THE SHARING ECONOMY: DISRUPTING THE BUSINESS AND LEGAL LANDSCAPE Panel 402 NAPABA Annual Conference Saturday, November 5, 2016 9:15 a.m. 1. Program Description Tech companies are revolutionizing the economy by creating marketplaces that connect individuals who “share” their services with consumers who want those services. This “sharing economy” is changing the way Americans rent housing (Airbnb), commute (Lyft, Uber), and contract for personal services (Thumbtack, Taskrabbit). For every billion-dollar unicorn, there are hundreds more startups hoping to become the “next big thing,” and APAs play a prominent role in this tech boom. As sharing economy companies disrupt traditional businesses, however, they face increasing regulatory and litigation challenges. Should on-demand workers be classified as independent contractors or employees? Should older regulations (e.g., rental laws, taxi ordinances) be applied to new technologies? What consumer and privacy protections can users expect with individuals offering their own services? Join us for a lively panel discussion with in-house counsel and law firm attorneys from the tech sector. 2. Panelists Albert Giang Shareholder, Caldwell Leslie & Proctor, PC Albert Giang is a Shareholder at the litigation boutique Caldwell Leslie & Proctor. His practice focuses on technology companies and startups, from advising clients on cutting-edge regulatory issues to defending them in class actions and complex commercial disputes. He is the rare litigator with in-house counsel experience: he has served two secondments with the in-house legal department at Lyft, the groundbreaking peer-to-peer ridesharing company, where he advised on a broad range of regulatory, compliance, and litigation issues. Albert also specializes in appellate litigation, having represented clients in numerous cases in the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and California appellate courts. He has been recognized as one of the “Most Influential Minority Lawyers” by the Los Angeles Business Journal, a “Rising Star” in the appellate field by Los Angeles Magazine, and one of the “Best Under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Prior to joining Caldwell Leslie & Proctor, Albert served as a law clerk for the Honorable Richard A. Paez, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, graduated with distinction from Stanford Law School, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Amherst College. Loni Mahanta Managing Counsel, Employment/Litigation at Lyft, Inc. Loni Mahanta is Senior Counsel, Employment/Litigation at Lyft, Inc., the groundbreaking peer-to-peer ridesharing company. In addition to overseeing employment issues at Lyft, she plays a leading role in the widely-followed disputes over whether Lyft and Uber’s drivers should be classified as independent contractors or employees. Prior to joining Lyft, Loni was an attorney at Folger Levin LLP and Crowell & Moring LLP, where she specialized in employment litigation. She obtained her B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University and graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from Hastings College of the Law. CALDWELL LESLIE & PROCTOR, PC / 725 S. FIGUEROA ST, 31ST FLOOR / LOS ANGELES, CA 90017 / 213 629 9040 / WWW.CALDWELL-LESLIE.COM Jennifer Lam Senior Product Counsel, Airbnb Jennifer Lam is the Senior Product Counsel at Airbnb, where she plays a leading role in the company’s product and privacy work. She previously spent four years as in-house counsel at Zynga, where she was lead counsel on issues of privacy, product, promotions, and content. Prior to working at these innovative startups, Jennifer was an Associate at Kasdan, Simonds, Riley & Vaughan and graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law. Steven Siger Managing Counsel, Thumbtack Steve Siger is Managing Counsel at Thumbtack, a groundbreaking company that connects businesses and customers with local service professionals. At Thumbtack, Steve is the primary legal advisor to the Product, Engineering, and Marketing teams, while also working on government affairs, trust and safety, and other legal issues. Previously, Steve served as Senior Counsel at Uber, where he led the team responsible for all regulatory and legal policy affairs for Uber in the western United States; as Chief of Staff and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy; as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Judith W. Rogers on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; as an Associate at Latham & Watkins LLP; and on the advance staff of Obama for America. Steve graduated with distinction and pro bono distinction from Stanford Law School, and received his B.A. in Political Science magna cum laude and with distinction from Yale University. 