Protecting Your Company from a New Wave of Consumer Class Actions Under California’s “Yelp Law”

Caren Decter, Partner | Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

Caren Decter is a Partner and Co-Chair of the Litigation Group at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, where she brings nearly two decades of experience representing clients in the advertising, art, consumer goods, and media and entertainment industries. Her practice spans intellectual property and complex contractual disputes, consumer class actions, white collar criminal matters, and emerging issues in data privacy and digital accessibility. Known for managing high-stakes litigation aggressively and efficiently, Caren is equally distinguished by her responsiveness and her talent for crafting creative, business-minded solutions that resolve disputes before they escalate into prolonged litigation.

• Education & Credentials

Caren earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she served as Articles Editor of the California Law Review. She received her B.A. summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis. She is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, as well as before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

• Recognition & Leadership

Caren is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading litigators. Her honors include selection to Best Lawyers in America (2024–2026), The Legal 500 (2024), and Super Lawyers New York Metro as a “Super Lawyer” (2021–2025) and previously as a “Rising Star” (2015–2017). She was also named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List in both 2019 and 2021. In recognition of her pro bono work, the Anti-Defamation League honored Caren and her colleagues with the Edward Brodsky Founders Award for their amicus brief opposing the Trump administration’s travel ban. As Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation Group, she plays a central role in shaping strategy and mentoring attorneys across the practice.

• Professional Involvement

Caren serves on the Board of Directors of the New York County Lawyers Association Foundation. She is also a member of the Consumer Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association and serves on the Copyright & Literary Property and Entertainment Law Committees of the New York City Bar Association. A frequent speaker and thought leader, Caren regularly presents at industry conferences and CLE programs on topics including state privacy law enforcement, the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), website accessibility, copyright developments following Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, and arbitration of consumer disputes. Her recent platforms include the IAB State Privacy Law Summit, DOC NYC, the Frankfurt Kurnit Tech Law Summit, and webinars hosted by myLawCLE and TechGC. She has authored articles for Law360, the New York Law Journal, and the American Bar Association.

• Experience

Caren defends companies in some of today’s most active and consequential areas of litigation, including consumer class actions and mass arbitrations under federal and state consumer protection, unfair competition, and false advertising statutes, as well as claims under CIPA, the VPPA, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She has secured notable victories including compelling arbitration of a VPPA class action against a sports streaming platform; obtaining dismissal of a $30 million art fraud complaint on summary judgment; defeating copyright claims against a leading online clearinghouse of stock 3D models; and securing dismissal on copyright preemption grounds of a competitor’s anti-reverse-engineering contract claim. She negotiated the settlement of one of the first public enforcement actions under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and routinely advises clients responding to CCPA Notice of Violation letters from the California Attorney General. Her broader practice has included representing a leading educational publisher in trademark and contract litigation against Vanderbilt University, a museum in a World War II restitution case, and an advertising agency in a criminal antitrust investigation. Caren also drafted a U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith on behalf of documentary filmmakers. Prior to joining Frankfurt Kurnit, Caren was an attorney at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, representing clients in complex commercial litigation. She began her career as a law clerk to the Honorable Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Regina Gerhardt, Associate | Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

Gina Gerhardt is an associate in the Litigation and Data Strategy, Privacy & Security Groups at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, where she counsels and defends clients navigating today’s most pressing commercial and technology-driven legal challenges. Her practice focuses on complex commercial disputes, with deep experience in privacy, entertainment, consumer class action, and intellectual property litigation. Gina is known for pairing sharp advocacy with a pragmatic, solutions-oriented approach—an approach that helps her clients, many of them large consumer-facing companies, resolve high-stakes disputes efficiently and with strategic foresight.

• Education & Credentials

Gina earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2018, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as Managing Editor of the Cardozo Law Review. She received her B.A. from the University of Rochester in 2012. Gina is admitted to practice in New York and before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

• Recognition & Leadership

Gina’s academic record—graduating magna cum laude with election to the Order of the Coif and serving as Managing Editor of the Cardozo Law Review—reflects the analytical rigor and editorial leadership she brings to her practice. Her trajectory from one of the nation’s premier litigation firms to a leading role at Frankfurt Kurnit underscores her standing as a rising voice in commercial and privacy litigation. She is increasingly sought after as a speaker and CLE presenter on emerging issues at the intersection of technology, privacy, and consumer litigation.

• Professional Involvement

Gina is a regular contributor to Frankfurt Kurnit’s thought leadership programming, including the firm’s annual Tech Law Summit. In 2026, she will co-present “Protecting Your Company from the Silliest Lawsuit Not on Your Radar,” a CLE hosted by myLawCLE, alongside Litigation Group Co-Chair Caren Decter. Gina has also authored client guidance on developing areas of law, including National Labor Relations Board memoranda addressing confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in severance agreements. She maintains a robust pro bono practice, with a particular focus on civil rights and immigration matters.

• Experience

Gina has represented clients across all phases of litigation, arbitration, and internal investigations, in state and federal courts as well as in international arbitration proceedings. She regularly defends companies in consumer class actions and mass arbitrations brought under state and federal statutes, including the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), the Florida Security of Communications Act (FSCA), and the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). Beyond the courtroom, she advises clients on a wide range of issues at the intersection of technology and emerging legal risk, including artificial intelligence, website tracking technologies, and compliance with state and federal privacy laws. Her recent representative matters include obtaining dismissal with prejudice of breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims on behalf of a commercial bank client following oral argument in the Southern District of New York; litigating breach of contract claims for a screenwriter in a dispute with a literary estate; representing a major manufacturing client in false advertising and antitrust litigation; securing an early and favorable settlement of trademark claims for an emerging technology company in a dispute with a large media company; and obtaining early dismissal of a sexual harassment lawsuit on behalf of a production company client. Prior to joining Frankfurt Kurnit, Gina was a litigation associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, where she represented clients in complex commercial litigation.

SESSION 1 – Background and Origins of the Yelp Law | 1:00pm – 1:15pm

California’s Yelp Law emerged from documented consumer abuses where businesses used non-disparagement clauses to silence honest reviews. This session examines the statute’s legislative history, public policy rationale, and its place within broader consumer protection trends in California and nationwide.

SESSION 2 – From Shield to Sword: How Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Weaponized the Yelp Law | 1:15pm – 1:30pm

Originally a consumer shield, the Yelp Law has become a plaintiffs’ bar weapon. This session explores the litigation playbook, common fact patterns, key cases, and how attorneys leverage class action and mass arbitration threats against businesses.

SESSION 3 – Key Defenses and Litigation Strategies | 1:30pm – 1:45pm

This session examines critical defenses against Yelp Law claims, including arguments that no private right of action exists absent enforcement, distinctions between non-disparagement clauses and intellectual property protections, and the statute’s scope regarding consumer contracts.

SESSION 4 – How Can Companies Protect Themselves? | 1:45pm – 2:00pm

This session provides practical guidance for companies seeking to mitigate Yelp Law exposure, covering how to audit existing online terms and agreements, plus drafting strategies and best practices designed to avoid liability and litigation risk.