By Brittany Kouroupas, GW Law 2L
(Editor’s Note: The following appeared in My Legal Bookie, a newsletter published by Hackney Publications)
Growing up in Boston, video games and the sports scene there were a big presence in Michelle Cohen’s life. She continued to pursue her interest in gaming and sports, which culminated in her emergence as the practice group leader for Ifrah Law’s Data Privacy & Cyber Security Group.
Cohen’s practice areas focus on privacy, advertising, and gaming. As the “privacy law” area developed officially, she joined the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) in 2008 and became CIPP (Certified Information Privacy Professional) certified.
Cohen enjoys bringing her privacy expertise to her gaming clients. She helps these clients create compliant marketing plans, privacy policies, sweepstakes, and contests, while addressing data security and breach issues.
Beyond her legal acumen, Cohen takes pride in her dedication to her clients and loves helping them achieve their business goals. We had the privilege to talk to her to learn more about her career path.
Question: Did you play sports or video games growing up?
Answer: “Yes, my youth was surrounded by video games. My family owns a vending company, so we had pinball machines, and the early video games — PacMan, Asteroids, the tennis game, in our garage for repairs or pending a new location. I’m from Boston so of course, sports were a big presence growing up — my mom is a huge Red Sox fan, and we spent lots of time at Fenway Park, and at the old Boston Garden (go Celtics! Go Bruins!). In college, I helped establish the crew team and rowed for two years. We had the honor of being the first winning boat in the university’s history (go Brandeis Judges) and I am proud to say the team still exists today.” Since I have been in the DC area for over 20 years, I have my local favorites, including our World Series Champs, Washington Nationals!
Q: What were the most interesting classes you took at Emory Law? Did any of these classes help/impact your choice of practice area?
A: “My practice areas today focus on privacy, advertising and gaming. We really did not have these classes during law school, but several of my classes provided a solid foundation for working in these areas. This would include — employment law — since many privacy laws touch upon employment issues (like workplace monitoring), administrative law — since most of the laws that apply to privacy, advertising and gaming, are implemented through federal and state agencies so it is important to understand the processes of those agencies such as rulemaking and enforcement and navigating those processes — and of course the basic classes like civil procedure — to understand the components of litigation in the event you are bringing or defending a claim for a client.
I have a longstanding interest in marketing and advertising and actually wrote my law review comment on the liability of product endorsers for deceptive advertisements. All these years later, this is still a hot topic — now just in the ‘newer” arenas of websites and social media.”
Q: During your time at Ifrah Law, what have been some of your favorite projects to work on?
A: “On the gaming front, I handled a well-publicized free-to-play national promotion during the NFL season that involved over $2 million in prizes. I did the overall legal review and opinion, prepared the rules for the promotion, guided the client through state registration and bonding, and helped address “triage” questions as they came up through the season. It was very successful and for me. The fun part was walking by the tv in the family room, seeing the celebrity endorser and others talk about the “game,” and knowing that was “my game.”
I also love working with our start-up gaming clients. I’ve helped a number of clients navigate the approvals to get their games in the Apple app store, on Google Play, on Facebook and other platforms.”
Q: What do you find most challenging or interesting about privacy law?
“I think the most challenging part is staying on top of the ever-evolving landscape. In the U.S., there is no general federal privacy law like in Europe (GDPR). Instead, we have a patchwork of industry-specific laws (e.g., HIPPA — health privacy, COPPA — children’s online privacy, Gramm-Leach-Bliley — financial services), TCPA (telemarketing and telephonic communications), FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, and we have state data breach laws, plus new state substantive privacy laws such as California’s new law. What’s interesting is the same part of what is challenging — lots of new laws and regulations to apply and issues of first impression. I really love helping our clients achieve their business goals — like running a national promotion during football season — while complying with laws and regulations governing things like sweepstakes, contests, privacy, etc.”
Q: Do you think that more states will allow companies to offer online sports betting?
A: “Yes, I do. I think Covid will actually spur this as more people are accessing entertainment online and states will be looking for ways to increase revenues. States will also see the benefits to allowing online sports betting as neighboring states roll out sports betting successfully. Plus, in the event people have concerns about going on-site to bet on sports in a post-Covid world, online sports betting offers social distancing while allowing play.”
Q: Anything you would like to add to the conversation that needs to be discussed more in the gaming industry?
A: “There is a movement within gaming industries to be more inclusive. We need to ensure there are equal opportunities for those interested in the gaming industry to share their knowledge, energy and interest.”
