BLACKSTONE - Key Persons
A Hacker-Lawyer's View on Blockchain, Big Law and Cybersecurity, Unprecedented - American Legal Media (Mr. Urbelis discussed the CFAA, cybersecurity, his transition from teenage hacker to Big Law attorney, and how that unusual path has shaped his legal practice) (8 March 2018)
Job Titles:
- Architect
- PARTNER
- Chief Information Security Officer of the National Football League
Mr. Alexander J. Urbelis is an experienced attorney and CISO. Alex has been part of the information security community for more than 20 years and who has truly varied experience as a C-level officer, in-house counsel, private practice litigator, and a federal attorney.
Alex is the architect and sole coder of a unique DNS monitoring and intelligence platform, OMNI (Open-source Multidisciplinary Network Intelligence). Designed to identify hallmarks of impending attacks, cybersquatters, counterfeiters, and other malicious actors, using the OMNI platform Alex has assisted companies worldwide with the early detection, investigation, and termination of sophisticated cybersecurity threats before a breach or reputational damage occurs.
Gothamist, To Avoid Landmark Status, Strand Owner Offers Up a Compromise (quoting Mr. Urbelis concerning his proposal to NYC for a preservation easement as opposed to landmark designation) (19 February 2019)
Radio Popolare Conference, Milan, Italy (Mr. Urbelis spoke on several panels about security, privacy, and the impacts of these subjects on US politics) (16-18 June 2018)
VICE Motherboard, Evidence Suggests the GOP Bought at Least 17 Anti-James Comey Domains (Motherboard covered Mr. Urbelis' identification of domains targeting James Comey utilizing Blackstone Law Group's in-house DNS monitoring and threat detection engine, OMNI ) (19 April 2018)
The Recorder (Law.com), WHOIS - Web Tool Used by IP Attorneys, Law Enforcement In Peril (Mr. Urbelis was quoted on the subject of whether Whois data is critical to cybersecurity investigations) (17 April 2018)
NYU Rennert Forum, Technology and International Relations: Disruption and re-Calibration (Mr. Urbelis lectured about DNS and domain-based cybersecurity blindspots affecting public and private institutions) (13 April 2018)
2600 Magazine, The Hacker Quarterly , The Secrecy and Security of the Special Counsel (Mr. Urbelis published the lead article in 2600 for the Spring 2018 issue) (5 April 2018)
Il Manifesto, The Cambridge Analytica Chain Reaction (in Italian) (Mr. Urbelis was interviewed concerning the privacy and security issues stemming from the Cambridge Analytica fiasco and the use of social media)
Coast to Coast AM, Nationally Syndicated Radio with Mike Siegel (Mr. Urbelis discussed information security, the Russian hacking investigations, politics, and his 1984 CNN op-ed.) (22 June 2017)
Off the Hook, WBAI, 99.5 fm (New York) (Mr. Urbelis discussed his CNN op-ed on the parallels between 1984 and the practices of the Trump Administration) (1 February 2017)
BRIC TV, Hacking the Vote: A Conversation with Hacker-Turned-Lawyer Alexander Urbelis (Mr. Urbelis discussed recount lawsuits and information security concerns about voting systems and the election results) (8 December 2016)
Off the Hook, WBAI, 99.5 fm (New York) (Mr. Urbelis was a guest speaker discussing sanctions litigation against Mossack Fonseca in the aftermath of the Panama Papers breach) (10 August 2016)
Mr. John D. Lovi has been a litigator and trial lawyer at major "white shoe" law firms in New York City for 30 years. For the past 12 years, Mr. Lovi had been a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP's New York office, which he opened in 2004 as its Managing Partner. Before that, he was a partner at McDermott, Will & Emery in New York for 10 years. He also spent eight years as an Associate in the Litigation and M&A Groups at Sullivan & Cromwell.
Mr. Lovi has successfully tried jury cases to a verdict in state and federal court in New York, as well as litigated matters in state and federal courts across the United States. He has also conducted major international arbitrations in New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In addition, he has handled appeals in various appellate courts where he is admitted.
Mr. Lovi's practice is as a general commercial litigator, with a specialty in securities, derivatives, and M&A law, as well as complex litigations involving international components. For example, he represented the Korean Government and many of its largest financial institutions following the fallout of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. He obtained settlement payments for or saved clients from paying more than $800 million in derivative liabilities. He has handled national debt crises for clients with interests in Venezuela, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. His clients include many major companies, financial institutions, and hedge funds in the United States, Korea, Singapore, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom.
Some of Mr. Lovi's significant victories include: Won a defense verdict in a $47 million jury product fraud case in New York federal court for a Korean manufacturer doing business in China; Successfully defended a $400 million securities class action case for a large New York hedge fund in N.M. federal court; Defended a $610 million arbitration against a large French mobile phone company.
A significant part of Mr. Lovi's practice has involved risk management and analysis for financial clients and hedge funds. Mr. Lovi has developed cutting-edge methods and metrics for analyzing litigation risk and litigation strategies to help clients reduce litigation expenses and liabilities, and to avoid liabilities in their business and commercial transactions. He has developed this expertise through many years representing some of the top investment banks, venture capital firms, and hedge funds, as well as utilizing skills learned through classes taken at Yale's School of Management while studying law there.
Mr. Lovi has many years of experience representing clients on an "alternative fee basis" and has headed his firms' committees in this area for more than 10 years. He has successfully worked with well-known "litigation funding firms" on several matters and has developed his own funding arrangements for clients with great success.