People | Erik J. Heels | Joshua D. Mather

Bio

 Erik J. Heels is a patent and trademark attorney who has been on the Internet since 1984. He has extensive experience working in high-tech companies such as Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN), Cayman Systems, and Verio Inc. In 1992, Erik wrote The Legal List, the first book published simultaneously on the Internet and in print. Erik's 15 minutes of fame started after reviews of that book appeared in The New York Times, Wired, Internet World, and elsewhere. He has been writing the "nothing.but.net" column for the ABA's Law Practice magazine since 1996 and regularly speaks about issues related to law and technology. After law school, he worked for various Internet companies, including a four-year stint with Verio, which was sold for $6 billion cash in the largest cash deal in Internet history. In 2001, he launched Clock Tower Law Group. He earned his BS in electrical engineering from MIT and his JD from the University of Maine School of Law.

In his spare time, Erik enjoys baseball, hacking with computers, building a backyard tree house, and writing. On Erik's desk are pictures of his lovely wife, Pirjo, and their three children: Sam, Ben, and Sonja. His life adventures include living in Finland, traveling to 10 countries and to 48 of the 50 states, pulling 6 Gs and soloing a jet in the Air Force, and swimming in the Arctic Ocean.

Practice Areas

• Patent Law
• Trademark Law
• Domain Name Law

Technical Experience

• Heels.com; Boston, MA, and Charlotte, NC; 2007-present. An online boutique for designer women's shoes.
• Verio Inc.; Boston, MA, and Denver, CO; 1997-2000. The world's largest web hosting company and a leading provider of comprehensive Internet solutions. Sold to NTT Communications in 2000.
• Inherent.Com Inc.; Waltham, MA, and Portland, OR; 1996-1997. A leading provider of websites and other Internet and intranet solutions for legal professionals.
• Lawyers Cooperative Publishing; Cambridge, MA, and Rochester, NY; 1995. A leading legal publisher and a division of Thomson Legal Publishing.
• Cayman Systems Inc.; Cambridge, MA; 1990. Manufacturer of internetworking hardware and software.
• United States Air Force; Reese AFB, TX, and Hanscom AFB, MA; Active Duty Captain; 1989-1992. E-3 Airborne Warning And Control Systems (AWACS) system program office.
• Bolt, Beranek & Newman (BBN); Cambridge, MA; 1988-1989. A pioneering company that helped invent the Internet.
• Rautaruukki OY; Raahe, Finland; 1988. Europe's largest steel plant.

Publications

Books (selected)

• "RedStreet's Best Legal Websites 2000," GiantPeople, 2000; with Richard P. Klau (ISBN 0-9678607-0-9).
• "Law Law Law on the Internet: The Best Legal Web Sites and More," American Bar Association, 1998; with Richard P. Klau (ISBN 1-57073-553-0).
• "The Legal List, Law-Related Resources on the Internet and Elsewhere," Seven Editions, Lawyers Cooperative Publishing (6th and 7th), 1992-1995 (ISBNs 0-7620-0012-0, 0-7620-0000-7, 0-9643637-0-4). "The Legal List" has been excerpted, cited, or reviewed in many publications including:
  • Internet World (March 1995; "the de facto source of legal and law-related sites on the Internet")
  • Wired (December 1995; "a brilliant resource for the electronically inclined")
  • The New York Times (August 19, 1994; "many on the Net consider ["The Legal List"] the most authoritative guide of its kind")
• "The Internet Compendium: Guides to Resources by Subject," Neal-Schuman, 1995; with Louis Rosenfeld et al. (ISBN 1-55570-220-1).

Articles (selected)

• High.Heels.com blog, 2007-present.
• "nothing.but.net" column, Law Practice magazine, American Bar Association, 1996-present.
• The Meaning of Life Online, Judges' Journal, American Bar Association, February 2000.
• LegalResearcher.com, New York Law Publishing Company, with Richard P. Klau, 1997-1999.
• "Online" column, Student Lawyer magazine, American Bar Association, with Richard P. Klau, 1995-1999.
• "The Case Against Daubert: The New Scientific Evidence 'Standard' and the Standards of the Several States," Journal of Forensic Sciences, American Academy of Forensic Sciences; with Thomas L. Bohan, Ph.D., J.D., 1995.
• Erik J. Heels blog, 1966-present.

Presentations (selected)

• "Software Patents: Good or Evil?" University of Maine School of Law, The Technology Law Center's 4th Annual Law and Technology Conference, 2003 (CLE).
• "Patents vs. Trade Secrets," Babson College, MBA Program, Technology and E-Commerce Law class, Guest Lecturer, 2002.
• "The Future of Legal Research," Harvard Law School, Advanced Legal Research class, Guest Lecturer, 1998.
• "The Internet for Practical Litigators," American Law Institute-American Bar Association (ALI-ABA) Video Law Review, televised over the American Law Network, 1997 (CLE).
• "Ease-of-Copying in the Digital Age - Turning a Negative into a Positive," International Business Communications (IBC), Seminar - Commercial Strategies for Intellectual Property, Patent, and Copyright Protection on the Internet, 1996 (CLE).
• "Beyond the Buzzwords - The Future of the Internet," American Bar Association, TechShow, 1996 (CLE).
• "The Internet - Opportunities and Challenges on the Electronic Frontier," American Bar Association, Annual Meeting, 1995 (CLE).
• "The Internet and the Law," Maine State Bar Association, Summer Meeting, 1995 (CLE).
• "How to be Pleasantly Surprised by the Internet," Arizona State Bar Association, Annual Meeting, 1995 (CLE).

Memberships

• American Bar Association
• Law Practice Management Section, Magazine Board, 2001-2007.
• Law Practice Management Section, Publishing Advisory Board, 1996-1997.
• Law Practice Management Section, New Media and Internet Board, 1996-1997
• Law Practice Management Section, Internet Services Board, 1995-1996
• American Bar Foundation, Fellow

Bar Admissions

• Maine Bar
• Massachusetts Bar
• "Patent Bar" (registered to practice before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, reg. no. 39,218)

Education

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BSEE), Cambridge, MA
• University of Maine, School of Law (JD), Portland, ME