Elisa D’Amico is a litigation partner and founding member of the firm’s Digital Crisis Planning & Response client solution. Elisa counsels corporations, educational institutions, and high-profile individuals in proactively planning for and effectively managing digital crisis situations through the creation and implementation of crisis response, risk management, and communications management plans. Her work includes providing counsel to clients battling domestic and international PR crises, university scandals from sexual harassment to illicit online activities on social media, corporate imposter accounts and websites, social engineering, and leaked confidential and proprietary information. She also litigates social media disputes and fights technology facilitated harassment, including internet-based harassment, sexual cyberharassment and sextortion, fraud, unfair and deceptive acts and practices, and other privacy violations.
Elisa is well known for her work co-founding the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project, a global pro bono project aimed at empowering and helping individuals whose sexually explicit images are distributed and displayed online without consent regain control of their digital footprints and their lives. She regularly writes and lectures about her work and she frequently is consulted by various media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC, and Broadly./VICE on those topics. Among her many accolades, Elisa was awarded the Miami-Dade FAWL President’s Pro Bono Award in 2014; the Miami Herald “20 Under 40” emerging leaders in 2014; the HYPE® Miami Difference Maker” by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce in 2014; the inaugural “Attorney of the Year” by the ALM/Daily Business Review in 2015; The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Pro Bono Service Award in 2016; “On the Rise” by the ABA Young Lawyers Division in 2017; The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Award in 2019, and the “Rising Star Award” from Fordham Law School in 2019. She also holds a AV® Preeminent Rating from Martindale Hubbell.
Before joining K&L Gates, Elisa practiced law in New York at another global law firm. She also worked for a prominent criminal defense attorney and trial lawyer, aiding in numerous white-collar criminal matters.
- Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation, 2020
- Up & Comer, South Florida Business & Wealth, 2020
- Rising Star Award, Fordham Law School, 2019
- The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Award, The Florida Bar, 2019
- Florida Super Lawyers®, Super Lawyer Magazine, 2018-2020
- Florida Super Lawyers® “Rising Star,” Super Lawyers Magazine, 2013-2017
- ABA Young Lawyers Division, On the Rise - Top 40 Young Lawyers, 2017
- Top Up and Comer, South Florida Legal Guide, 2016-2020
- The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Pro Bono Service Award, 2016
- Legal Elite Up & Comer, Florida Trend, 2015
- Honoree, 40 Under 40 Outstanding Lawyers of South Florida, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 2015
- Honoree, Leaders in the Law, Florida Association for Women Lawyers, 2015
- Attorney of the Year, Inaugural ALM/Daily Business Review Professional Excellence Awards, 2015
- HYPE® Miami Award - Difference Maker, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, 2015
- Honoree, 20 Under 40, Miami Herald, 2014
- President’s Pro Bono Award, Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers, 2014
- Certificate of Merit, Dade County Bar Association, 2010-2013
- Empire State Counsel, New York State Bar Association, 2008
- The Archibald R. Murray Public Service Award, Fordham University School of Law, 2006
- Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent® Rated, Litigation, Commercial Law, and Internet Law
- Co-Founder, Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project, 2014-present
- Founding Member, Advisory Board, Tyler Clementi Institute for CyberSafety at New York Law School, 2014-present
- Member, Advisory Board, Dade Legal Aid, 2014-present
- Internet Law Leadership Summit, Member, 2016-present
- Director of Community Outreach, Fordham Law Alumni Association Miami Chapter, 2017-present
- Co-Chair, American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law, Digital Communications Committee, 2018-present
- Board Member, Miami-Dade FAWL Foundation, 2020-present
- Literacy Mentor, Working in the Schools (WITS) Chicago, 2020-present
- Member, California Attorney General Kamala Harris’s Cyber Exploitation Task Force
- Past-President, Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers, 2019-2020
- Member, The Women's Fund of Miami-Dade
- Member, National Association of Women Lawyers
- Member, Dade County Bar Association
- Group Leader, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
