DLA Piper is pleased to announce that Peter Karanjia, chair of the firm’s Administrative Law Appellate practice, has been named a 2022 Law360 Telecommunications MVP.
Karanjia was one of just four Telecom attorneys nationwide selected by Law360 for its annual list of MVPs. The list highlights attorneys who have “distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.” A team of Law360 editors selected the 2022 MVP winners after reviewing more than 900 submissions.
Karanjia told Law360 his most notable case this year involved representing NetChoice, an internet trade association, in a constitutional challenge to Florida’s “de-platforming” law. The US District Court granted NetChoice’s request for a preliminary injunction to enjoin enforcement of the law, which would have severely hampered efforts by numerous online services to restrict or flag user-posted content that is inconsistent with their community guidelines, such as disinformation and scams, and could have exposed the services to fines of $250,000 per day.
In an interview with Law360, Karanjia described how the case rapidly unfolded — including filing a complaint just three days after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law and obtaining a preliminary injunction the day before the law was scheduled to go into effect. Karanjia also described the novel arguments he and the rest of the team employed.
“This was a fascinating case that combined high stakes with broad consequences with online services,” Karanjia said. “We had to be creative in developing the claims and arguments and how to apply decades-old [First Amendment] law including precedents on print media and how to apply it to the brave new world of social media.”
In his practice, Karanjia focuses on appellate, regulatory and complex civil litigation. He has extensive experience handling government-facing litigation and enforcement matters, including appeals and trial court litigation involving constitutional issues, federal preemption, and privacy and cybersecurity matters.
