Damon W.D. Wright

• For online information product retailer, obtained multiple consent judgments, including substantial damages and permanent injunctions following trademark and copyright infringement by competitors
• At trial, represented newspaper in trademark infringement case and obtained permanent injunction requiring that competing newspaper change its name
• Represented international online dating service in lawsuit by competitor; prevailed on motion to vacate default and obtained dismissal of competitor’s false advertising, trademark infringement, and unfair completion claims, with award of attorney’s fees and costs
• Represented online computer and television retailer in defense of FTC investigation, resulting in closed investigation and no enforcement action
• Represented business owners in defamation action against consumer complaint website, defeating motion to dismiss that asserted Section 230 Communications Decency Act (CDA) immunity from liability
• Represented online nutraceutical retailer in evidentiary hearing before Better Business Bureau (BBB), persuading BBB to restore client’s BBB accreditation and A+ rating
• Won sanctions, summary judgment, and affirmance on appeal – with actual damages, treble damages, and attorneys’ fees – in false advertising case against online sports memorabilia retailer
• For online information product retailer, obtained arbitration award for actual damages and attorney fees against a serial plaintiff consumer on counterclaim for breach of prior settlement agreement
• Represented telecom software company in breach of contract action by reseller, with court dismissing all non-contract claims and granting summary judgment on contract claim, finding reseller could recover no damages
• Obtained preliminary injunction after evidentiary hearing for online health and beauty product retailer in trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, and misappropriation case against competitor
• Won sanctions, summary judgment, and affirmance on appeal in trademark infringement, fraud, and breach of duty of loyalty case between competing government contractors
• Represented software company founders at trial, against publicly traded corporation in a securities fraud, stock conversion, and shareholder dispute, obtaining compensatory damages, punitive damages, and sanctions
• Represented several high-net-worth clients in fraud and accounting malpractice lawsuits against national accounting firm, obtaining evidence that led to partial summary judgment, favorable settlements, and federal criminal prosecution
• In several confidential matters on behalf of various web-based business clients negotiated with national media outlets to retract, narrow, or balance otherwise unfavorable media coverage

• Featured, Watchdog group asks FTC to investigate Dr. Oz’s influencer marketing, The Washington Post, December 2024
• Featured, Inside Gordon Rees’ Repositioning From Insurance to Advertising and AI, Law.com, August 2024
• Featured, Snack recipe or advertising? Some dietitians now say who’s paying them, The Washington Post, December 2023

In the Media: Podcast Appearances

• FTC Smackdowns, AI Fails, and Influencer Chaos: Damon Wright Breaks Down Marketing’s Legal Minefield, ADOTAT Show with Pesach Lattin, December 2024
• FTC Click-to-Cancel Rule Breakdown: Key Compliance Tips for Subscription Billing, Checkout Champ Podcast with Matthew Martorano, October 2024
• How to protect your publishing business from lawsuits, Financial Marketing Summit with John Newtson, February 2024
• The FTC’s E-Commerce Regulation Campaign, Performance Driven Marketing Institute Seminar Series with Gregory Silvano, August 2023
• E-Commerce Legal Guide with Damon Wright, Checkout Champ Podcast with Matthew Martorano, May 2023
• Dissecting the Atlas Trading Situation with Damon Wright, Trading Camp Podcast, December 2022
• Updates on Legal & Compliance Issues in Financial Publishing & Trader Education, Financial Marketing Summit, February 2022
• FTC on the War Path: What publishers & marketers need to know, Financial Marketing Summit with John Newtson, 2021
• Why Using a Lawyer Can Actually Make You More Money, ClickBank Affiliated Podcast with Thomas McMahon and Kyle Kostechka, November 2021
• Conversation on new FTC notice regarding earnings claims, Financial Marketing Summit with John Newtson, November 2021
• Reducing legal exposure as an online entrepreneur, Openly Outspoken Podcast with Jeremy Adams, November 2020
• Should I Be Worried About Compliance, Shockwave Solutions Podcast with Emma Rainville and Travis Gomez, August 2020
• What the FTC Updating Dot-Com Disclosures Means for Performance Marketers, Performance Driven Marketing Institute Seminar Series: with Gregory Silvano, August 2020
• Attorney (Damon Wright Reveals MUST HAVE language for Subscription Billing on Ecommerce Websites, Fulfillment.com, June 2020
• Compliance Who Cares, Shockwave Solutions Podcast with Emma Rainville and Travis Gomez, April 2020
• The Unicorn Perspective Podcast with Maxwell Finn, December 2019

Presentations

• Volatility is the New Normal, Performance Driven Marketing Institute West with Gregory Silvano, October 2024
• Code & Courtrooms: Takeaways from Recent AI Lawsuits, GRSM Legal Education Conference, New York, NY, May 2024
• Code & Courtrooms: Takeaways from Recent AI Lawsuits, GRSM Legal Education Conference, Hartford, CT, April 2024
• Presenter, Top Legal Risks with AI, HB Litigation, April 2024
• Regulatory Hot Topics: What You Need to Know Now, Performance Driven Marketing Institute West 2022 with Thomas Haire, December 2022

Admissions

• Virginia
• District of Columbia
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia
• U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
• U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
• U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Columbia
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Maryland
• U.S. Tax Court

Memberships

• General Counsel, Financial Publisher and Media Alliance
• General Counsel, Together We Bake
• Member, Federal Bar Association
• Member, American Bar Association
• Past president, officer, and board member, Northern Virginia Chapter of Federal Bar Association, 2007 – 2015
• Frequently writes and speaks on litigation, trial advocacy, and internet advertising law

Pro Bono

• Since 2002, has represented Freddie Woods, recently obtaining the reversal of his 1997 capital murder conviction and death sentence
• Since 2019, has represented Taurus Carroll, an intellectually disabled inmate in challenging his 2012 capital murder conviction and death sentence
• Represents Together We Bake, a job-training and personal empowerment program based on a micro-baking business and founded by his wife that helps women in need of a second chance develop employment and life skills

Personal Activities

• An avid music fan, leads a group of friends and clients to the annual South by Southwest music festival
• Manages and plays percussion in Noise in the Basement, a local cover band and three-time winner of Law Rocks – DC, an annual battle of the bands competition
• Plays adult coed soccer throughout the year
• Has a daughter who works in Virginia’s General Assembly, a teenage son at the University of Virginia, and a teenage son at Alexandria City High School

Education

• J.D., George Mason University School of Law, 1996
• B.S., Political Science, cum laude, James Madison University, 1993

Clerkship

• Honorable Barry R. Poretz, U.S. Magistrate Judge U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia 1996-1997

Honors

• AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, 2007 – Present
• Washington, DC Super Lawyers, 2012 – Present
• Just The Beginning Foundation Diversity Champion, 2008
• Benjamin R. Civiletti Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, 2007
• T. Brooke Howard Fellow; Alexandria, Virginia Office of the Public Defender, 1994