Leita Walker is a member of the Faegre Baker Daniels intellectual property group. She focuses on litigation in the areas of advertising and media law, as well as on privacy, data security, and information management issues. She is also a member of the firm's Electronic Discovery Practice Working Group.

Leita has experience defending libel lawsuits; obtaining access to government information; litigating copyright and false advertising claims; and negotiating publishing contracts. She works with editors and reporters to reduce litigation risks arising from stories they wish to publish, and she counsels major corporations as to proposed advertising copy and its compliance with rules of the FTC and industry associations. Leita's media clients include the Star Tribune, CBS, A&E Television Networks, Author Solutions, Inc., ASCAP, and the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association. Before joining Faegre Baker Daniels, Leita interned at The Christian Science Monitor and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She also worked at The Lawrence Journal-World. Her representative media cases include:

• Obtained dismissal and sanctions for Star Tribune in breach of contract suit by advertiser (No. 27-cv-09-30276 Henn. County Minn.)
• Obtained summary judgment for human rights organization dismissing defamation claim of leader of Liberia Peace Council (No. 08-cv-5908 D. Minn.)
• Obtained access to hearing officer guidelines on behalf of Star Tribune pursuant to Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch (No. 27-CR/cv-103 Henn. County Minn.)
• Obtained summary judgment for ResortQuest International dismissing copyright infringement claims by MDM Group Associates (No. 06-cv-01518 D. Colo.)
• Obtained summary judgment for Target dismissing trademark infringement claims by Payless Shoe Source (No. 05-4023 D. Kan.)
• Brought Section 1983 claim against the State of Minnesota on behalf of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association over the state's attempt to block online gambling sites from residents (No. 09-cv-01065 D. Minn.)

In the area of privacy and data security, Leita regularly counsels clients in connection with social media, e-commerce, outsourcing, mobile marketing, online behavioral advertising and trans border data flows. She also works with the firm's litigation teams to provide practical solutions to restrictions on transfers of data in the context of international discovery. She provides crisis management and legal services to organizations that have experienced a security breach, working with them to mitigate harm, prevent future occurrences, and comply with security breach notification laws. The clients Leita advises on data privacy and security matters include Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Cargill, General Mills, CH Robinson, Pella Corporation, Capella University, Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Gander Mountain Company, and a number of nonprofit organizations. She routinely reviews and writes terms of use and privacy policies for the Web sites of major corporations and advises clients on compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Communications Decency Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, TCPA, COPPA, FTC Act and CAN-SPAM Act.

Pro Bono

• California Death Row Habeas Corpus Case, Ronald Sanders
• Alabama Death Row Post-Conviction Case, Brandyn Benjamin

Professional Associations

• International Association of Privacy Professionals
• American Bar Association – Forum Committee on Communications Law
• American Bar Association – Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section
• Media Law Resource Center – Defense Counsel Section
• Society of Professional Journalists

Civic Activities

• Society of Professional Journalists – Project Sunshine in Minnesota, co-chair

Presentations

• That's a Good Question: Journalism, Law, and Life as  Professional
  University of Minnesota Liberty Tree Panel (2011)
• International & Cross-border Discovery Issues
  Minnesota Association of Litigation Support Professional (2011 panel)
• Demystifying Mobile Marketing
  2011 Data Security & Privacy Summit; Faegre & Benson T-CAM Roundtable Series
• Tweets as Evidence: Social Media in Civil Litigation
  Minnesota Webinar CLE (2011); 38^th Annual Labor and Employment Law Institute (2011)
• Social Media Breaks Into the Courtroom
  Social Media Strategies, Faegre & Benson, Minneapolis and Denver (2011), Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (2011)
• Promoting and Protecting Your Intellectual Property in the Social Media World
  Social Media Strategies, Faegre & Benson, Minneapolis and Denver (2011)
• Hot Topics in Media Law: Recent Developments in Defamation, Privacy and the Internet
  Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association (2011)
• Legal and Regulatory Issues in Social Media
  Twin Cities Privacy Retreat (2010)
• Using Trade Dress to Protect Designs, Images and More
  Minnesota CLE (2009)
• Media Law for Citizen Journalists
  SPJ Citizen Journalism Academy (2009)
• Copyright Highlights
  Midwest IP Institute (2009)
• Comment Conundrum
  Minnesota SPJ (2009)

Legal Updates

• Social Media Evidence
  Contributing Author, Minnesota Courtroom Evidence Deskbook (2011)
• Eureka! Discovering (and Using) Social Media in Litigation
  Corporate Counsel (March, 2011)
• Social Media in Civil Litigation
  Law360, (October 12, 2010)
• Recent Developments in Media, Privacy and Defamation Law
  Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal (2006, 2010, 2011, 2012)
• Legal Theories for Protecting Online Content
  The IPC Legal Browser (Winter 2010)
• No Magical Solution: Harry Potter Suit Tests Limits of Fair Use Doctrine
  Copyright World (June 2008)
• Copyright Highlights: Noteworthy Cases
  The IP Book (eds. Stephen R. Baird, et al.), annual contributor
• Protecting Judges from White's Aftermath: How the Public-Employee Speech Doctrine Might Help Judges and the Courts in which They Work
  Note, 20 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 371 (2007)
• Free Speech, Judicial Elections and Fair Judges
  Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 20, 2006, Op-Ed, Co-author with John Borger
• Saving the Shield with Silkwood: A Compromise to Protect Journalists, Their Sources, and the Public
  Comment, 53 Kan. L. Rev 1215 (2005)
• MLRC 50-State Survey (Media Libel Law)
  8th Circuit, annual contributor
• MLRC 50-State Survey (Media Privacy & Related Law)
  Minnesota, North Dakota, annual contributor
• MLRC 50-State Survey (Employment Libel & Privacy Law)
  Minnesota, North Dakota, annual contributor
• eSignature, Newsletter of the International Regional Magazine Association
  Columnist on copyright law