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| Phone: (202) 342-8423 |
Fax: (202) 342-8451 |
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| John Villafranco is a Partner at Kelley Drye and practices in the firm’s Advertising and Marketing Practice Group. Mr. Villafranco provides litigation and counseling services to corporations involved in advertising and marketing. His clients include internet service providers, wireless advertisers, international and domestic telecommunication companies, major retailers and direct marketers, as well as manufacturers of dietary supplements, automobile tires, engine oils, home appliances, and other consumer products. |
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Representative Experience:
Mr. Villafranco's experience includes:
- Consumer class action defense in state and federal court
- Lanham Act litigation involving internet, telecommunications, fast food, dietary supplement, and consumer product companies
- Representation of clients in advertising substantiation proceedings and investigations conducted by the Federal Trade Commission and State Attorneys General
- Representation of challengers and advertisers before the National Advertising Division and the National Advertising Review Board
- Counseling regarding issues involving privacy, electronic commerce, dietary supplement labeling, promotion and marketing, fair credit reporting, debt collection practices, truth-in-lending, health and safety claims, environmental labeling, and standard certification
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Honors and Awards:
Mr. Villafranco was selected as one of The Best Lawyers in America in 2007, 2008 and 2009 in the area of advertising law by America Lawyer Media and recognized in the 2008 edition of Chambers USA as one of the country's leading attorneys. |
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Professional Activities:
Mr. Villafranco is the immediate past Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section on Antitrust Law Consumer Protection Committee and Editor-in-Chief of the ABA's Consumer Protection Law Developments treatise. He is a frequent speaker at advertising law seminars and ABA and FTC programs, and he has conducted advertising law workshops for many corporations, including Nextel, America Online, 3M, Whirlpool, Burger King, BellSouth, R.J. Reynolds, XO Communications, Michelin, Bissell, and Iovate Health Sciences, among others.
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Publications:
"Making it Stop: A Practical Guide to Challenging Your Competitor's Advertising Claims," Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Volume 16, No. 10, October 2008, with Jennifer Ngai.
"Unfair Competition in Advertising: Developments and Trends in Lanham Act Litigation." Antitrust, Vol. 22, No. 3, Summer 2008, with Matthew Marcotte.
"Making it Stop: A Practical Guide to Challenging Your Competitor’s Advertising Claims,” Advertising Compliance Service, Volume XXVIII, Issue 12, June 2008, with Jennifer Ngai.
Interview with Professor Rebecca Tushnet, Georgetown University Law Center. 43(B)log. April 16, 2008 http://tushnet.blogspot.com/.
"Regulation of Dietary Supplement Advertising: Current Claims of Interest to the Federal Trade Commission and National Advertising Division," Food and Drug Law Journal, Vol. 62, No. 4, 2007, with Andrew Lustigman.
"Privacy and Data Security Update: How to Make Certain the Compliance Checklist Is Up-To-Date," Privacy and Data Security Law Journal, Vol. 2, No. 11, October 2007, with Alysa Zeltzer Hutnik.
"Blogging Do's and Don'ts," Internet Law & Strategy, February 2007, with Alysa Zeltzer.
"Identity Theft: What's a Business to Do When a Consumer Calls to Complain about a Fraudulent Payment?," Privacy and Data Law Security Journal, Vol. 1, No. 6 (May 2006).
"Product Placement and Brand Integration Strategies: Managing the Risks of Regulatory Uncertainty," Consumer Protection Update, Newsletter of the Consumer Protection Committee, ABA Section on Advertising Law (Spring 2006).
"Corporate Blogging: What to Keep in Mind Before You Start Your Own," Computer & Internet, Andrews Litigation Reporter, Vol. 24, No. 14, December 2006, with Alysa Zeltzer.
"Handling Online Customer Feedback," E-Venturing, The Kaufmann Foundation, September 2006, with Alysa Zeltzer.
"Case Closed: Learning from Ten Years of Federal Trade Commission Letters Closing Consumer Protection Cases," ABA Consumer Protection Update, Summer 2006, with Lew Rose and Alysa Zeltzer.
