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Attorney
By
Attorney
Career Profiles of the Profession
Who?
Vincent I. Polley
Partner and co-chair, IT and Security Law practice group Dickinson Wright PLLC
vpolley@post.harvard.edu
What?
Primary Practice Area & Subspecialty Fields:
Internet/e-commerce law; information technology; software licensing; privacy; security (including national security).
When?
In Practice Area:
Since 1979
In the Legal Profession:
Since 1979
Where?
Employer:
Dickinson Wright PLLC
http://www.dickinsonwright.com
Size/Sector:
Law firm (200+ lawyers)
City/State:
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
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Law School:
University of Michigan Law School (1979)
Other Post-Graduate Education:
Harvard Business School-Executive Education Program
Undergraduate School/Degree:
Harvard College (mathematics) -AB 1976
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Why?
Pluses/Challenges of Practice Area:
Rapid changes in business activities and business standards; rapid changes/evolution in the law (both domestically, within any particular country, and internationally across countries). Rapid changes in technology.
The law is unsettled, making it hard to give definite answers. Instead, we collaborate with our clients, making informed choices that balance risk with business requirements.
Core Skills/Key Knowledge Needed in Your Practice Area:
Ability to deal with change and to communicate effectively on technical issues with engineers, business managers, and regulators. Understanding of multicultural/multinational aspects of relevant business and legal systems.
Advice to Lawyers and Law Students Interested in Your Practice Area:
Be a "generalist"-learn as much as possible about different areas of the law, different areas of business, and of technology. Become able to converse on technical matters. (The best example of this need is in the area of privacy and information security-until you have a basic understanding of cryptography, you will not be able to advise clients effectively.)
How?
Career Path to Current Position:
Strong technical background in college (mathematics, computer science) and a “generalist” background in private practice (early years). From 1984 to 2004 I was in-house, learning about business practices in a multicultural, multinational environment – practicing law in traditional technology areas (software, technology development, acquisitions, etc.), and then in increasingly non-traditional areas (e.g., internet jurisdiction, information security). Key cross-roads: in 1995 becoming involved in trade association leadership in areas of internet law/policy (www.ilpf.org) and in the ABA’s Cyberspace Law Committee. My ABA involvement directly helped solve many of my client’s problems (e.g., through development of “best practices”), and directly lead to my current role at Dickinson Wright (with whose chairman, Dennis Archer, I’ve worked on ABA projects).
Influences and Mentors:
Joe B. Wyatt (former Chancellor at Vanderbilt University)-on the benefits of a renaissance education/approach. Stewart Baker (Steptoe & Johnson)-on marrying technical competence with clear, useful advice.
My many colleagues at the ABA’s Section of Business Law, including Corinne Cooper, Judge Alvin Thompson, Tom Vartanian, and Michael McGuire.
Suggested Reading About Your Practice Area:
"Snow Crash" (fiction-Neal Stephenson); "PGP: Pretty Good Privacy" (O’Reilly & Associates, Inc.); The New York Times’ Technology column (Thursdays); MIRLN (“Miscellaneous IT Related Legal News – archived at www.vip-law.com/mirln)
Job Search Techniques Used in Finding Your Position(s):
Networking-e.g., through the Internet Law & Policy Forum (www.ilpf.org) and the ABA’s Cyberspace Law Committee (Section of Business Law)
Bar Affiliations and Activities:
Bars of Texas, Michigan, and Washington D.C.
Recent Professional Publications:
“Share the Wealth – What ‘Knowledge Management’ Could Mean to your Legal Department” (ABA’s Business Law Today, Vol. 13, No. 2, Nov/Dec 2003) -- http://www.abanet.org/buslaw/blt/2003-11-12/polley.shtml
Recent Professional Presentations:
“Safeguarding Client and Business Information in the E-Mail Age” (New York County Lawyers Association, May 2006); “Protecting the Business Before the ‘Event’”, ABA National Institute on the Business Response to the New CyberSecurity Threats and Terrorism (Washington, D.C., November 2003); “Crisis Management, Electronic Security & Cybercrimes”, Georgetown University Law School, 4th Annual Advanced E-Commerce Institute (November 2002);
“Watching Employees: Legal Considerations, Practical Guidance & Netiquette”, Internet Law & Policy Forum 2002 conference, “Security v. Privacy” (September 2002). Memorable Career Moment:
When I was invited to join my former company’s IT standards organization, in a non-lawyer role (i.e., to apply my technical competence)-this enabled me to learn, and to affect the technical activities of the company in a non-legal fashion.
Intriguing Interests:
Computers and IT evolution. (I author a monthly newsletter on multinational IT-related legal news.)
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