Meet the NMR Staff

Art Neill

Job Title: 
Founder / Executive Director
Joined NMR in: 
October 2005

Art is the founder of New Media Rights, and practices public interest law in the areas of internet, intellectual property, and communications law.

Art is also an adjunct professor of law at California Western School of Law teaching the course "Social Media and the Law" (primarily focused on Internet, Intellectual Propertyi, licensing, and online publishing law).

In 2011, Art was appointed as a member of the Federal Communication Commission's Consumer Advisory Committee.

New Media Rights provides and pro bono legal resources, and assistance regarding intellectual property, licensing, and other legal issues that arise with new technologies and media, along with a free media studio .

Publications:

"Suing John Doe: A new wave of filesharing lawsuits" Fall 2011 Journal of Internet Law (Aspen Publishers)

"Social Media and the Law: Here Comes Everybody!"  2010 May CEB Business Law Quarterly (A publication of the University of California and the State Bar of California)

Interviews:

Talks:

  • October 2011 Basics of copyright and how Creative Commonsi licenses work - San Diego City College
  • August 2011 Creative Commons for Low Power & Internet Radio stations at the Media Arts Center San Diego with Activist San Diego, Prometheus Radio, and the World Beat Center
  • April 2011 Panelist at National Conference for Media Reform for Session on Copyrighti and Intellectual Property Law
  • February 2011 Drumbeat San Diego - "Basics of Copyright & How Creative Commons Licenses Work"
  • May 2010 Media Arts Center filmmaker meetup: "How Creative Commons licenses work"
  • March 2010 LA Media Reform Conference at Occidental College: "How the Law empowers citizen media: Fair Use and Creative Commons licenses"
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Shaun Spalding

Job Title: 
Advocate
Joined NMR in: 
May 2010

Shaun Spalding - Photo Credit Ryan Moulton ( rymo.org )

Shaun Spalding is an Intellectual Propertyi Attorney specializing in entertainment, and a Professional Nice Guy specializing in positivity, mutual gain, and the ethical practice of law. Before making contracts and copyright his main hobbies, Shaun worked briefly as a commercial video producer and for several years as a competent-but-untalented graphic and web designer. Shaun likes working with passionate artists and entrepreneurs because he likes to think of himself as one as well. He sleeps well at night knowing that he spends his days helping artists, entrepreneurs, and consumers who need it at New Media Rights.
 
He has lectured about contracts and intellectual property at various colleges, high schools, and conferences on the west coast, and hopes to make his east coast debut soon.

Aleymar Santana

Job Title: 
Video Production Volunteer
Joined NMR in: 
November 2011

Aleymar Santana is a video production volunteer born and raised in San Diego, CA. She grew up being her mother's photography subject, and when she got her own camcorder, she learned that she had a passion for filmmaking herself.  Besides video she loves to sing, dance, watch movies and workout. The Disney princess movies, action-adventures like Pirates of the Carribean, and classics like Ben Hur are all in her DVD collection.

Ashley Gray

Job Title: 
Legal Clerk
Joined NMR in: 
January 2012

Ashley is a second year student at the University of San Diego School of Law.  She is interested in Intellectual Propertyi, especially relating to copyright, open source software and net neutrality.

Courtney Byrne

Job Title: 
Legal Clerk
Joined NMR in: 
January 2012

Courtney is a second year law student with an interest in business ideation, brand and strategy development, and trademark, consumer, and advertising law. Regarding new media, she has positive feelings about the participatory culture we are in, the shift away from passive consumption, and the availability of creative surplus. She believes strongly in a quote she once read: "The internet means never having to ask permission before trying something new."

Shruti Joshi

Job Title: 
Volunteer
Joined NMR in: 
March 2012

Shruti is an LLM graduate from George Washington University Law School with specialization in Intellectual Propertyi laws. Before coming to pursue her Masters degree, she was practicing law in India. She is a young talented lawyer who persistently craves to excel in whatever she undertakes with the requisite diligence. She strongly believes in the efforts of new media and is excited to be a part of this creative family. Apart from being dedicated at her work, Shruti is also a great dancer and loves to travel.

Katrina Julian

Job Title: 
Legal Clerk
Joined NMR in: 
April 2012

Katrina is happy to be back in her hometown of San Diego as a second year law student at California Western School of Law. She is interested in IPi and communications/media law. Katrina has a Media Studies degree with a minor in Journalism from the University of San Francisco. Prior to law school, she worked for ABC7 in SF and LA but was more passionate being a freelance print and broadcast reporter for ethnic news outlets such as The Filipino Channel (TFC). Katrina loves seeing her friends and family start their own creative enterprises in fashion, makeup artistry, photography, and videography with the help of Internet and social media. She’s excited to help further other people's creative and entrepreneurial efforts through new media. Outside school and work, Katrina enjoys watching movies, keeping up with celebrity gossip, and playing with her 5-lb chihuahua Pacman (named after boxing champ Manny Pacquiao).

Lauren Hanley-Brady

Job Title: 
Legal Clerk
Joined NMR in: 
April 2012

Lauren is a second year law student at California Western with an interest in IPi – in particular video game law, brand management, licensing, cyberspace & privacy law. She has a Film Production degree from SDSU, where she was the producer of several student films and music videos. Lauren is a self-proclaimed geek, playing video games in her limited spare time to stay sane, as well as checking up daily on game-related legal websites. She sincerely wants a puppy, but is happy to work towards the goal of passing the bar as the prerequisite for obtaining that particular reward.

Alex Johnson

Job Title: 
Legal Clerk
Joined NMR in: 
May 2012

Alex is a third year law student at the University of San Diego School of Law. After growing up in the heart of Silicon Valley, Alex has been a life long lover of all thing technological. He is currently interested in copyright law, business planning, and taxation. Alex comes from an entrepreneurial background and has a passion for working with similarly driven individuals. As an advocate, Alex is a strong proponent of copyright reform and net neutrality. In his spare time, Alex enjoys preparing for the coming human-machine singularity, and will gleefully welcome our future mechanical overlords.

See the NMR staff archives