W. REID WITTLIFF, PARTNER

Phone: (512) 874-6102 Email: rwittliff@lancasterhelling.com Download vCard
PRACTICE: Reid maintains a diverse corporate and litigation practice, representing clients in: negotiation of contracts involving Internet distribution and revenue sharing arrangements negotiation of complex intellectual property arrangements involving rights to data and software code development of privacy polices and terms of use agreements for Internet businesses negotiation of technology transfer agreements defense of white collar criminal charges in state and federal court counseling and strategy regarding information security and online privacy laws defense of the first case brought by the Texas Attorney General under the Texas Spyware Act defense of the first case brought by the Texas Attorney General under the CAN SPAM Act prosecution of theft of trade secret cases involving computer spying and software code theft defense of claims alleging computer spying and computer hacking internal investigations in connection with SEC matters and shareholder derivative claims defense of allegations related to stock option practices prosecution and defense of numerous domain name disputes through the UDRP process internal investigation involving possible data and computer security breaches defense of BSA and SIIA software audits defense of claims of copyright infringement defense of claims arising under the securities laws complex production of electronic data and documents general litigation matters trademark matters dispute resolution employment matters
EXPERIENCE: Prior to joining Lancaster Helling as a named partner, Reid was a Shareholder at the Austin, Texas law firm of Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody, PC where his practice focused on commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense matters with an emphasis on technology, securities, and Internet-related cases. Prior to that, Reid served as the first Division Chief of the Texas Attorney General's Computer Crime Division where he led a team of 14 whose mission was to combat cyber crime across the state of Texas. He also previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Dallas, Texas U.S. Attorney's office and the Sherman, Texas U.S. Attorney's office where he gained significant jury trial experience as lead prosecutor in numerous federal jury trials. Reid is also a founder and President of R3 Digital Forensics, LLC (www.r3forensics.com), an Austin-based company that provides electronic evidence and digital forensics services to attorneys, corporations and individuals throughout Texas.
EDUCATION AND ADMISSIONS: Reid earned a J.D. with Honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 1994 where he was a member of Chancellors and the Order of the Coif. After graduating from law school, Reid served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable William Wayne Justice, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas. Reid earned a B.A. cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 1991 and was a member of the College Scholars Honors Program. Reid is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association and the Austin Bar Association. He is also a member of the American Law Institute and the Robert W. Calvert Chapter of the American Inns of Court. Reid is admitted to practice before all state courts in the State of Texas and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Northern, Western and Eastern Districts of Texas.
ACTIVITIES AND AWARDS: Reid was named one of the top 40 Lawyers under the Age of 40 by Texas Lawyer Magazine in September 2001. He received a recognition from Microsoft for Excellence in Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement in January 2002. He was a member of the Leadership Austin Class of 2002 – 2003 and was a finalist for Austin under 40 in the Technology category in 2004. Reid is a member of the boards of directors of the Austin Children's Museum and the Texas Book Festival and he is an advisory board member to the University of Texas' Science, Technology and Society program and to the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University. While serving as an AUSA in Dallas, Reid was a founding member of the advisory board of the North Texas Regional Computer Forensics Lab. «Back to Attorneys