Earlier this month, I was a panelist on a webinar on Personal Jurisdiction From E-Communications: Social Media, Email, IM and Cloud Computing along with Mark McGrath of Sheppard Mullin.
Our panel focused on the evolving landscape of personal jurisdiction in the online world starting with the advent of the internet to leading up to the world of cloud computing.
We started with a discussion of how the Supreme Court’s core decisions still provide useful guideposts for this fact-intensive inquiry, even as the cases shift from the physical to the digital world. The discussion started with International Shoe, which was heralded as a watershed decision in its day in 1945, decided at the dawn of interstate commerce with individuals and goods traveling farther and faster than ever before, leaving a trail of disputes in their wake. From there, we took the audience on a brief tour of Worldwide Volkswagen, Asahi, McGee International, Calder v. Jones, and Burger King – all of which still affect the ways litigants frame their position and way the courts analyze the issue in terms of minimum contacts, foreseeability, and purposeful availment (among others). Continue Reading Reflection on Personal Jurisdiction in E-Communications