The National Law Journal (NLJ) recognized WilmerHale Partners Cindy Vreeland and Louis Tompros as Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Trailblazers. This recognition highlights legal professionals who have made significant marks on the practice, policy and technological advancements in their sector.

Cindy Vreeland, who focuses her practice on patent and trade litigation, was recognized for her pro bono work on behalf of human trafficking victims. The profile highlighted Vreeland’s recent successful representation of Lisa Ricchio in the first civil sex trafficking cases filed against a motel under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. With the successful settlement achieved on behalf of Ricchio, Vreeland set several precedents under the TVPA, and trafficking victims across the US have filed similar suits against hotels.

Vreeland noted that she believes there will continue to be litigation related to hotel negligence in sex trafficking cases. “There’s a lot of focus in the hotel industry on this issue with many trying to make sure trafficking doesn’t happen on their premises. The TVPA is designed to hold others who don’t pay attention to what happens on their premises accountable,” she said.

The NLJ highlighted the role Louis Tompros played in representing artist Matt Furie in a pro bono copyright infringement suit against “alt-right” media outlet Infowars. Infowars’s online store was selling a poster featuring Furie’s cartoon creation Pepe the Frog alongside Alex Jones, President Donald Trump and other figures. As part of the settlement, Infowars agreed to pay Furie and to never sell anything featuring Pepe again.

Tompros stated that he sees the need for lawyers to continue to protect people as the internet grows, saying “the growth of ‘deep fake’ modified videos and the phenomenon of doxxing will impact many of these issues. We will continue to see inventors push technology forward and creatives push art forward—hopefully, with lawyers protecting their ideas as the law evolves too.”