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10.16.25
Firm Recognized by Sanctuary for Families for Work on Behalf of Labor Trafficking Survivors
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is being honored by Sanctuary for Families with a 2025 Above & Beyond Award for its work alongside Bloomberg Philanthropies on behalf of two labor trafficking survivors. The two survivors were lured from their home countries to the United States to provide domestic help. Though they were promised fair pay and good working conditions, they were exploited for years upon their arrival in America. Their passports were confiscated and they were paid much less than promised, made to work long hours, forced to endure verbal abuse and mistreatment, unable to access healthcare services, and were not given any days off, holidays, or sick days.
After years of enduring these conditions, the women escaped their traffickers when federal law enforcement intervened and referred the women to Sanctuary for Families. Sanctuary enlisted the assistance of Wilson Sonsini and Bloomberg’s Legal & Compliance Department’s Pro Bono team. The combined team represented the women in interviews with federal prosecutors, helped them access medical care, and secured T Nonimmigrant status for both the women and their family members who had remained in the home country. The team continues to work with the families in the U.S. and abroad to complete family reunification. In the end, the traffickers were prosecuted and sentenced, and as part of the criminal penalties, they paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the survivors for back pay and medical expenses.
“These women not only got their lives back. They were able to get restitution and have justice served,” said Tonia Ouellette Klausner, Senior Pro Bono Counsel at Wilson Sonsini. She notes that the women have “confidence again, reclaimed power over their lives, and moved on towards a better future.”
The Wilson Sonsini pro bono team that represented the two survivors in the matter included Tonia Ouellette Klausner, Angelina He, and Manveer Martinson. The firm will be presented with the 2025 Above & Beyond Award at Sanctuary for Families’ awards ceremony in New York on October 21, 2025.
After years of enduring these conditions, the women escaped their traffickers when federal law enforcement intervened and referred the women to Sanctuary for Families. Sanctuary enlisted the assistance of Wilson Sonsini and Bloomberg’s Legal & Compliance Department’s Pro Bono team. The combined team represented the women in interviews with federal prosecutors, helped them access medical care, and secured T Nonimmigrant status for both the women and their family members who had remained in the home country. The team continues to work with the families in the U.S. and abroad to complete family reunification. In the end, the traffickers were prosecuted and sentenced, and as part of the criminal penalties, they paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the survivors for back pay and medical expenses.
“These women not only got their lives back. They were able to get restitution and have justice served,” said Tonia Ouellette Klausner, Senior Pro Bono Counsel at Wilson Sonsini. She notes that the women have “confidence again, reclaimed power over their lives, and moved on towards a better future.”
The Wilson Sonsini pro bono team that represented the two survivors in the matter included Tonia Ouellette Klausner, Angelina He, and Manveer Martinson. The firm will be presented with the 2025 Above & Beyond Award at Sanctuary for Families’ awards ceremony in New York on October 21, 2025.
Alerts
8.18.21
New York Adds Text Messages to Telemarketing Regulations
On July 13, 2021, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation that expands New York state's definition of "telemarketing" to include marketing by text messages.1 Under the legislation, which became effective on August 12, 2021, "telemarketing sales calls" will include an "electronic messaging text made directly or indirectly by a telemarketer … in which such … electronic messaging text is for the purpose of inducing payment or the exchange of any other consideration of any goods or services."2 This means that many of New York's requirements for telemarketing phone calls will now apply to telemarketing text messages, including a prohibition on unsolicited sales texts to numbers on the federal "Do Not Call" registry.
Client Highlights
6.28.21
Wilson Sonsini Secures Victory for DoNotPay in TCPA Litigation
On June 24, 2021, Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted DoNotPay’s motion to dismiss with prejudice a lawsuit alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented DoNotPay in the matter.
DoNotPay is a legal services chatbot that advertises itself as the “world’s first robot lawyer” and helps people challenge bank account fees, obtain green cards and visas, sue over data breaches, collect money owed from consumer class action settlements, and carry out dozens of other legal actions. Mathew Hufnus, one of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, had alleged that DoNotPay sent him a text message without prior express written consent, and filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California accusing the company of sending unsolicited advertising texts in violation of the TCPA.
According to the court’s order, to state a claim under the TCPA, the plaintiff must allege that DoNotPay sent messages using an “automatic telephone dialing system” (autodialer) within the meaning of the TCPA. However, the court found that because DoNotPay only contacts phone numbers specifically provided by consumers during DoNotPay’s registration process, and not random or sequential phone numbers, it does not qualify as an autodialer under the TCPA. As a result, the court said, “Hufnus’s claim thus fails as a matter of law, and dismissal is without leave to amend.”
DoNotPay is a legal services chatbot that advertises itself as the “world’s first robot lawyer” and helps people challenge bank account fees, obtain green cards and visas, sue over data breaches, collect money owed from consumer class action settlements, and carry out dozens of other legal actions. Mathew Hufnus, one of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, had alleged that DoNotPay sent him a text message without prior express written consent, and filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California accusing the company of sending unsolicited advertising texts in violation of the TCPA.