- Uniform Law Commission, The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, Committee on the Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images, Observer, November 2015-2018
- Firm Chair, Legal Line Committee, Dade County Bar Association, 2012-2014
- Speaker, “A Day in the Life: Panel Discussion with Private Sector Attorneys,” National Association of Women Judges, 8 April 2021
- Speaker, “CLE Webinar - Don’t Be a Fool: Learn How to Manage a Brand Crisis in the Digital Age,” Association of Corporate Counsel, Dallas Chapter, 1 April 2021
- Speaker, "CLE Webinar - Crisis Management in the Digital Age," Association of Corporate Counsel, Houston Chapter, 9 March 2021
- Lead Faculty, “Unmasking Anonymous Bad Actors & Internet Trolls,” American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law | Digital Communications Committee | Digital and Media Advocacy Leadership Academy, 27 January 2021
- Organizer, “The Struggle is Real With Content Moderation,” American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law | Digital Communications Committee | Digital and Media Advocacy Leadership Academy, 28 January 2021
- Lead Faculty, “Emoji, Emoticon, and Gifs, Oh My! Implications of Imagery in Digital Communications,” American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law | Digital Communications Committee | Digital and Media Advocacy Leadership Academy, 29 January 2021
- Speaker, “Doxing, Bullying and Sextortion: The Legal and Social Landscape of Technology Facilitated Harassment,” American Bar Association, 16 June 2020
- Moderator, “Race, Racism, and the First Amendment,” Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers," 10 June 2020
- Speaker, “Sexual Privacy in the Digital Age,” Pitt Law Women’s Association - University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 10 April 2020
- Speaker, “Sexual Privacy, Free Speech, & the Internet,” Boston University School of Law, 9 April 2020
- Speaker, “Crisis Mode: Planning For and Managing a COVID-19 Crisis in the Digital Age,” K&L Gates HUB, March 2020
- Podcast Speaker, "Explain It to Me Like I'm an 8-Year-Old, Counselor!," Legal Speak, 21 February 2020
- Speaker, “You are what you tweet,” 25th Annual Communications Law Conference, ABA Forum on Communications Law, 7 February 2020
- Speaker, Ethical Governance Day at iPrep Academy, Miami, 16 October 2019
- Speaker and Moderator, “Summer School: Content Moderation 101,” Part Three in a Three-Part Webinar Series with the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law’s Digital Communications Committee, K&L Gates HUB, 5 September 2019
- Speaker and Moderator, “Summer School: Sextortion 101,” Part Two in a Three-Part Webinar Series with the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law’s Digital Communications Committee, K&L Gates HUB, 15 August 2019
- Speaker, “Us Too? Bullying & Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession,” Dade County Bar Association, 25 July 2019
- Speaker and Moderator, “Summer School: Blockchain & Crypto 101,” Part One in a Three-Part Webinar Series with the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law’s Digital Communications Committee, K&L Gates HUB, 18 July 2019
- Speaker, “Identifying and Responding to Internet-Enabled Harassment Workshop,” National Institute of Justice, 17 & 18 July 2019
- Speaker, “What Is a Digital Crisis and Are You Prepared?” K&L Gates HUB, December 2018
- Speaker, “Cyber Harassment Investigations for University Administrators,” K&L Gates HUB, 28 September 2018
- Speaker, “NSFW: Top Trends in Cyber Exploitation,” California Lawyers Association Annual Meeting 2018 Keynote Address, Business Law Section Annual Breakfast, 14 September 2018
- Speaker, Privacy Law at Fordham Law School, 12 September 2018
- Speaker, “Raising Healthy Kids in the Digital Age,” UCI Chief Executive Roundtable Women’s Forum, 28 June 2018
- Speaker, “Trends in Revenge Porn Litigation,” Internet Law Leadership Summit, 17 May 2018
- Speaker, “Nonconsensual Pornography (“Revenge Porn”): Theory and Practice,” National Association of Women Judges 2018 Midyear Meeting, 13 April 2018
- Speaker, “Privacy Law Bootcamp” 13th Annual Corporate Counsel Women of Color Career Strategies Conference, Hyatt Regency New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, September 27, 2017
- Speaker, “Intersection of the First Amendment and Technology in Title IX Cases,” Constitutional Issues in Higher Education Symposium, University of Arizona, Tucson, 22 June 2017
- Speaker, “Technology, Ethics, and the Art of Lawyering in the Digital Age,” CLE Program with Professor Jan Jacobowitz, Miami-Dade FAWL, and University of Miami School of Law’s Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program, Miami, April 2017
