Consultations and Negotiations of Transactions. Mr. Hoffer negotiates complex transactions, drafts value-adding agreements, and structures strategic alliances to attain clients’ goals, consistent with regulations. He diligently reviews and revises transactions for regulatory compliance within and across industries. He commonly consults on risk management that involves marketing programs, data privacy, new product, market entry, vendor pacts, and cloud computing. For data privacy, he advises on matters that include FTC standards, HIPAA rules, use limitations, vendor selections, data transfers, and other regulatory matters that protect personal data.

Through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), Mr. Hoffer is a Certified Information Privacy Professional in the U.S. and E.U. (CIPP/US and CIPP/E).  Some transactions that concern data privacy matters pertain to data collected on websites, electronic health records, employee data, financial data, credit data, and student data. (click here for more on data privacy)

In view of the fair information practices (FIPs), he advises on data protection, privacy statements, advertising, OBA, data mining, big data practices, predictive applications, and data transfers. For several clients that publicly hold out that they limit the processing of personally identifiable information, Mr. Hoffer advises how to close certain gaps between public-facing operating practices and internal privacy programs, policies, and processes. His office monitors reforms on numerous data protection laws, state data breach notification laws, federal sectoral standards, as well as compares related E.U. and ASEAN regulatory developments in view of OECD guidelines.

Consultations on Corporate Policies, Strategic Alliances, and New Markets.

Mr. Hoffer has extensive experience supporting his clients’ growth goals by updating corporate policies, improving product development, and managing government affairs. He leads cross-disciplinary teams through periods of transition and growth successfully and is responsible for designing and leading advocacy campaigns at nearly all levels of government.

Mr. Hoffer has facilitated Fortune 500 corporations’ new market initiatives, negotiated multi-million dollar service agreements and cross-border technology transactions, as well as assisted clients in reaching their strategies of outsourcing, aggregation, resale, IP licensing, and partnering. He also has advised on internal corporate policies, vetted privacy statements, managed intellectual property, and closed a very wide range of agreements for new markets, vendor selection, teaming arrangements, distribution channels, and procurements.[/expend]

Advising on Internet Law, New Media, Contracts, IP, eCommerce

Consultations, Negotiations, and Advanced Technologies. Mr. Hoffer counsels regularly on Internet-related laws governing competitive strategies, e-commerce, sales, brand promotion, U.C.C. law, distribution channels, procurements, sourcing, supply chain, product testing, advertising, independent contractors, and operations-related legal issues. He has advised clients on matters that concern digital content, data security, IP licenses, mobile access, and health applications. Click here to see more…

He has assisted corporate finance and marketing departments in structuring and negotiating complex commercial transactions that pertain to sales, services agreements, multiple party agreements, promotions, discounts, and cross-border ventures. He also accepts special assignments to reconcile the interplay of law and technical operations. Some compliance challenges concern networks, data security, special vendor terms, breach notification, and other cloud computing practices like managing data inventories, wireless protocols, data transfers, authentication, authorization, biometric authentication, data broker relations, and encryption safeguards.

Consultations, Advocacy, and Adversarial Proceedings. On behalf of clients, Mr. Hoffer has led negotiation with U.S. and international regulators. He also trains personnel on updated company policies to satisfy regulatory rules. Before returning to private law practice a few years ago, Mr. Hoffer was employed by the Postal Regulatory Commission. For the PRC, he reviewed transactions, monitored statutory compliance, and handled enforcement proceedings. In D.C., he briefed presidentially appointed commissioners on rulemakings, regulatory compliance investigations, and complex adversarial litigation. He has also represented other clients in high-stakes cases, unfair trade practices, intellectual property rights, and multidistrict antitrust claims.

Teaching, Lectures, and Training. Mr. Hoffer is a frequent lecturer at legal conferences and seminars. While in the Czech Republic, he taught one-year courses and seminars in European Union law and Public International law. Upon his return to the U.S., he served as an adjunct law professor by teaching courses in Private International law (conflicts of law) and International Organizations law, at Golden Gate University’s LL.M. program of international law studies.

Education. Mr. Hoffer graduated with a B.A. degree in Economics from University of California, Berkeley and received his J.D. from the University of Utah, School of Law, with recognition for scholastic achievement. After practicing law a number of years, he received his LL.M. degree in International and Comparative Law, magna cum laude, in Brussels, Belgium with an emphasis on the law of E.U. External Policy. He effectively blends his legal practice with teaching international law on both sides of the Atlantic, and has also worked as counsel in the Asia-Pacific region.