CyberTorts, Investigations & Government Enforcement Actions

WC’s CyberTorts, Investigations, and Government Enforcement Actions practice is tied together by our fluency in digital forensics and our partners’ backgrounds as investigating and prosecuting attorneys. This practice is led by Reid Wittliff, the founding Division Chief of the Texas Attorney General’s cybercrime division. Reid and WC have been regional pioneers in digital forensics since the firm’s inception in 2013. Reid was one of the first Texas attorneys, both as a prosecutor and in private practice, to prosecute civil claims for online abuse and harassment. Federal and state judges have appointed him to serve as a Special Master on complex electronic discovery issues, including matters involving large quantities of digital evidence and sensitive trade secret information.

WC has always been a leader in cutting-edge CyberTort litigation, which has evolved and now commonly embraces digital spying and hacking, claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, litigating online harassment and defamation, and responding to and unmasking anonymous online smear campaigns.

WC’s partners bring a unique and valuable perspective to clients conducting internal investigations or responding to investigatory demands and inquiries from federal and state agencies. In addition to our experience conducting investigations and responding to government enforcement actions, two of our partners are former prosecutors. Their perspective as former prosecuting and investigating counsel is invaluable to WC clients facing investigations and clients who receive formal civil or criminal investigative demands (CIDs), subpoenas, or demands to appear before grand juries.

CyberTorts

Reid and the WC team have a wealth of experience handling cases safeguarding reputations from malicious cyber smear campaigns, protecting clients’ privacy rights, and pursuing claims based on online intrusions and unlawful digital eavesdropping.

WC has litigated digital media, online communications, and free speech cases. We frequently counsel companies and individuals seeking to stop online smear campaigns, and we use various technological and legal tools to help identify the bad actors responsible for such campaigns. Our partners have handled lawsuits ranging from defending libel suits against websites to challenging false and misleading social media postings.

WC also represents companies whose systems have been breached by third parties, typically bad actors seeking to damage a company, or a competitor unlawfully seeking to steal a rival’s proprietary information. WC partners are current and conversant in digital forensics and the associated technologies that assist in investigating and litigating those claims. WC has litigated numerous cases involving the theft of computer code or other digital files. We have also prosecuted and defended many claims of unlawful computer intrusion (hacking or theft) and claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Investigations

WC represents companies of all sizes engaged in internal investigations and facing investigations conducted by federal and state civil, criminal, and regulatory authorities. Our partners have experience spanning the range of focused investigations concerning individual employees to conducting confidential investigations involving nearly 100 witness interviews. WC clients benefit from our investigatory experience as former federal and state prosecutors and senior in-house counsel. WC partners Reid Wittliff and John Saba, both former prosecutors, rely on their subject matter experience and professional reputations to credibly interact and negotiate with government regulators. Importantly, we know how to conduct and complete high-stakes investigations in a cost-effective manner that is discrete, thorough, and that mitigates business disruption.

WC partners’ experience includes representing publicly traded and privately held companies in a variety of confidential matters:

Conducting confidential and sensitive investigations related to employees, managers, officers and directors concerning a variety of issues ranging from workplace concerns to the potential misuse of trade secrets or other proprietary information.
Representing clients through all phases, including testimony, of investigative demands, subpoenas, and inquiries from federal agencies, including the SEC, DOJ, and FINRA, and state authorities, including the Texas Office of the Attorney General and other state agencies.
Representing buyers in commercial transactions and conducting due diligence on certain aspects, including litigation risk, data security profile, other liability analyses, specific business units, or key personnel.
Government Enforcement & White-Collar Defense

Increasingly, regulatory agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Health and Human Services, the SEC, and state attorneys general are scrutinizing companies’ business activities and investigating potential violations of state and federal consumer protection and privacy laws. WC partners have unique experience representing clients in these matters as our team includes former federal and state prosecutors and a former Division Chief in the Texas Office of the Attorney General. We are equipped to handle internal investigations, respond to CIDs and regulatory subpoenas, negotiate settlements, and defend enforcement actions.

WC has defended companies and individuals being investigated or prosecuted for various violations, including fraud, criminal infringement of copyrights, and conspiracy. We also assist companies and individuals responding to grand jury subpoenas or other requests from law enforcement

Firm Contact

Reid Wittliff

Team