- Speaker, “Ethics CLE,” Inaugural Everyone Counts Day 2017, Miami, 30 March 2017
- Speaker and Moderator, The Legal Landscape – A Practical Guide to Representing Victims of Sexual Cyber Ethically and Effectively, Webinar Series on Sexual Privacy as a Fundamental Right in Partnership with the American Bar Association’s Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice Rights of Women Committee, K&L Gates HUB, 30 March 2017
- Speaker, The Legal Landscape - Painting the Big Picture of Sexual Privacy, Webinar Series on Sexual Privacy as a Fundamental Right in Partnership with the American Bar Association’s Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice Rights of Women Committee, K&L Gates HUB, 1 March 2017
- Speaker, “The First Amendment, Social Responsibility, and Changing the World,” Ethical Governance Day at iPrep Academy, Miami, October 20, 2016
- Speaker, “Pro Bono Remarks,” The Florida Bar Practicing With Professionalism, Miami, August 2016
- Speaker, United Way #LINCMiami "Drink & Think" Fundraiser, K&L Gates Miami, August 2016
- Speaker, “Pro Bono, Privacy, & Pokémon,” The Florida Bar Practicing With Professionalism, Miami, August 2016
- Speaker, “Porn, the Project, Privacy, and Pókemon” National Legal Aid & Defender Association Student Legal Services Section Conference, Tampa FL, 21 July 2016
- Speaker, “Trolls, Threats, and Online Free Speech,” RightsCon Silicon Valley, 1 April 2016
- Moderator, “Social Media 2.0,” CLE program with Prof. Jan Jacobowitz, Miami-Dade FAWL and University of Miami School of Law’s Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program, Miami, April 2016
- Speaker, “Pro Bono Remarks,” The Florida Bar Practicing With Professionalism, Miami, March 2016
- Speaker, “The First Annual Tyler Clementi Internet Safety Conference: Combatting Cyberharassment,” New York Law School’s Innovation Center for Law and Technology, 3 October 2015
- Speaker, “Revenge Porn and Online Identity,” Penn State Behrend, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1 October 2015
- Moderator, “Legally Social: the ethical use of social media in attorney advertising and the practice of law,” CLE program with Prof. Jan Jacobowitz, Miami-Dade FAWL and University of Miami School of Law’s Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program, Miami, February 2015
- Moderator, “Ethics for the Modern Age,” CLE program CLE program with Prof. Jan Jacobowitz, Miami-Dade FAWL and University of Miami School of Law’s Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program, Miami, June 2014
- Moderator, “Trial Tips & Professionalism: A View From the Bench," CLE program presented by Hon. Spencer Eig, Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Miami April 2014
- "A Practical Guide to Social Media Crisis Management," Law.com Corporate Counsel, 25 September 2020
- "Zoom Baby! What Litigators Need to Know About Virtual Court Hearings," Miami-Dade FAWL, 16 April 2020
- “100 Years Later and the Fight for Gender Equality Carries On,” Daily Business Review, 3 June 2019
- “Don’t Put Online Restaurant Reviews on the Back Burner,” Modern Restaurant Management, 24 July 2018
- “'Revenge Porn' Bill Advances Sexual Privacy,” The National Law Journal, 18 July 2016
- “The War to Stay Secure: Online Privacy and the Battle in the Civil Courts against Sexual Cyberharassment,” Human Rights Magazine, Volume 41, Number 3, 2016
- “Erin Andrews Is Good Example of Fighting Back,” Daily Business Review, 9 March 2016
- “As Florida’s Sexual Cyberharassment Law Becomes Effective, Thinking About Corporate Social Responsibility,” Miami Herald, 27 September 2015
- “Fighting for Online Privacy with Digital Weaponry: Combating Revenge Pornography,” Vol. 26, No. 2, published by the New York State Bar Association, Summer 2015
- “Op-ed: Revenge-porn Law,” Miami Herald, 21 May 2015
- “Op-ed: Revenge Porn Law,” Naples News-Press, 10 May 2015
Television/Webcast/Radio
- Interview, “'This Could Happen To Anybody' Miami-Based Author Looks At Teen Cyber Sexual Harassment,” WLRN Sundial, 27 August 2019
- Interview, Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian Revenge Porn Dispute, NBC6 News Miami, 27 July 2017
- Interview, "Targeted by anonymous porn sites," CBC News Network, 25 January 2017
- Interview, “Revenge Porn,” The Security Brief, 3 July 2015
- Consultant, “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” HBO, 21 June 2015
- Interview, “Revenge Porn Epidemic,” The Meredith Vieira Show, 4 May 2015
- Interview and Consultant, “Revenge Porn: The Cyberwar Against Women,” CNN Money, April 2015
- Interview, #FreeSpeechZone, HuffPost Live, 2 February 2015, posted with permission
- Interview, “Women who code—and fight back,” MSNBC’s Code Forward, 2 February 2015, posted with permission
Film
- Interview, Revenge porn documentary, VICE/Broadly, New York City, July 2015
