Lecturer Bios
Jay Flemma, Esq.
Jay Flemma represents clients from all across the country in intellectual property, music, film, TV, sports and publishing. Besides musicians such as rock and roll acts, jazz and pop musicians, producers and Internet companies, Jay is counsel to such national record companies as Dutch East India Trading, Home Grown Music Network, and Skazz Records. In the course of his career, Jay also has represented Thelonious Monk, Dr. Billy Taylor, Ravi Coltrane, moe., Jazz Mandolin Project, Yngvie Malmsteen, Grammy nominees Bowling For Soup, Saving Jane, and other top 40 artists in trademark, intellectual property, licensing and entertainment matters. His clients have appeared as recording artists for Sony, Elektra, Megaforce, Jive, Rykodisc, Capitol and many other labels. He also represents several actresses, magicians, film directors (including 2002 Sundance Festival Award winner for the film “Sister Helen”), television producers, comedians and comedy troupes, pop artists, musical instrument manufacturing companies, golf pros and sports broadcasters in their transactional, licensing, Internet, and intellectual property matters. Jay has also registered hundreds of trademarks and trade dress for musicians, instrument companies, music business executives and media companies. He has also defended several Internet file-sharers against RIAA downloading infringement suits.
As a nationally recognized expert on the issue of Internet distribution of music, Jay’s expertise has been requested and relied on by government officials and representatives in both the U.S. and U.K. He has appeared on BBC World Business News as a commentator on on-line file-sharing and is also frequently consulted by the AP and MSNBC. Jay also handles complex TV and sports broadcasting and network license agreements and co-branding agreements for all types of entertainers and companies.
Jay was the Program Chair for and a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association's Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section for whom he authored two chapters for a Bar Association book on litigating entertainment cases, one on on-line file sharing of music and one on parody as a fair use. He also served for six years on the Executive Committee of the Copyright Society (NY Chapter.) His numerous publications include articles in scholarly journals, the NYS Journal of Entertainment Art and Sports Law, and the World Encyclopedia of Popular Music. He also frequently lectures for CLE programs sponsored by the Copyright Society of the USA and the New York State Bar Association’s Entertainment and Sports Law Sections. In 2000 he was appointed Assistant Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Business Law and Music Law at the prestigious Pratt Institute, where he taught for three years.
Besides practicing law, Jay is an internationally respected and golf writer for Golf Observer Magazine (www.golfobserver.com), Cybergolf, (www.cybergolf.com) and contributes to Golf Magazine, Golf World and several other prominent publications. He now has an Internet radio show on Golf News Network where he interviews PGA, LPGA and network broadcasting stars. To date, he has covered ten U.S. Opens, nine PGA Championships and one Masters Tournament. He has been published in eight books, is writing another three, and is syndicated internationally across the Internet. He has won seven major national sports writing awards form the top journalistic credentialing bodies in sports. Jay is fiercely loyal to his alma maters, Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and Trinity College in Connecticut. Jay is an alumnus of Syracuse Law.
Jennifer Arbittier Williams, Esq.
Jennifer Arbittier Williams is a Partner of Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP, effective September 6, 2022. She brings extensive experience to the firm following a distinguished career with the Department of Justice, culminating in her service as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from January 2021 – June 2022. Prior to assuming this position, she served as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from April 2018 through January 2021 and oversaw the daily operations of the Criminal, Civil, and Administrative Divisions.
Prior to her selection as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Ms. Williams served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for over 15 years. During that time, Ms. Williams served as the Chief of the National Security and Cybercrime Unit and as the Crisis Management Coordinator responsible for critical incident response. While an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Ms. Williams was the lead prosecutor on a number of significant cases, including United States v. Colleen LaRose a/k/a “Jihad Jane,” which was the first prosecution in the history of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania charging material support of terrorism, and United States v. Nexus Technologies, Inc., which was the first prosecution nationwide charging a corporation with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Additionally, Ms. Williams has served as a legal advisor during national security and other special events, including the September 2015 Papal visit to Philadelphia.
Over the course of her career, Ms. Williams has received numerous special achievement awards. For example, Ms. Williams has been awarded the Anti-Defamation League’s SHIELD Award, recognizing her successes in the fight against hate crimes, extremism, and terrorism, and for protecting civil rights. She has also received the Federal Trade Commission’s National Criminal Liaison Award, recognizing her exceptional commitment to consumer protection in partnership with the FTC. In 2022, City & State PA named Ms. Williams one of Pennsylvania’s “Law Power 100: The Legal Eagles Influencing Pennsylvania,” and in 2021 named her one of Philadelphia’s “Power 100.” In addition, Ms. Williams has been lauded for helping create and lead the Threat Intervention and Prevention Network (TIP Network), a public-private partnership that helps organizations assess and mitigate potential threats of targeted violence.
Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Williams worked at law firms in both Philadelphia and New York, concentrating her practice on white-collar criminal defense and First Amendment litigation. She also previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Anthony J. Scirica of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and to the Honorable Anita B. Brody of the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Ms. Williams earned a B.A. in American History from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1995. She is a happily married mother of four children and remains involved in many activities in her community, including serving as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where she teaches National Security Investigations and Prosecutions, and as Program Developer and Instructor in the Youth Courts Program in Chester, PA.
Benji Rogers
Benji Rogers is a British-born, New York-based entrepreneur, technologist, musician, and the founder of Pledge Music. An early pioneer of the direct artist-to-fan model of distributing music, Rogers founded Pledge Music based on the belief that artists should share the process of their artistic output, not just the finished product. Straddling the worlds of technology and music, Rogers uses his dual background to advise a range of tech and music companies on how to bridge the divide between their industries. To address the unique challenges facing artists releasing their work in the digital economy, Rogers also co-founded the Dot Blockchain Music Project, an attempt to create a decentralized global registry of music rights using blockchain technology that will overhaul the commercialization and movement of music online.
In addition to these projects and his ongoing role with Pledge, Rogers is also an instructor at Berklee College of Music on digital trends and strategies in the industry. A dedicated patron of arts and creativity in all its forms, Rogers’ work is rooted in a belief in the democratizing power of the internet; he will always be “loving your work.” CEO/Founder of PledgeMusic, (One of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies) Verifi Media, Radiary Creations & Lark42. Advisor to Unison Rights, Stationhead, BeatDapp. Sureel AI, Boomy, Project Admission. Billboard 40 Under 40 + Digital Executive of the Year.
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