Elizabeth Spainhour represents media, communications, and technology companies in a variety of regulatory and business matters. She also provides counsel to businesses on key issues involving privacy, digital marketing, and the rapidly changing digital environment. Elizabeth is a Board Certified Specialist in Privacy and Information Security Law from the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization.
Elizabeth counsels clients day-to-day on the full gamut of FCC regulatory issues, including political, EEO, children’s programming, contests and promotions, ownership, licensing and renewals, closed captioning, emergency access, and public file requirements. Elizabeth routinely works with clients to evaluate and advocate their positions on key policy issues before the FCC.
Elizabeth advises clients on complex transactions in highly regulated industries, including representation and advocacy through regulatory approval processes. Elizabeth also works with clients to strategize, draft, and negotiate a broad range of key business contracts, such as asset purchase and sale agreements, loan agreements, license and services agreements, and television retransmission consent agreements.
Elizabeth advises media and technology companies, advertisers, content creators, and other businesses on privacy issues. She works with clients to assess data collection and use practices and to craft responsive data privacy and security policies. Elizabeth is a Board Certified Specialist in Privacy and Information Security Law from the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization, and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US).
Elizabeth advises media and technology companies, advertisers, content creators, and other businesses on digital media issues. Elizabeth works with clients to evaluate and meet marketing disclosure obligations issued by the Federal Trade Commission and self-regulatory bodies. She also advises businesses on copyright and right of publicity issues.
Elizabeth routinely conducts pre-publication review of news stories and book manuscripts. Having previously worked in the academic publishing industry, Elizabeth has a unique skill set that translates directly to her work with publishers and authors.
Recognized in North Carolina Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) as a “Rising Star” in Communications (2011-2015)
Member, Umstead Act Unfair Competition Panel (2019-Present)
Co-Chair, Carolinas Chapter, Federal Communications Bar Association (2010-2014)
Member, Federal Communications Bar Association
Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals
Member, Carolina Privacy Officials Network
Member, American Bar Association
Member, North Carolina Bar Association
Member and Past Chair, Privacy and Data Security Committee, North Carolina Bar Association (2017-present)
Secretary, Treasurer, Section Council, Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities Section, North Carolina Bar Association (2007-2014)
Member, Wake County Bar Association
Volunteer Attorney, Legal Aid of North Carolina Lawyer on the Line Program (2013 - present)
Guardian ad Litem, Wake County, NC (2006-2009)
Co-presenter (with Sue Young), "Managing Risk in Contract Drafting and Negotiation," Association of Corporate Counsel CLE, Raleigh, NC, December 2018
Contributor, Brooks Pierce's Digital Media and Data Privacy Blog
Presenter, The Digital Marketer’s Legal Playlist: Greatest Hits, Internet Summit 2014, November 2014
Presenter, "License Renewal in Broadcast: What To Do Now," Knowledge Congress Legal Series, November 2012
Elizabeth has a passion for media and information sharing. She worked in the academic and information technology publishing industry in the Boston area for three years before returning home to North Carolina for graduate school and law school. (If you learned how to code a website in HTML in the late-90s, chances are good you used a book she worked on as a reference.) Elizabeth enjoys spending time on foot outdoors and at the North Carolina Outer Banks.