"Challenging A Competitor's Advertising Claims," The Antitrust Source (May 2005).
"The Miller Generation Leaves its Mark," ABA Antitrust Magazine, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Summer 2004).
"Compliance With Amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule," Antitrust, Vol. 17, No. 3 (2003).
"The Regulation of Fast Food Under the FTC’s Unfairness Authority," New York Law Journal, Vol. 228, No. 76 (October 21, 2002).
"Patriotic (and Truthful) Marketing: Substantiating a 'Made in USA' Claim," ACCA Docket, June 2002, pp 92-105.
"(Im)material Omissions: The Inefficiencies of Requiring Disclosure." That Certain Products Are Made With Used Parts. ABA Consumer Protection Update, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Spring 2002).
"Offer Acceptance: The Enforceability of Software Terms of Service," Consumer Protection Update, Newsletter of the Consumer Protection Committee, ABA Section on Antitrust Law (Fall 2001).
"Advertising Controversial Products Online," Consumer Protection Update, Newsletter of the Consumer Protection Committee, ABA Section on Antitrust Law (Spring 2000).
"Proposed Regulation of Cigar Ads Unconstitutional," Legal Opinion Letter, Washington Legal Foundation (Jan. 21, 2000).
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Speaking Engagements:
YYUR YYIC ICUR YY4Me – A Mobile Marketing Round-Up, Promotions Marketing Association Legal Marketing Conference, Chicago, IL (November 20, 2008)
Green Marketing, NAAG Fall Consumer Protection Seminar, San Antonio, TX (October 27, 2008)
Mock National Advertising Division Challenge, National Advertising Division Annual Conference, New York, NY (September 22, 2008)
When Your Competitor Crosses the Line – Industry Self Regulation and Litigation under the Lanham Act, Conference on Advertising Law: FTC Rules of the Road, Colorado Bar Association, Denver, CO (July 24, 2008)
Evaluating the Pros and Cons of Challenging a Competitor’s False Advertising Claim before the FTC, the NAD, or in the Courts, Conference on False Advertising Litigation, American Conference Institute, Chicago, IL (June 24, 2008)
Responsible Green Marketing: Complying with Regulations and Guidelines, Advertisers’ and Marketers’ Regulatory Summit, American Conference Institute, Washington, DC (June 17, 2008)
Consumer Protection and Consumer Welfare in Information and Communications Technology Markets, Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association Section on Antitrust Law, Washington, DC, (March 26, 2008)
Changing Rules in Competitor False Advertising Litigation: Important Recent Doctrinal Developments, Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association Section on Antitrust Law, Washington, DC (March 26, 2008)
The Power of Customer Feedback: Blogging and the Transformation of Traditional Marketing, What's New in Comparative Advertising, Claim Support and Self-Regulation, National Advertising Division Annual Conference, New York, NY (September 24-25, 2007).
Dietary Supplements, ERA East Coast Legal Series, Electronic Retailing Association, New York, NY (June 26, 2007).