3. Moderator Albert Lin Partner, Ice Miller Albert Lin is a partner in the Columbus, Ohio office of Ice Miller, LLP. Lin’s practice focuses on government regulatory enforcement, complex litigation, and appeals. Prior to joining Ice Miller, Lin served as General Counsel to Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray. As a member of the AG’s senior staff, Lin helped develop the office’s strategic plan and had primary responsibility for major financial litigation, criminal justice, gaming, and other matters. Prior to joining the AG’s office, Lin was an associate at Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, LLP in Columbus, Ohio, where his practice focused on government regulatory matters and complex litigation. Lin also served as a law clerk to two federal judges: The Honorable R. Guy Cole, Jr. (6th Cir.) and The Honorable Ann Aldrich (N.D. Ohio). 4. Outline a. Definition(s) of “Sharing Economy” i. “Sharing economy is an umbrella term with a range of meanings, often used to describe economic and social activity involving online transactions. Originally growing out of the open-source community to refer to peer-to-peer based sharing of access to goods and services, the term is now sometimes used in a broader sense to describe any sales transactions that are done via online market places, even ones that are business to consumer (B2C), rather than peer-to-peer…. [A] means of describing a generally more democratized marketplace, even when it’s applied to a broader spectrum of services. Also known as shareconomy, collaborative consumption or peer economy, a common academic definition of the term refers to a hybrid market model (in between owning and gift giving) of peer-to-peer exchange. Such transactions are often facilitated via community-based online services.” [Wikipedia] 2 CALDWELL LESLIE & PROCTOR, PC / 725 S. FIGUEROA ST, 31ST FLOOR / LOS ANGELES, CA 90017 / 213 629 9040 / WWW.CALDWELL-LESLIE.COM ii. “Increasingly, consumers and independent service providers are engaging in transactions facilitated by an Internet-based platform. The digital firms that provide the platforms are often collectively referred to as belonging to the ‘sharing’ or ‘collaborative’ economies, among other descriptors. [W]e narrow the focus and propose a definition of ‘digital matching firms’ that exhibit the following characteristics: (1) They use information technology (IT systems), typically available via web-based platforms, such as mobile ‘apps’ on Internet- enabled devices, to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions. (2) They rely on user-based rating systems for quality control, ensuring a level of trust between consumers and service providers who have not previously met. (3) They offer the workers who provide services via digital matching platforms flexibility in deciding their typical working hours. (4) To the extent that tools and assets are necessary to provide a service, digital matching firms rely on the workers using their own.” [U.S. Department of Commerce, Digital Matching Firms: A New Definition in the “Sharing Economy” Space (June 2016), available at http://www.esa.gov/sites/default/files/digital- matching-firms-new-definition-sharing-economy-space.pdf.] iii. Span different industries: Lyft, Uber, Airbnb, Thumbtack iv. Sometimes used interchangeably with: peer-to-peer economy, collaborative consumption, on-demand economy, gig economy b. Economic impact i. PARTICIPATION: According to a 2015 PWC report: (1) 44% of US adults are familiar with the sharing economy. (2) 18% of US adults have participated in the sharing economy as a consumer. (3) 7% of the US population are providers in the sharing economy. (4) The five key sharing sectors—travel, car sharing, finance, staffing, and music and video streaming—have global revenues of roughly $15 billion today, which are projected to increase to around $335 billion by 2025. (5) “Airbnb averages 425,000 guests per night, totaling more than 155 million guest stays annually—nearly 22% more than Hilton Worldwide, which served 127 million guests in 2014. Five-year-old Uber operates in more than 250 cities worldwide and as of February 2015 was valued at $41.2 billion—a figure that exceeds the market capitalization of companies such as Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Continental.” ii. PUBLIC OPINION: According to a 2015 PWC report: (1) Among US adults familiar with the sharing economy, 86% agree it makes life more affordable, 83% agree it makes life more convenient and efficient, 72% agree they feel that the sharing economy experience is not consistent, and 69% 3 CALDWELL LESLIE & PROCTOR, PC / 725 S. FIGUEROA ST, 31ST FLOOR / LOS ANGELES, CA 90017 / 213 629 9040 / WWW.CALDWELL-LESLIE.COM agree they will not trust sharing economy companies until they are recommended by someone they trust. (2) Among consumer who have tried the sharing economy, 57% agree that “I am intrigued by companies in the sharing economy but have some concerns about them.” (3) Among consumer who have tried the sharing economy, 64% say that peer regulation is more important than government regulation. iii. FUTURE: According to a 2015 PWC report: (1) Among US adults familiar with the sharing economy, 51% could see themselves being providers in the next two years, and 72% could see themselves being consumers in the next two years.