Vivek Krishnamurthy

Associate - Washington, D.C.

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Vivek Krishnamurthy is a member of Foley Hoag’s unique Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practice. He provides strategic and operational advice to corporations and civil society groups on the legal and reputational risks posed by a wide range of human rights and sustainability challenges.

Vivek has developed a particular expertise in advising technology companies, data processors, and crowdsourcing initiatives on the human rights implications of offering their products and services in different markets around the world. He regularly writes about such issues on the firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law blog.

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Education:

  • Yale Law School, J.D., 2008
  • Oxford University, M.Phil in International Relations, 2004
  • University of Toronto, B.A. in Economics and Political Science, honors, 2002

Languages:

French, Tamil

Representative Experience

Corporate Social Responsibility

  • Assessed a leading internet company's policies and procedures to protect the privacy and free expression rights of its users for compliance with the Principles of the Global Network Initiative (GNI) — a multi-stakeholder initiative working to promote and protect free expression and privacy in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector
  • Revised the terms of service of a major online shopping site in response to environmental concerns raised by non-governmental organizations
  • Assisted ACCESS, an international NGO that promotes open and secure access to the Internet as a human right, in developing a human rights action plan for telecom companies
  • Conducted a legal and reputational risk assessment for a crowdsourced humanitarian technology initiative resulting in the restructuring of the organization’s governance and decision-making protocols

International Litigation and Arbitration

  • Represented Bangladesh before the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in a maritime boundary proceeding against Myanmar
  • Represented a Latin American government in an investment arbitration proceeding before the International Centre for the Resolution of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
  • Advised an international energy company on land and maritime boundary disputes affecting its exploration and production activities
  • Advised a North American indigenous community on land claims and other issues arising from a series of 18th century treaties

Professional Experience

  • Coker Teaching Fellow, Yale Law School, 2007-2008
  • “Setting Defaults for Online Privacy,” Law360.com (June 20, 2012)
  • “Why Every Company Needs A Geolocation Policy,” Law360.com (June 12, 2012)
  • Note, Colonial Cousins: Comparing Canada and India’s Unwritten Constitutional Jurisprudence, 34 Yale J. Intl. L. 207 (2009) 
  • Comment, Oil, Sweat, and Tears: How Western Investment in the Extractive Sector Can Promote Human Rights, 11 Yale Hum. Rts. & Dev. L.J. 259 (2008)
  • Book Note, 31 Yale J. Intl. L. (2006) (reviewing Gary C. Hufbauer and Jeffrey J. Schott, NAFTA Revisited: Achievements and Challenges (2005))
  • Recent Development, The Emperor’s New Quotas: European and American Safeguard Measures Against Chinese Textiles, 31 Yale J. Intl. L. 271 (2006)

Honors

  • Rhodes Scholar for Ontario, 2002
  • Comments Editor, Yale Journal of International Law
  • John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics, Yale Law School
  • Editor in Chief, Attaché Journal of International Affairs, University of Toronto

Involvement

  • The Pixel Project (a non-profit internet initiative combatting violence against women), Director
  • American Bar Association, International Law Section, Member
  • Pro bono representation of a refugee claimant from West Africa
  • American Friends of the Kigali Public Library (www.kigalilibrary.org), Webmaster

  • "A Plan for Rights-Respecting Telecoms," Seventh Internet Governance Forum, Baku, Azerbaijan (November 8, 2012)
  • "Cyber Warfare and Cyber Security," 2012 Compliance and Ethics Institute, Las Vegas, NV (October 17, 2012)
  • “Where is the Cloud? The Challenge of Geolocation in an Era of Cloud Computing,” Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Webinar (August 16, 2012)
  • “Frontline Lessons from Other Sectors - Learning What Works in Human Rights,” Rio de Janeiro Human Rights & Technology Conference (May 31, 2012)
  • “The Basic Structure Doctrine in the Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of India,” Columbia Law School (October 12, 2010)
  • Moderator, “The Engagement Paradox: Should Extractive Industry Corporations do Business in Failed States and Conflict Zones?,” Symposium on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Extractive Industries, Yale Law School (March 8, 2008)
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Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • New York

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit