Internet Defamation 2026

Mr. Mishkin is a partner with Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, LLP. A member and former Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department, his practice focuses on information technology, complex commercial claims and First Amendment/media law. Mr. Mishkin has represented media clients both old and new as well as software, hardware and consulting firms, in litigation and alternate dispute resolution proceedings involving privacy, defamation and obscenity issues. He has published articles concerning defamation, e-mail, cybersquatting, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and privacy online. Mr. Mishkin is an Adjunct Professor at Penn Law, was Co-Chair of the Internet Law Committee of the Media Law Resource Center from 2015 – 2018, has been Chair of the Editorial Board of the Legal Intelligencer and was the Litigation Section member of the ABA eCommerce and ADR Task Force. He has previously served as Co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Associations Bar/News Committee and a member of the editorial board of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

Mr. Heim is a partner at the Philadelphia firm of Bochetto & Lentz, P.C. His practice is focused on complex civil litigation, with an emphasis in Internet law, defamation, commercial disparagement, wrongful use of civil proceedings (“Dragonetti”), partnership, shareholder and employment disputes, and catastrophic personal injury cases. He has been a frequent lecturer and author of publications concerning defamation, Internet related legal issues, and wrongful use claims. Mr. Heim is a co-author of the legal treatise, Wrongful Use of Civil Proceeding and Related Torts in Pennsylvania (2d Ed. 2017), published by The Legal Intelligencer. He is a member of the Million Dollar Advocate’s Forum, selected as a Super Lawyer by Philadelphia Magazine in 2015-2016 and 2019-2025, featured in Marquis Who’s Who®, and a recipient of the Best of the Bar Award Top 100 Verdicts 2021. Mr. Heim was part of the defense team for Former President Trump during the Second Impeachment proceedings in the U.S. Senate as a First Amendment consultant.

Sekou Campbell, Esq., a partner at Pierson Ferdinand, LLP, brings extensive experience in representing intellectual creatives – particularly those operating at the intersection of technology and traditional entertainment. In the area of First Amendment law, Sekou advises independent filmmakers and journalists at the various stages of production and distribution regarding the use of content in their work. Through his work with Detroit Narrative Agency and Emergence Media, Sekou has worked with impact producers to mitigate harm to protagonists and their communities in particularly sensitive social impact media projects. He has been included in the 2023 and 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^® for Media Law; Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television; and Entertainment Law – Music. Previously a professional actor, Sekou combines his passion for the arts with deep corporate expertise and a unique understanding of the needs of creative enterprises. Sekou serves on the boards of BlackStar Projects, host of the renowned BlackStar Film Festival; Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, which makes grants to artists and arts organizations; Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts; and his youngest son’s school, Independence Charter School.

Ms. Seidlin-Bernstein is of counsel in the Philadelphia office of Ballard Spahr LLP, where her practice focuses on defamation, privacy, and intellectual property counseling and litigation. She regularly defends media and entertainment organizations in high-profile lawsuits arising from their content creation and distribution. She also provides pre-publication and pre-broadcast advice to content creators to help them avoid liability. In addition, she represents journalists in seeking access to public records and court proceedings and in responding to subpoenas that would require the disclosure of privileged information and materials. Ms. Seidlin-Bernstein maintains an active pro bono practice and was named to Philadelphia Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list in 2019. She was previously a law clerk to the Honorable Berle M. Schiller of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Before beginning her legal career, Ms. Seidlin-Bernstein worked at The New Press, editing books on politics, policy, and culture. Ms. Seidlin-Bernstein obtained her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she served as Executive Editor of the New York University Law Review and received the Deborah Rachel Linfield Fellowship in Freedom of the Press, and her B.A. from Brown University.