According to the court’s order, to state a claim under the TCPA, the plaintiff must allege that DoNotPay sent messages using an “automatic telephone dialing system” (autodialer) within the meaning of the TCPA. However, the court found that because DoNotPay only contacts phone numbers specifically provided by consumers during DoNotPay’s registration process, and not random or sequential phone numbers, it does not qualify as an autodialer under the TCPA. As a result, the court said, “Hufnus’s claim thus fails as a matter of law, and dismissal is without leave to amend.”
Client Highlights
6.10.21
Firm Advises MessageMedia on U.S. Aspects of $1.3 Billion Acquisition by Sinch AB
On June 9, 2021, Stockholm, Sweden-based Sinch AB, a global leader in cloud communications for mobile customer engagement, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Australia-based MessageMedia, a leader in mobile messaging solutions for small and medium-sized businesses in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Sinch will pay a total enterprise value of US$1.3 billion, with a total cash consideration of US$1.1 billion and 1,128,487 new shares in Sinch. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is advising MessageMedia on U.S. aspects of the acquisition, which is expected to close in the second half of 2021.
MessageMedia offers a web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) suite that makes it easy to leverage two-way messaging without any need for coding or familiarity with APIs. It operates a highly automated and scalable tech platform that is purposefully tailored to meet the specific needs of small and medium-sized businesses. With a go-to-market motion built around digital customer acquisition and online self-service, the company serves over 60,000 customers and handles more than five billion mobile messages per year.
The Wilson Sonsini team advising MessageMedia on the transaction includes:
M&A
Doug Schnell
Broderick Henry
MessageMedia offers a web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) suite that makes it easy to leverage two-way messaging without any need for coding or familiarity with APIs. It operates a highly automated and scalable tech platform that is purposefully tailored to meet the specific needs of small and medium-sized businesses. With a go-to-market motion built around digital customer acquisition and online self-service, the company serves over 60,000 customers and handles more than five billion mobile messages per year.
The Wilson Sonsini team advising MessageMedia on the transaction includes:
M&A
Doug Schnell
Broderick Henry
Alerts
6.07.21
U.S. Supreme Court Resolves Circuit Split on Meaning of “Exceeds Authorized Access” in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
On June 3, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Van Buren v. United States,1 resolving a decades-old circuit split on the proper interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA),2 a federal anti-hacking law passed by Congress in 1986. The Court held that an individual "exceeds authorized access" to a computer when they access a computer with authorization but then obtain information located in areas of the computer, such as files, folders, or databases, to which their authorized access does not extend. Individuals do not exceed authorized access when they have improper motives for obtaining information to which they otherwise have authorized access.
Alerts
4.02.21
U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Facebook in Much-Anticipated TCPA Ruling
On April 1, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, a case addressing a split among federal circuit courts as to what constitutes an "automatic telephone dialing system"—often referred to as an "autodialer"—under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA).
Alerts
12.10.20
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Argument over Frequently Litigated Provision of the TCPA
On December 8, 2020, the Supreme Court heard argument in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid,1 a case addressing a split among federal circuit courts as to what constitutes an "automatic telephone dialing system"—often referred to as an "autodialer"—under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).2 The Court's decision could significantly reduce the risk of TCPA litigation directed at online platforms and apps with text messaging functionality.
Client Highlights
11.16.20
Wilson Sonsini Advises MessageMedia in Acquisition of SimpleTexting
On November 10, 2020, MessageMedia Group, Australia's leading provider of messaging solutions (principally through SMS), announced it has acquired SimpleTexting, a U.S.-based messaging platform with current annualized revenue of over US$12 million and more than 10,000 business customers. The acquisition extends MessageMedia’s existing footprint in the North American market to now service more than 20,000 local business customers and will allow SimpleTexting to continue its impressive growth with additional resources and support. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented MessageMedia in the transaction.
Alerts
10.12.20
Thoughtful Presentation of Online Terms of Use Agreements with Arbitration Provisions Crucial to Avoid Litigation
Some district courts express skepticism over arbitration provisions in consumer online terms of use agreements. In March 2020, one such court denied a motion to compel arbitration, finding that the online terms of use at issue, which contained a mandatory arbitration provision and class action waiver, was presented in a manner too inconspicuous to give the plaintiffs constructive notice that they were agreeing to be bound by the arbitration agreement.1 A Ninth Circuit panel ultimately reversed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California's decision, with the majority concluding that the website provided sufficient notice of the terms of use to a reasonably prudent user.2 The Ninth Circuit recently denied a request by the plaintiff for en banc review of the decision by the full Ninth Circuit.3 In other words, the defendant prevailed in the long run, and the individual plaintiff's claims will now be decided in arbitration, thereby eliminating the potential for a class action. But it took well over a year and undoubtedly significant legal fees to reach that result. The defendant likely could have avoided litigation over the enforceability of its terms of use by using a different online presentation.
Alerts
12.17.18
FCC Adopts Rules to Establish Reassigned Number Database with TCPA Safe Harbor
On December 13, 2018, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released new rules1 relating to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), in an effort to cut down on wrong number calls and texts by establishing a new disconnected number database.
News Articles
11.21.18
Wilson Sonsini Honored with Above & Beyond Pro Bono Award by Sanctuary for Families
On November 13, 2018, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was recognized at Sanctuary for Families' 16th annual Above & Beyond Pro Bono Awards benefit honoring members of the legal profession for their outstanding pro bono representation and advocacy on behalf of the organization's clients, which include survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender violence.