Shahin O. Rothermel
Her successful track record includes defending clients against lawsuits and investigations brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state attorneys general, and California district attorney task forces. She also handles consumer class actions and competitor disputes, including Lanham Act cases, in federal and state courts. She routinely represents clients before the National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs (NAD) and the National Advertising Review Board (NARB). She also swiftly negotiates settlements where appropriate.
Shahin counsels a wide assortment of clients on regulatory compliance—from retailers, advertisers, and advertising agencies to affiliate networks, lead generators, and payment processors—on the full spectrum of advertising and marketing regulations and best practices, including subscription and autorenewal programs, telemarketing, email marketing, social media, promotions and sweepstakes, and consumer-facing contracts and terms and conditions. She regularly helps clients navigate the FTC Act and FTC regulations, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Telemarketing Sales Rule, CAN-SPAM and state anti-spam laws, the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA), state automatic renewal laws, and the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
Shahin also drafts and negotiates marketing and advertiser agreements and network and publisher agreements, leveraging her defense experience to protect companies from the most practical risks.
Whether seeking a motion to dismiss a multi-million-dollar lawsuit or helping a client launch a new product campaign, Shahin relies on her unique perspective as both a defender and counselor to strategize a way forward.
Related Practices
Experience
Representative Matters
- Achieved voluntary FTC dismissal of alleged violations of the FTC Act and ROSCA following the FTC's obtainment of a temporary restraining order and asset freeze
- Defended a case involving the FTC's first settlement involving monetary penalties under the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) and the second settlement under the FTC's Notice of Penalty Authority
- Defended an online publisher in an FTC action and persuaded the court to substantially limit the preliminary injunction on First Amendment grounds
- Obtained favorable resolutions of multiple cases brought by the California District Attorney Automatic Renewal Task Force (CART) and California's Food, Drug, and Medical Device Task Force
- Defended against a putative class action's challenges to a subscription box's subscription model alleging violations of California's Automatic Renewal Law
- Secured several favorable outcomes for a multinational telecommunications corporation in adversarial proceedings before the NAD, including a high-stakes case against a rival corporation involving false and misleading advertising, administrative closures, and partial reversal before the National Advertising Review Board
- Achieved a dismissal of alleged violations of the TCPA and Texas's telemarketing law, with the court finding in a case of first impression that Texas's telephone registration law did not apply to text messages
- Achieved partial dismissal of autorenewal claims against an e-commerce company in a putative class action challenging the company's negative option program
- Successfully obtained closure of an investigation by a state attorney general of a dietary supplement company's negative option offer
- Won a motion to compel arbitration in a putative class action lawsuit case alleging violations of Florida's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act
- Resolved multiple advertising and marketing class action demand letters pre-suit
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. Georgetown University Law Center 2012
- Global Law Scholar
- B.A. International Relations and Economics summa cum laude New York University 2009
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Virginia
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Member, American Bar Association
- Former chair, Advertising and Marketing Law Committee, ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law
- Member, District of Columbia Bar Association
- Member, Iranian-American Bar Association
Languages
- German
- Persian
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America
- Ones to Watch, Administrative / Regulatory Law, 2023
- Ones to Watch, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants, 2023