Kai Falkenberg

Kai Falkenberg is an American lawyer, law professor and media executive, currently the general counsel at G/O Media.^[1] Previously, she served as Acting Commissioner and First Deputy Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment in New York City and was the editorial counsel at Forbes and a media and entertainment lawyer in private practice. She is a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School where she created and teaches the nation's first class on the Law and Regulation of Social Media.^[2]

Early life and education

Falkenberg grew up in Chappaqua, New York and graduated from Dartmouth College where she was a competitive ski racer, a pentathlete and a writer for the college's alumni magazine.^[3] She received a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School where she was an editor of the Law Review and a Kent Scholar.^[4]

Career

Falkenberg clerked on the federal appellate court in the District of Columbia and began her legal career at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. She then worked at Davis Wright Tremaine where she specialized in First Amendment litigation and counseled media and entertainment clients including Wenner Media, A&E, Warner Bros., the BBC and the New York Times.^[5]

From 2007 to 2014, Falkenberg was the editorial counsel at Forbes, advising on legal issues relating to its print and online content, including its transformation from a traditional publisher to an online contributor platform. She also represented the company in a libel suit brought by Prince Alwaleed regarding his ranking on the Forbes's "Billionaires List" and its reporting that his net worth was inflated.^[6]

Falkenberg joined the de Blasio Administration in 2015, first as a senior lawyer for the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs focusing on online consumer fraud. In 2016 she was named the first Deputy Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment, leading a 120-person agency that supports NYC's creative sectors and runs NYC Media, the city's network of television and radio stations. In that role, Falkenberg launched initiatives including the Freelancer's Hub, a center providing free resources for independent workers, and One Book One New York, the country's largest community read program, in addition to overseeing the development of programming for NYC Life, the organization's flagship television channel (which has been nominated for 160 New York Emmy Awards, winning 42). Falkenberg also negotiated the deal to bring the Grammys back to New York City after fifteen years.^[7]

Falkenberg left the Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment in 2018 to return to practicing media and entertainment law.^[8][9] In 2019 she joined G/O Media as general counsel. In that position she is the top lawyer for online publications including The Onion, Gizmodo, Jezebel, The Root and Deadspin.^[10]

Falkenberg served as President of the board of directors for The Jewish Week.^[11] She currently serves on the boards of the Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY and New York City's Open Data Advisory Council, as well as The Gotham Film & Media Institute (formerly the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP)), the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, and 70 Faces Media.^[12]

Personal life

Falkenberg lives in New York City and is married to former U.S. Secret Service agent Christopher Falkenberg, whom she met while giving blood while both were students at Columbia Law School.^[13]

References

1. Clark, Dan. "Former New York City Media Commissioner Becomes G/O General Counsel". Corporate Counsel. Law.com. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
2. "Kai Falkenberg". Columbia Law School.
3. "Class Note 1994". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine.
4. "Kai Falkenberg biography". Global Freedom of Expression. Columbia University. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
5. "Kai Falkenberg biography". Global Freedom of Expression. Columbia University. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
6. "Forbes Wins Key Ruling in Saudi Prince Libel Suit". Jewish Business News. 26 November 2014.
7. "Behind the Creative Campaign for This Year's One Book, One New York Initiative". New York Press Room.
8. "New Website Aims To Add To NYC's Local News Coverage". Patch. 26 September 2018.
9. Peiser, Jaclyn (26 September 2018). "Website Revs Up, With New York Magazine's Help, to Cover More Local News". The New York Times.
10. Gorman, Michele. "15 Minutes With G/O Media's General Counsel". Law360. Portfolio Media, Inc. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
11. Tracy, Marc. "The Jewish Week Pauses Its Print Edition". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
12. Brawarsky, Sandee. "A Lawyer In A World Of Journalists". The Jewish Week. The Jewish Week. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
13. "WEDDINGS; Kai Singer, Christopher Falkenberg". The New York Times. 2000-11-12. ISSN 0362-4331.