Carrie M. LeRoy

LeRoy spends a lot of time thinking about technology. About how to best represent tech-focused companies, what the next legal frontier for technology might be, and how to educate the newest internet users on the many potential pitfalls of an always-online world.

“We realize how much time all of us are spending online,” she said.

LeRoy is a partner and co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s technology transactions practice group in the Palo Alto office. She also leads her office’s pro bono efforts.

She’s advised big-name clients including Facebook, Intel Corp., Nokia Corp., and Samsung Electronics in her 20 years of legal practice.

Notable recent transactions have included representing NBCUniversal’s Fandango division in acquiring the streaming service Vudu from Walmart Inc., and representing MGM Resorts International in its online sports betting and gaming joint venture with U.K.-based GVC Holdings PLC.

As part of her firm’s artificial intelligence and automated systems practice group, LeRoy has developed a keen interest and expertise in AI. Beyond representing AI developers like SoftBank Robotics, she’s organized guest speaker programs on AI and data-driven transactions through the nonprofit legal education organization Practising Law Institute.

These advanced technology tools can enhance business models, but also present inherent legal questions of intellectual property, privacy, and cybersecurity, she said.

Similarly, LeRoy opines that social media and content-sharing applications are neutral and often useful for youth social interaction, but bring up new questions about an individual’s legal rights and obligations online.

To that end, LeRoy developed the Cyber Dignity program to guide pro bono attorneys in educating young people about the civil and criminal consequences of misconduct in the digital realm. Topics include consent, stalking, sexting, pornography, sexual assault, cyber-bullying, and harassment.

The program has reached some 13,000 students in Silicon Valley since 2012. LeRoy is working to expand the platform nationally by providing online legal curriculum and webcasts through the Practising Law Institute.

“It’s a passion of mine, as a lawyer and a mother. Civility matters, whether in-person or digitally,” LeRoy said. “The goal is to create a better online world.”

— Jennifer McEntee