- Interview,"NETIZENS: The Next Frontier of Civil Rights", Cynthia Lowen, June 2015
- Interview, Revenge porn documentary (publication forthcoming), Hon. Caroll Kelly, November 2014
Print/Online Publications
- Interview, “Coronavirus Q&A: K&L Gates’ Digital Crisis Response Team,” Law360, 27 July 2020
- Featured, “K&L Gates Partner Elisa D'Amico: Working at the Intersection of Marketing, Technology and Law,” Daily Business Review, 26 November 2019
- Quoted. “Why PR and Legal Need to Work Closely Together Before Crisis Strikes,” PR News Online, 27 August 2019
- Featured, “Elisa D’Amico ’06: Fighting to Protect Sexual Privacy Online, in a Share-and-Share-Alike Culture,” Fordham Law News, June 18 2019
- Interview, “K&L Gates’ Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project Provides Aid to Victims of Revenge Porn,” Law.com, 19 February 2019, by Frank Ready
- Mention, “Here are the 22 attorneys honored by The Florida Bar for the work they do without pay,” Miami Herald, 7 February 2019, by David J. Neal
- Mention, “Miami lawyers among 22 statewide to get Florida Bar Pro Bono Awards,” Community Newspapers, 29 January 2019, by Mark Hohmeister
- Quoted, “I Posted My Own Nudes on Instagram Before My Ex Could,” VICE, 24 July 2018, by Sofia Barrett-Ibarria
- Quoted, “Rochelle B. Weinstein explores the disturbing rise in cyber-sexual harassment among teens in Somebody’s Daughter,” Entertainment Weekly, 14 May 2018, by Maureen Lee Lenker
- Quoted, "$6.4 Million Judgment in Revenge Porn Case Is Among Largest Ever," The New York Times, 11 April 2018
- Quoted, “Alabama Woman a Victim of International Revenge Porn,” ABC 33/40 News, 3 November 2017, by Brian Pia
- Quoted, “Rob Kardashian Could Face Jail Time for Blac Chyna Revenge Porn Pics Under California Law,” New York Daily News, 5 July 2017, by Nancy Dillon
- Quoted, "‘It’s Like Having an Incurable Disease’: Inside the Fight Against Revenge Porn," Time, 13 June 2017
- Quoted, “How to Fight Back Against Revenge Porn,” New York Times, by Niraj Chokshi, 18 May 2017
- “Non-consensual Distribution of Nude Images ‘A Real Issue for Canadians,’” CBC News, 26 January 2017
- Quoted, "'A way to ruin someone's life': Semi-nude photo of Montreal woman among hundreds on anonymous porn site," CBC News, 25 January 2017
- Quoted, "Miami lawyers’ project helps online victims of revenge porn," Miami Herald, 28 December 2016
- Mention, "Our Still Noble (?) Profession," AdamSmithEsq.com, 8 December 2016
- Quoted, "Judge Fines Ex-College Athlete Over Timing of Sex-Abuse Lawsuit," Wall Street Journal, 3 October 2016
- Mention, "3 Ways Revenge Porn Is Already Illegal," Rolling Stone, 26 September 2016
- Quoted, "Is your smartphone the third party in your relationship?", Miami Herald, 26 September 2016
- Quoted, "Hacker from 'Celebgate' Scandal Could Face Just Nine Months in Jail," Broadly, 1 September 2016
- Quoted, "Proposed 'Revenge Porn' Law Sparks Fresh Debate," National Law Journal, 18 July 2016
- Quoted, "Congress Moves Toward Passing Law to Punish Dirt Bags Distributing Revenge Porn," Broadly, 14 July 2016
- Quoted, "Help for Victims of 'Revenge Porn,'" The American Lawyer, 27 June 2016
- Quoted, "‘Revenge porn’ nets Miami Beach man 30 days jail, 5 years’ probation," Miami Herald, 18 March 2016
- Interview, Des Moines Register, "Iowa lawmakers look to address 'revenge porn,'" 15 February 2016
- Interview, Jezebel, "Activists Fight to Secure Legal Recourse for Revenge Porn Victims," 3 February 2016
- Interview, Broadly., “Revenge of the Smut Peddlers: Pornhub Launches War on Revenge Porn,” 14 October 2015
- Interview, NEWSWEEK, “PornHub Joins Fight Against Revenge Porn,” 14 October 2015
- Interview, "Fighting Revenge Porn through the Legal System," Erie Reader, 30 September 2015
- Interview, “K&L Gates Attorney Elisa D'Amico Recognized for Work Against Revenge Porn,” Daily Business Review, 8 June 2015
- Quoted and Consultant, “To Fight Revenge Porn, I had to Copyright my Breasts,” CNN Money, April 2015
- Quoted and Consultant, “Revenge Porn Victim: My Naked Photos Were Everywhere,” CNN Money, April 2015
- Quoted and Consultant, “The Angels of Revenge Porn,” CNN Money, April 2015
- Quoted, “California Revenge Porn Operator Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Extortion, ID Theft,” Washington Internet Daily, 7 April 2015 (Reprinted with permission of Warren Communications News, 800-771-9202 and www.washingtoninternetdaily.com. May not be further reprinted or redistributed without permission from Warren)
- Quoted, “Law Firm Founds Project to Fight ‘Revenge Porn,’” The New York Times, 29 January 2015
- “DOJ’s Revision of Its Charging Guidelines in Corporate Prosecutions: Major Changes in Tone, Minor Changes in Substance,” Andrews White-Collar Crime Reporter, Vol. 21 No. 15, February 2007