Were you recently notified by your ISP or blogging platform that you have been sued for copyright infringement for your online activity? Were you informed that your ISP would be providing your identity to the lawyers for the person or entity that has sued you shortly (usually within 30 days) unless you took action to stop this from happening by filing a motion to quash or to dismiss the case? If so, this page is to help you find counsel to assist you in sorting out your options.

Attorneys who are interested in joining this list should contact [email protected] with the subject line "Subpoena Defense Attorney Addition."

Please note that we do not screen or evaluate the attorneys on the Subpoena Defense Resources list. Each person contacting a lawyer from the list should make their own independent evaluation of whether the referred attorney is the right one for the particular case. In most states you can check with the State Bar website for the current status and record of lawyers in that state, but you should make your own judgment about which attorney is right for you. 

What’s going on?

A series of lawsuits have been filed across the U.S. against thousands of individuals accused of having illegally uploaded and downloaded movies in violation of copyright law. Some of these are independent films such as “The Dallas Buyers Club” and some are for pornographic films.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuits have obtained IP addresses they allege are associated with infringement, and have received permission from the court to issue subpoenas to Internet Service Providers ("ISPs") to obtain the name and address of subscribers associated with those IP addresses.

What Should I Do?

If you are a target, you probably have questions about how to proceed and may wish to seek legal counsel. Because individual cases are unique, EFF recommends that defendants contact an attorney who practices regularly in either the state where the lawsuit was filed or their home state for a consultation. Because so many people need legal help, and usually on a very short time frame, the following attorneys have offered to assist those targeted to understand their options. Some of the attorneys listed on this page may be able to represent you in states other than the ones they are listed under. Fees are negotiable on a case by case basis. These attorneys may, if necessary, file a motion to quash or otherwise intervene on behalf of subpoena targets who retain them as counsel. The attorneys on this list are not affiliated with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in any way and by offering their names EFF does not intend to give any individual endorsement of them.

If you wish to move to quash or dismiss, you (or your attorney) must file a motion with the court. Also be aware that contacting the court or the plaintiff's counsel yourself risks publicly exposing your identity, which would make the subpoena moot. Lastly, your ISP will not file for you, and simply sending a copy to your ISP is not enough to protect your identity. If possible, it is usually best to retain counsel to assist.

General Resources

Attorneys offering assistance

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

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New Jersey

New York

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Texas

Utah

Virginia

Washington

Washington D.C.