
Government Affairs Council
Protecting marketers and monitoring the regulatory regime.
The PDMI's Government Affairs Council follows all regulatory developments affecting the performance-driven and direct-to-consumer marketing industries. The Council weighs in on behalf of members where and when it's deemed appropriate by PDMI staff and members. Its members will also highlight important information in PDMI publications on various regulatory and legal developments at the federal, state, and local levels.
Council Members

Linda Goldstein is a member of BakerHostetler’s Advertising, Marketing & Digital Media team. She provides advertising counsel and regulatory advice to leading Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies. She represents clients in investigative and enforcement proceedings brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state attorneys general, district attorneys, and other federal and state agencies. Goldstein spends a considerable portion of her time advising clients on how to minimize the legal risks associated with mobile marketing, e-retail, social influencers, native advertising, email and telemarketing, and more. Goldstein’s commentary has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, NBC’s TODAY Show, Adweek, Advertising Age, and the National Law Journal.

Leonard Gordon
Venable LLP
Partner
llgordon@venable.com
212-370-6252
www.venable.com
Leonard Gordon, co-chair of Venable’s Advertising and Marketing Group, is a skilled litigator who leverages his significant experience working for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to help protect his clients’ interests and guide their business activity. Gordon regularly represents companies and individuals in investigations and litigation with the FTC, state attorneys general, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). He also represents clients in business-to-business and class-action litigation involving both consumer protection and antitrust issues.

Alexandra Megaris
Venable LLP
Partner
amegaris@venable.com
212-370-6210
www.venable.com
Alexandra Megaris is partner at Venable LLP in New York. Megaris focuses on complex regulatory investigations and government enforcement matters involving state attorneys general, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), state regulatory agencies, and the U.S. Congress. She also works closely with Venable's government affairs team in advocating for clients before these agencies. She has extensive experience with consumer protection laws, such as state unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices (UDAAP) laws, the FTC Act, the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, and product-specific regulations including those regulating credit reporting, loan servicing, and debt collection.

Brian Rouse
Cannella Media DTC
Vice President, Legal & Product Management
brouse@cannellamedia.com
951-216-6549
www.cannellamedia.com
Brian Rouse is based in Washington, D.C., and is in-house counsel at Cannella Media DTC, a direct-to-consumer marketing and media company with more than 35 years of DRTV campaigns. He has worked at multiple marketing agencies throughout his career, the past eight years as a licensed attorney. Rouse uses his legal and marketing expertise to provide Cannella Media with risk assessment analysis, regulatory compliance with advertising laws, contract negotiation with clients and vendors, and management of trademarks. His role also includes leading Cannella Media’s lead-generation efforts and managing projects that involve both television and digital advertising components.

Randal Shaheen
BakerHostetler
Partner
rshaheen@bakerlaw.com
202-861-1521
www.bakerlaw.com
Randy Shaheen has more than 30 years of experience as an advertising attorney. A member of BakerHostetler's Advertising, Marketing and Digital Media team, he represents clients before a variety of regulatory agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), National Advertising Division (NAD) and state attorneys general, and he is sought after for his handling of multijurisdictional matters. Randy's background facilitates practical insight: He has a significant history with matters related to privacy and data security, marketing to children, "green" claims, dietary supplements, claims of weight loss and health and performance, comparative claims, the use of surveys and "Made in the USA" claims.

Damon Wright heads the Advertising & E-Commerce practice at Gordon Rees LLP. He represents leading brands, direct response advertisers, e-commerce retailers, lead generators, advertising agencies, fulfillment companies, technology companies, and related service providers. His clients span almost all verticals, including food and beverage, dietary supplements, telehealth, cosmetics, financial publishing, cryptocurrency, fitness, clothing, electronics, home goods, people search, and coaching. Wright is relied upon as a trusted advisor on advertising, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, consumer protection law, business agreements, and acquisitions. He is a determined advocate when litigating FTC and state attorney general actions, business disputes, consumer class actions, infringement, false advertising, unfair competition, and other high stakes matters. He is the editor of the E-Commerce Legal Guide, a practical playbook for any online advertiser.