Reid Wittliff

Education

  • University of Texas School of Law (J.D. with Honors 1994) (Member of Chancellors, Order of the Coif, Associate Editor, The Review of Litigation)

  • Vanderbilt University (B.A., cum laude, College Scholar Honors Program, 1991)

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Texas, 1994
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Western and Eastern Districts of Texas

Professional Activities

  • Austin Bar Association, Member
  • Civil Litigation Section of the Austin Bar Association (2013 – 2016), Former Director
  • International Association of Privacy Professionals – Austin KnowledgeNet (2014-2015), Co-Chair
  • American Law Institute (December 2003 – present), Member
  • Robert W. Calvert Chapter of the American Inns of Court (2004 – 2017), Barrister
  • High Technology Crime Investigation Association, Member
  • R3 Digital Forensics, LLC, Founder and President

Awards & Recognitions

  • Super Lawyers, published by Thomson Reuters, 2014-present
  • Rising Stars, published by Thomson Reuters, 2004-2005
  • Named one of the Top 40 Lawyers under the Age of 40 by Texas Lawyer Magazine (September 2001)
  • 2004 Finalist for Austin Under 40 (Technology)
  • Leadership Austin Class of 2002-2003
  • Microsoft Recognition of Excellence in Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement
  • Pro Bono College for Outstanding Contribution of Legal Services to the Poor, State Bar of Texas (1996)

Publications & Presentations

  • Frequent speaker on digital forensics, e-discovery, privacy and technology and intellectual property law

Clerkship

  • Law Clerk to Hon. William Wayne Justice, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, 1994-1995

Reid Wittliff

partner
512.960.4866  /  reid@wittliffcutter.com  /  vCard  / 

A founding partner of Wittliff | Cutter, Reid Wittliff’s practice focuses on technology-related litigation and cyberlaw consulting. He has an extensive understanding of the rapidly evolving laws governing online activity, privacy, and data security. In 2008, Reid also co-founded R3 Digital Forensics, which has become one of the premier digital forensics firms in Texas.

Reid was the first Division Chief of the Texas Attorney General Office’s Computer Crime Division and previously served as a federal prosecutor responsible for leading computer crime investigations and prosecutions in North Texas. He is widely recognized as a leader in the field of cyber-crime litigation and investigation.

Adept at unmasking anonymous online perpetrators, Reid has successfully fought several notable court battles for clients who were the victims of online smear campaigns and defamatory online reviews. Reid manages internal investigations for large and small corporations to expose insider leaks, fraud, and theft of trade secrets, as well as the attempts to cover up these damaging activities.

Reid has been involved in multiple theft of trade secret cases involving theft of computer code and other digital files, the prosecution and defense of copyright infringement claims, and the prosecution and defense of numerous cases involving claims of computer spying and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. He frequently provides guidance and counsel to clients on the laws that regulate data security, online communications, and privacy.

Through his work with R3 Digital Forensics, Reid works on a variety of digital forensics, cyber-crime investigations, and data breach response cases. He also serves as a trusted advisor to high-level executives, in-house counsel, and law firms on the technical and strategic aspects of digital forensics and e-discovery.

He helped found the North Texas Regional Computer Forensics Lab (NTRCFL), an innovative, multi-agency initiative created to tackle the growing volume and importance of digital evidence in the law enforcement arena. The NTRCFL has since become one of the first federally funded regional computer forensics lab in the United States and the second regional lab to be accredited in computer forensics.

  • Plaintiff’s counsel for business executive who was damaged when a competitor infected his computer with spyware and used stolen information to interfere with his business.

  • Defense counsel in the first case brought by the Texas Attorney General under the Texas Anti-Spyware Act.

  • Defense counsel in the first case brought by the Texas Attorney General under the federal CAN-SPAM Act.

  • Plaintiff’s counsel on behalf of a software company whose former employee stole software code.

  •  Appointed as Special Master by federal court to oversee more than 4 terabytes of data related to a complex theft of trade secrets action.

  • Appointed as Special Master by state court to oversee e-Discovery disputes.

  • Represented former general counsel of a technology company in connection with an internal investigation into stock option practices.

  • Served as investigative counsel for board of publicly traded technology company in connection with an SEC investigation.

  • Assisted clients in numerous cases to identify persons who sent defamatory emails or online postings anonymously.

  • Represented technology companies in more than 50 mediations involving software license and technology contract disputes.

  • Conducted internal investigation for a Special Litigation Committee of a publicly traded insurance company in response to a shareholder derivative demand.

  • Prosecuted numerous domain name disputes through the UDRP process.

  • Prosecuted numerous actions to unmask and seek damages from online bad actors.

  • Local counsel in numerous patent infringement actions brought in the Western District of Texas.

Education

  • University of Texas School of Law (J.D. with Honors 1994) (Member of Chancellors, Order of the Coif, Associate Editor, The Review of Litigation)
  • Vanderbilt University (B.A., cum laude, College Scholar Honors Program, 1991)

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Texas, 1994
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Western and Eastern Districts of Texas

Professional Activities

  • Austin Bar Association, Member
  • Civil Litigation Section of the Austin Bar Association (2013 – 2016), Former Director
  • International Association of Privacy Professionals – Austin KnowledgeNet (2014-2015), Co-Chair
  • American Law Institute (December 2003 – present), Member
  • Robert W. Calvert Chapter of the American Inns of Court (2004 – 2017), Barrister
  • High Technology Crime Investigation Association, Member
  • R3 Digital Forensics, LLC, Founder and President

Awards & Recognitions

  • Super Lawyers, published by Thomson Reuters, 2014-present
  • Rising Stars, published by Thomson Reuters, 2004-2005
  • Named one of the Top 40 Lawyers under the Age of 40 by Texas Lawyer Magazine (September 2001)
  • 2004 Finalist for Austin Under 40 (Technology)
  • Leadership Austin Class of 2002-2003
  • Microsoft Recognition of Excellence in Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement
  • Pro Bono College for Outstanding Contribution of Legal Services to the Poor, State Bar of Texas (1996)

Publications & Presentations

  • Frequent speaker on digital forensics, e-discovery, privacy and technology and intellectual property law

Clerkship

  • Law Clerk to Hon. William Wayne Justice, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, 1994-1995