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Stephen S. Wu

ssw@svlg.com
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Phone: (408) 573-5700

One North Market St. Suite 200
San Jose, California 95113

Stephen Wu is a shareholder with Silicon Valley Law Group.  He advises clients concerning cutting edge information technologies, such as artificial intelligence, automated vehicles, robotics, mobile computing, cloud computing, Big Data, human-computer interfaces, and the Internet of Things.  His work in AI includes counseling clients on the use of ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI.  He helps clients with transactions, compliance, liability, investigations, and information governance regarding these technologies.  His work includes establishing data security, privacy, and records management policies and programs.  Steve counsels clients on compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA).  He assists with litigation in technology, trade secret, and copyright cases.  Finally, Steve acts as outside general counsel to Silicon Valley startups and technology companies, drafting and negotiating software-as-a-service (SaaS) and AI-as-a-service (AIaaS) agreements, licenses, hardware sales agreements, HIPAA business associate agreements, marketing agreements, and other technology transactions.

Steve served as the 2010-2011 Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Science & Technology Law.  He currently serves as Chair of the American Bar Association Artificial Intelligence and Robotics National Institute held in Silicon Valley.  He is a member of a number of the Sections Committees, including the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Internet of Things, Big Data, Information Security, and E-Privacy Law Committees.  The American Bar Association published his book, Guide to HIPAA Security and the Law, in August 2016.  Steve has written or co-written six other books on information security and the law.  In 2019, he wrote book chapters for ABA publications on AI and robotics product liability and the legal issues of connected vehicle systems. 

Before joining Silicon Valley Law Group, Steve was a Silicon Valley partner at Cooke Kobrick & Wu LLP.  Before starting his private practice, was the second in-house attorney at VeriSign, Inc.  At VeriSign, he was in charge of the team managing the company’s security policies and procedures (certificate policies and certification practice statements) supporting its secure ecommerce (public key infrastructure) services.  Before VeriSign, Steve practiced with two international law firms, Jones Day and the firm now known as K&L Gates, in the areas of intellectual property, commercial, and general litigation, as well as technology licensing and transactions.  From 1988 to 1990, Steve served as a law clerk to the Hon. Joseph P. Kinneary, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.  He is a 1988 graduate of Harvard Law School.

Education

J.D., Harvard University, 1988
cum laude

B.A., University of Pittsburgh, 1985
summa cum laude

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice California
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Western District of Pennsylvania
Southern District of Ohio
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
New York
Professional & Bar Association Memberships

American Bar Association
Member Since: 1997
Founding Chair, ABA Artificial Intelligence and Robotics National Institute, 2019- Chair, Science & Technology Law Section: 2010-2011. Officer, Science & Technology Law Section, 2007-2010. Council Member, Science & Technology Law Section, 2004-2007.

Information Security Committee, ABA Section of Science & Technology Law
Member Since: 1997
Co-Chair: 2001-2004

High Technology Law Section, Santa Clara County Bar Association
Member Since: 2002
Chair: 2014-2015

