar Foundation Abraham Lincoln Circle of Justice
• Member, Chicago Bar Foundation Nominating and Governance Committee, 2008-present 
• Supporter, Foundation 65 
• Member, Board of Directors, Chicago Bar Foundation, 2010-present 
• Member, Illinois Bar Association 

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• Soccer coach, Evanston AYSO, 2007-present 
• Chair, Missouri Bar Media Law Committee, 2000-2003

Reported Decisions

• Bais Yaakov of Spring Valley v. Alloy, Inc., 2013 WL 1285408 (S.D.N.Y. March 28, 2013) (lead counsel)

• Pfister v. Selling Source, LLC, et al., 2013 WL 1150014 (D. Nev. March 20, 2013) (lead counsel)

• Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. Perfekt Marketing, Inc., 2012 WL 1868733 (N.D. Ill. May 8, 2012) (lead counsel)

• Zblogicki v. Travel Channel, LLC, 2012 WL 725570 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 2, 2012) (lead counsel)
• Parino, et al. v. BidRack Inc., et al., 2011 WL 4479462 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 26, 2011) (lead counsel)
• Fradis et al. v. SAVEBIG.com, et al., 2011 WL 3873191 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 2, 2011) (lead counsel)  
• Questrel Inc., et al. v. Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2011 WL 7637786 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 23, 2012) (lead counsel)
• Ford, et al. v. Bloosky, et al., 2011 WL 529265 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 4, 2011) (lead counsel)
• Abbs v. Lily's Talent Agency, Inc., et al., 2010 WL 8531488 (Cook County Cir. Ct. Ill. Aug. 12, 2010) (lead counsel)
• Abbas v. Selling Source, LLC, 2009 WL 4884471 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 14, 2009) (lead counsel) 
• Rutledge, et al. v. Cook County, et al., 2009 WL 3187905 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 30, 2009) (lead counsel)
• Jacobs, et al. v. Venali, Inc., et al., 596 F. Supp. 2d 906 (D. Md. 2009) (lead counsel)
• Christianson v. Henry Holt and Co., LLC, 2007 WL 2680822 (C.D. Ill. June 29, 2007) (lead counsel)
• Adler v. Vision Lab Telecommunications, Inc., 393 F. Supp. 2d 35 (D.D.C. 2005) (lead counsel) 
• Travel Marketing Assoc., Inc. v. Theatre Direct Int’l, 2002 WL 31527737 (D.Kan. Oct. 8, 2002) (lead associate)
• National Inspection & Repairs, Inc. v. George May Int’l Co., 208 F.R.D. 323 (D. Kan. 2002) (lead associate) 
• National Inspection & Repairs, Inc. v. George May Int’l Co., 202 F. Supp. 2d 1238 (D. Kan. 2002) (lead associate) 
• Medicine Shoppe International v. Tambellini Pharmacy, 191 F. Supp. 2d 1065 (E.D. Mo. 2002) (lead counsel)
• The Wichita Eagle v. Owens, 27 P.3d 881 (Kan. 2001) (lead associate) 
• Sky v. MRI, 125 F. Supp. 2d 286 (S.D. Ohio 2000) (lead associate) 
• Versailles Enter. v. Schlotzsky's Inc., Bus. Franchise Guide (CCH) 11,788 (E.D. Mo. 2000) (lead counsel) 
• Bosley v. HBO, 59 F. Supp. 2d 1147 (D. Kan. 1999) (lead associate) 
• Simon v. The Kansas City Star, 28 Media L. Rptr. 1240 (Ariz. Super. Ct. 1999) (lead associate)

Publications

In addition to being a former journalist at The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Austin American-Statesmen, Mr. Kimrey has been the author or editor of numerous media-related legal publications, including:

• Author, Cyberprivacy and Digital Privacy Risks, Communications Lawyer, November 2012 (with Bryan Clark)
• Author, Litigating Mobile Marketing Claims, Communications Lawyer, July 2010 (with Bryan Clark)
• Editor, ABA TIPS Media, Privacy and Defamation Law Committee newsletter, 2007-08
• Author, Illinois Right of Publicity Statute Supplants Common Law Claims, ABA Media, Privacy & Defamation Law Newsletter, Winter 2007 (with Meghan Norton)
• Author, Right of Publicity Statute Supplants Common Law Claims: Continuing Injury and Discovery Rule Addressed, MLRC Media Law Letter, December 2006 (with Meghan Norton) 
• Author, Getting Lawyered Can Help Prevent Disputes About Intellectual Property, The Kansas City Business Journal, February 2002 
• Author, Beware the Digital Do’s and Don’ts, The Kansas City Business Journal, April 27, 2001 
• Author, Napster Weaves Twisted Copyright Tale, The Kansas City Business Journal, March 19, 2001; reprinted as What a Twisted Web We Weave When We Inadvertently Deceive, The St. Louis Business Journal, April 20, 2001 
• Author, Amateur Guitar Player’s Lament II: A Critique of A&M Records et al. v. Napster and a Clarion Call for Copyright Harmony In Cyberspace, The Review of Litigation, Spring 2001 
• Author, Amateur Guitar Player’s Lament: The Swan Song of Free Internet Music, Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts Handbook, 1999-2000 Edition (West Group)

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Presentations

• Facilitator, Hot Issues on the Internet Workshop, ABA Forum on Communications Law, Dana Point, CA, February 8, 2013
• Speaker, Character Flaws: Avoiding Risk When Marketing With Texts and Tweets, IAPP Privacy Academy, San Jose, CA, October 11, 2012
• Speaker, NAB/NAA/MLRC Annual Conference, Intellectual Property Breakout Session, Reston, VA, September 13, 2012
• Speaker, Executive Counsel Institute’s E-Discovery for the Corporate Market, Chicago, IL, June 5, 2012
• Speaker, Your Data, Their Fault, Your Liability, Crittenden Middle Market Accounts Conference, Chicago, September 12, 2011
• Speaker, Digital Privacy and Data Protection, Lathrop & Gage State of Litigation Conference, Kansas City, June 23, 2011
• Speaker and organizer, I Lost My Data and I Can’t Get Up! - How to Avoid Regulatory and Class-Action Quicksand When Sensitive Data is Lost, Media and the Law Seminar, Kansas City, May 5, 2011
• Speaker, The Legal Requirements of Mobile Marketing, Heartland Mobile Council, Chicago, Illinois, June 30, 2010
• Moderator and organizer, Global Warming in the Mobile Ecosystem, panel on how to defend recent wave of mobile-phone related class action litigation, Media and the Law Seminar in Kansas City, April 16, 2009 
• Panelist, Lights, Camera, Lawsuit – Season 6, National Association of Television Production Executives Conference and Exhibition, Las Vegas, Nevada, January 29, 2008 
• Moderator, Freedom of Speech Part I, ABA Presidential Showcase, ABA Annual Convention, San Francisco, August 2007 
• Moderator and organizer of five mini-panels related to media insurance, Media and the Law Seminar, Kansas City, May 2007 
• Blogging and Gripe Sites: Balancing the Law and Public Relations, Hot Issues in Technology, the Internet, and e-Commerce 2006 Conferences, Palo Alto and San Francisco, March 2006 
• Avoiding Legal Landmines for Communicators, 50th Annual International Labor Communications Association Conference, Chicago, Summer 2005 
• Media Law 101, Independent Press Association, New York, Winter 2003