About the Firm

The Sm@rtEdgeLaw Group™ was founded by Richard Santalesa – (p) 203.292.0667 (e) rsantalesa@smartedgelawgroup.com serving clients around the country and the world, while being physically based in convenient Westport, Connecticut – located within easy reach of Boston, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, Westchester, White Plains and New York City – and remotely in Aiken, SC. The Sm@rtEdgeLaw Group™ is proud to have recently been designated the “Official Law Firm of SiliconAlley.com” and is active in regional entrepreneur and VC groups, such as the Connecticut Technology Council and the New York Technology Council. Our clients represent a broad spectrum of companies and industries.  We are also recognized as a Black Duck Certified Legal Specialist with regards to open source software analysis. 

Professional Associations

• InfraGard – Member of InfraGard, a partnership between the FBI and the private sector as “an association of persons who represent businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies, and other participants dedicated to sharing information and intelligence” with a goal of improving cybersecurity and identifying cyber threats.
• International Association of Privacy Professionals (“IAPP”) – Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP-US); Ceritified Information Program Manager (CIPM), and former IAPP CT KnowledgeNet Co-Chair 
• American Bar Association, Science & Technology Law Section; Former Chair Social Networking Committee; Member Information Security Committee
• New York State Bar Association (Intellectual Property Law Section‚ Internet and Technology Law Committee; Real Property Law Legislative Committee)’ former member of Task Force on Electronic Communications
• New York Intellectual Property Law Association
• Connecticut Bar Association
• District of Columbia Bar Association
• Greater Bridgeport Bar Association

Education

• St. John’s University, School of Law, Jamaica, NY, J.D. (Executive Editor, Notes & Comments, American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review)
• Queens College, NY, BA Computer Science and English, cum laude
• Adjunct Professor, Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism
• Lecturer, Sacred Heart University, Masters in Cybersecurity Program

Bar Admissions

• New York
• Connecticut
• District of Columbia

Background

Prior to founding the Sm@rtEdgeLaw Group™ Richard was Senior Counsel at the national boutique firm, the InfoLawGroup, and served as Outside Counsel to FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation, Valhalla, NY, where he provided counsel to numerous FUJIFILM entities in North America.  He has also been Legal Counsel to Ipsos America, Inc., New York, NY, a publicly held global market research company headquartered in France with offices and subsidiaries around the world and performed legal secondments at American Express, New York, NY and other household companies, including NBC Universal, in connection with the launch of its Peacock network and Google, in connection with integrating an acquired analytics company. Richard has also been an associate at well-respected New York and Connecticut law firms.

Before practicing law, Richard enjoyed a successful career in technology, initially as a computer programmer on Wall Street and then as an award-winning journalist, editor and analyst covering internet, hardware, software and wireless issues.  As a journalist he held the positions of Executive Editor at NetGuide, Editor in Chief at the short-lived but awarding magazine, Windows User, and was Technical Editor at Computer Shopper Magazine, where he lead a magazine section and oversaw the technical accuracy of the entire publications 225+ pages of editorial each month.

Richard registered his first domain name in 1994 (PDAwirelessworld.com) and has authored columns for numerous publications, including Emedia Weekly (f/k/a MacWeek), Smart Reseller Magazine (f/k/a Smart Partner Magazine), WebWeek (f/k/a Internet World), Telecommute, PC Pro UK, ZDNet’s Enterprise Channel (wireless), NetGuide, Windows User and Computer Shopper. His articles on technology have appeared in The New York Times, PC Magazine, Wired, Digital Media, Windows Magazine, Windows Pro, IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Database, Small Business Computing, Home Office Computing, HomePC, and have been translated into many other languages.

In the late 90s he was a co-founder of Virtual Growth, Inc., a New York City-based accounting firm providing outsourced financial and accounting services to start-up and new media companies.  At VGI he served as Director of Technology to plan and implement the firm’s infrastructure growth as it grew from 3 to more than 90 employees.  At Virtual Growth Richard developed a first-hand understanding of the fast-paced nature and needs inherent in technology and outsourcing as the firm prepared for its nation-wide SaaS rollout.

Richard has also held the positions of New Media Manager and International Publishing Manager at Norwalk, CT-based Micro Warehouse, Inc.. At Micro Warehouse he helped craft the company’s initial web strategy, launched the company’s Japanese language catalog and oversaw the production and development of catalogs in eleven countries.

He graduated from Queen College, of the City University of New York, cum laude, with a double major in Computer Science and English and received his law degree from St. Johns University School of Law, cum laude. At St John’she was Executive Editor (Notes & Comments) of the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review and ran the St. Johns student bar association’s website, where he spearheaded a pilot program to digitize and archive streaming video of law school events.

His opinions and viewpoints on legal and technology matters are frequently sought out by members of the press and he is a prolific author and industry presenter.

Testimonials

“Our chemical formulation and development company had need of sophisticated negotiation skills and precise agreement drafting in initially licensing and then ultimately selling various patents and intellectual property to a large multinational.  The SmartedgeLaw Group pushed on, despite an acquisition that stalled negotiations for months, to obtain a sale of our IP at favorable terms.  Excellent work all around and we can recommend the firm without hesitation to anyone or any company looking for attorneys on the cutting-edge of tech and IP law.”
– Dr. Jose Ramirez, PhD, JR CHEM LLC

“I definitely recommend the SmartEdgeLaw Group to anyone. If you want real (smart) infolaw advice that works and effective implementation – where you know you will get the results – call on the SmartEdgeLaw Group. Additionally, Rich Santalesa’s broad knowledge of privacy and data security issues, technology and service level agreements have been extremely valuable in assisting and providing guidance to several of my clients in the infolaw legal issues involved with their company’s development. Overall, I really enjoyed working with SmartEdgeLaw Group…they helped us create great value for our clients.”
– Christine Marciano, President,
Cyber Data Risk Managers,  www.DataPrivacyInsurance.com

“Richard Santalesa and his law firm have been an amazing help and comfort to me
in course of my long and complicated case.  I firmly believe there’s no way I
could have kept going without their help, encouragement and steady quick answers to my many questions.”
– Cleopatra Rosioreanu, Pro bono client

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