Avoiding Government Scrutiny When Marketing to Wireless Devices, Advertisers' and Marketers' Regulatory Summit, American Conference Institute, Washington, DC (May 2, 2007)
Litigating Advertising Claims - Results May Vary, Advanced Corporate Counsel Forum on Advertising Law, Chicago, IL (June 21, 2006)
Competition and Consumer Law Pitfalls When Marketing on the Internet, 2006 International Law Association Conference, Toronto, (June 5, 2006)
Consumer Class Action Reform: Measuring the Effect of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, the Federal Trade Commission’s Class Action Fairness Project, and California’s Proposition 64, American Bar Association Section on Antitrust Law, Consumer Protection Committee General Session Program, Washington, DC (March 30, 2006)
Advertising Claims Substantiation, Insight Information, Chicago, IL (March 20, 2006)
The Advertiser’s Decision Tree: Challenging Your Competitor’s Claims, Advanced Advertising Law The Strategic Guide for Corporate Counsel (Chairman), Marcus Evans, Chicago, IL (March 6, 2006)
Product Placement and Brand Integration: Practical Strategies to Reduce Your Risk, Advanced Advertising Law The Strategic Guide for Corporate Counsel (Chairman), Marcus Evans, Chicago, IL (March 7, 2006)
Association of National Advertiser’s 2006 Annual Advertising Law & Business Affairs Conference Discussion: State Regulator Panel, New York, NY (January 26, 2006)
Product Placement and Brand Integration Strategies: Managing the Risks of Regulatory Uncertainty, American Conference Institute, New York, NY (December 13, 2005)
The 'Next Big Thing' in Advertising Law: Brand Integration and Product Placement, The National Advertising Review Council, New York, NY (September 27, 2005)
Green Lights and Red Flags: FTC Rules of the Road for Advertisers, Industry Self-Regulation and Alternatives to Litigation, Federal Trade Commission and the State Bar of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ (September 21, 2005)
The Advertiser's Decision Tree: Challenging Competitor's Claims, 15th National Advanced Corporate Counsel Forum on Advertising Law Chicago, IL (June 5, 2005)
Challenging Your Competitors' Claims, Marcus Evans, New York, NY (June 1-3, 2005)
Green Lights and Red Flags: FTC Rules of the Road for Advertisers, Industry Self-Regulation and Alternatives to Litigation, Federal Trade Commission, Chapel Hill, NC (April 19, 2005)
Consumer Protection for Competition Lawyers: Essentials of False Advertising, Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices, and Privacy, American Bar Association Section on Antitrust Law, Consumer Protection Committee General Session Program, Washington, DC (March 30, 2005)
Continuous Sales/Ordinary Sale Price Claims in the U.S. and Canada: Ensuring that Bargains Really Are Bargains Post-Sears and Jos. A. Bank, Co-sponsored by Canadian Bar Association’s Marketing Practice Committee and the American Bar Association’s Consumer Protection Committee (March 3, 2005)
Data Leaks and Identity Theft: Best Practices In Protecting Against Security Breaches Post-ChoicePoint and LexisNexis, Washington, DC (February 9, 2005)
Developments in U.S. Consumer Protection, Advertising, and Marketing Law, Canadian Bar Association, Ottawa, Canada (September 23, 2004)
The Reemergence Of The Unfairness Doctrine, American Bar Association, Section on Antitrust Law, Consumer Protection Committee, General Session Program (March 2004)
Liability for Claims and Actions by Employees: Strategies for Reducing Exposure, American Conference Institute, New York, NY (December 15, 2003)
Substantiating Comparative Advertising Claims, National Advertising Division, New York, NY (October 22, 2003)
Prevailing Before the National Advertising Division and the National Advertising Review Board, American Conference Institute, Chicago, IL (May 19, 2003)
Precedent Setting Developments in the Federal and State Arena and the National Advertising Division, American Conference Institute, New York, NY (April 15, 2003)
Advertising Law Update: Recent Developments Under the Lanham Act, American Bar Association, Section on Antitrust Law, Consumer Protection Committee Program, Washington, DC (April 2-4, 2003)
Precedent Setting Developments in the Federal and State Arena and the National Advertising Division, American Conference Institute, New York, NY (December 9, 2002)
Advertising Law Update, Recent Developments Under the Lanham Act, American Bar Association, Section on Antitrust, Consumer Protection Committee Program, Spring Meeting, Washington, DC (April 24, 2002)
Advertising Claim Substantiation, American Conference Institute, New York, NY (December 9, 2001)
Substantiation Comparative Advertising Claims: Competent and Reliable Evidence, American Conference Institute, Chicago, IL (June 21, 2001)
How To Handle Class Actions And State Attorney General Actions That Converge Over The Same Issues, Fulcrum, San Francisco, CA (August 31, 2000)
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Bar Admissions:
District of Columbia
New Jersey
New York
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| Education:
Catholic University, JD, 1991
Wake Forest University, BA, 1984
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Office Location:
Washington Harbour, Suite 400
3050 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007-5108
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