Representative Clients
  • Treasure Data, Inc.
  • Bank of America
  • Swordfish AI Inc.
  • Heartbeat.AI Inc.
  • ClloudWerx, Inc.
  • Electric Power Research Institute
  • Fluent Edgeworks, LLC
  • Wallpaperdirect
Representative Engagements
  • Drafted and negotiated artificial intelligence as a service (AIaaS) agreements for emerging AI companies
  • Serves as outside general counsel for numerous technology companies, covering compliance, data security, privacy, Big Data, electronic discovery, and corporate governance matters.
  • Updates public key infrastructure policy documents (certification practice statements, certificate policies, and related agreements) for a number of clients in support of their secure electronic commerce initiatives.
  • Negotiation of HIPAA Business Associate Agreements for vendors and customers.
  • Supporting marketing initiatives for vendors of information security products and services, focusing on how these products and services help their customers comply with regulatory retirements.
  • Lead counsel for a key defendant in the Silicon Valley Voicemail Case, Jasmine Networks v. Marvell Semiconductor, Santa Clara Superior Court.  The case resulted in a defense verdict after Jasmine abandoned its claims against our client.
Books
  • Author, A Guide to HIPAA Security and the Law Second Edition (ABA Press 2016).
  • Author, A Legal Guide to Enterprise Mobile Device Management: Managing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Employer-Issued Device Programs (ABA Press 2013).
  • Editor, A Guide to HIPAA Security and the Law First Edition (ABA Press 2007).
  • Co-Author, Information Security: A Legal, Business, and Technical Handbook (ABA Press 2004).
  • Co-Author, PKI Assessment Guidelines (ABA Press 2003).
  • Author, Risk Management for Consumer Internet Payments (Nat'l Automated Clearinghouse Ass'n 2002).
  • Co-Author, Digital Signatures (RSA Press 2002).
Book Chapters
  • Author, The Regulation of Autonomous Driving in California, in Handbuch Assistiertes und Automatisiertes Fahren (Handbook of Assisted and Automated Driving) (Springer 2023).
  • Author, AI Product Liability Issues and Associated Risk Management, in T. Claypoole, ed., The Law of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Machines:  Understanding A.I. and the Legal Impact (ABA Press 2019).
  • Author, Connected Cars:  Impact on Cars and Other Intelligent Transportation Systems, in C. Cwik et al., eds., The Internet of Things:  Legal Issues, Policy, and Practical Strategies (ABA Press 2019). 
  • Author, Product Liability Issues in the U.S. and Associated Risk Management, in M. Maurer, et. al, Daimler & Benz Foundation, Autonomous Driving: Technical, Legal and Social Aspects (Springer 2016).
  • Author, Drone Product Liability and Risk Management, in D. Dulo, et al., Unmanned Aircraft in the National Airspace: Critical Issues, Technology, and the Law (ABA Press 2015).
Law Journal Articles
  • Stephen S. Wu, Summary of Recent Key Developments in Artificial Intelligence Data Protection Regulation, PLI Current, vol. 7 (2023).
  • Stephen S. Wu, Challenges of Using Artificial Intelligence for Privacy and Security Compliance, PLI Current, vol. 5 (2021).
  • Stephen S. Wu, Privacy and Security Challenges of Advanced Technologies:  Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Big Data, and Blockchain, PLI Current, vol. 3 (2019).
  • Stephen S. Wu, AI Product Liability Issues and Associated Risk Management, Business Law Today, Aug. 13, 2019.
  • Stephen S. Wu, Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practice Claims Against Manufacturers of Automated Vehicles, SciTech Lawyer, Summer 2018.
  • Stephen S. Wu, When Law and Ethics Collide with Autonomous Vehicles, SciTech Lawyer, Fall 2017.
  • Stephen S. Wu, Mobile Phone Wars After the Apple v. Samsung Patent Verdict, SciTech Lawyer, Winter/Spring 2013.
  • Stephen S. Wu and Marc Goodman, Neural Devices will Change Humankind:  What Legal Issues Will Follow, SciTech Lawyer, Winter 2012. 
  • Stephen S. Wu, Unmanned Vehicles and US Product Liability Law, 21(2) Journal of Law, Information & Science 234-254 (2011).
  • Stephen S. Wu, Incorporation by Reference and Public Key Infrastructures: Moving the Law Beyond the Paper-Based World, 28 Jurimetrics Journal 317-343 (1998).
In the media
Awards and Reviews
Volunteer Activities
  • Steve is an active volunteer in Boy Scouts of America (BSA). He was the founding Scoutmaster of Scouts BSA Troop 201 for girls in Los Altos, CA from 2019 to 2022, and from 2014 to 2017 was Scoutmaster of Troop 201's partner troop for boys, Boy Scout Troop 37 in Los Altos.
  • 2023 Distinguished Citizen Award, Pacific Skyline Council, Boy Scouts of America.  The Distinguished Citizen Award recognizes noteworthy and extraordinary leadership of citizens in communities across the US. Honoring distinguished citizenship delivers a message to our youth that character counts. The lives of distinguished citizens put into place guideposts that serve to inspire our youth to lead, to accept responsibility, and to care about principles and causes beyond self-interest. 
  • He is an Eagle Scout and member of the National Eagle Scout Association and served as an advisor and Vigil member of Ohlone Lodge #63, Order of the Arrow (Scouting's National Honor Society).
  • Steve headed the Law Merit Badge Program at the 2010 BSA National Jamboree and served on the BSA national merit badge task force.
Client Reviews
★★★★★
For creative solutions to complex legal issues, I often turn to the attorneys at Silicon Valley Law Group. They are one of the law firms I have come to trust for providing consistently superior, responsive legal services. John A. Sobrato
★★★★★
The litigation team gave me the muscle, organizational skills and attention to detail I needed against our major competitor and got us a great result. Jon Burney
★★★★★
I expected legal competence from SVLG and they delivered on that expectation. But they went beyond my expectations in two important ways. Dick Haiduck