Steven E. Helland

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Email: shelland@fredlaw.com
Office: 612.492.7113
Assistant: Jill Beckman Ray, 612.492.7602

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PRIMARY SERVICES

Advertising, Marketing & Trademark
Artificial Intelligence
Copyright Protection and Enforcement
Intellectual Property
Securities
IP Technology, Licensing & Commercialization

Internet, Technology & E-Commerce
Start Up & Rapid Growth Enterprises
Data Protection & Cybersecurity
Life Sciences
Website Accessibility
Sports & Entertainment

FEATURES

Website Accessibility Updates

Overview

Law at the intersection of information technology (IT), Internet, software, new media and advertising—this is where Steve has built his career and works with clients to build value, close deals and promote compliance.

Steve chairs a multi-disciplinary group of lawyers, as the laws and marketplace dynamics impacting his clients cut across traditional lines. His areas of focus and experience include: copyright, licensing, contracts, Software as a Service (SaaS), cloud agreements, start-ups and entity formation, advertising, health IT, marketing, social media, privacy, security and breach issues, big data, and machine learning/artificial intelligence (A.I.).

Steve is Chair of Fredrikson & Byron’s Internet, Technology & E-Commerce Group. In 2015, Steve founded the firm’s Website Accessibility Group.

Experience

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Christopher & Banks, CRM and Business Intelligence Transactions with Epicor. Represented Christopher & Banks, the women’s apparel retailer with 500+ stores, in its IT, cloud, and licensing contracts with Epicor / ShopVisible as part of its omni-channel business strategy. (Article in Yahoo! Finance.)
Information Technology General Counsel. Represented a web-based technology business with over 1,000,000 registered users on all IT matters including email vendor relationship, legal compliance, privacy and security issues. Drafted website Terms of Use and Privacy Policies for over 60 clients. Represented Bold Orange in startup and formation issues.
Social Media and Marketing. Represented a major independent advertising agency in contract and compliance matters involving Internet, social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram), lead-generation, customer agreements, talent and rights issues. Represented a large health care provider regarding Internet reviews and defamation issues.
IT Services and Outsourcing. Negotiated IT services, consulting and outsourcing transactions with Wipro, IBM, Gartner Group, Accenture, Infosys, Deloitte, Covansys, and BearingPoint. Example: Represented a private financial services company on cloud-based data storage, including access, security, disaster recovery and service level issues.
CRM and ERP. Represented clients purchasing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, systems, maintenance and other services from SAP, Oracle, Business Objects, Cognos, PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems, and Salesforce.com.
Website Accessibility / ADA Defense and Compliance. Defended and advised over 50 website, app, and other technology owners regarding accessibility, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related claims. In addition to obtaining favorable settlements, I have counseled clients on risk-reduction and risk-mitigation programs related to accessible technology, including the use of live-user-audits, scanning tools, and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) / machine learning to improve accessibility.
Electronic Medical Records, Practice Management, and Health Technology. Represented over 50 health systems, hospitals, clinics and individual practices in transactions with EMR and other technology vendors such as Epic Systems, GE Healthcare, Allscripts, Cerner, McKesson, eClinicalWorks, Misys, Medinformatix, Eclipsys, NextGen, and A4 Health Systems. Counseled clients on disputes and litigation involving health IT, including poor performance by health IT vendors.
Consulting and Development Services. Represented Minnesota companies providing consulting, software development, website development, and advertising services to large regional customers such as Target Corp., 3M, and Piper Jaffray.
M&A Involving Software, Websites, and Customer Data Assets. Represented buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions transactions in which software, websites, or customer data are primary assets. Purchase price range: $500,000 to $200 million.
Example: Advised client Thomson Reuters on its acquisition of legal publisher O’Connor’s.
Example: Advised consumer rewards website InboxDollars.com in its sale to Prodege.
Cloud and Telecom. Represented clients in transactions with the following vendors: Microsoft, AT&T, Verizon, Qwest, Google, HP, Double Click, Yahoo, Allant, Campbell Mithun, Avaya, T-Mobile, and Smart Reply.
BSA Software Audit Defense. Represented over 50 small and large businesses in responding to and negotiating claims of illegal software installations and copyright infringement by the BSA (Business Software Alliance).
Entertainment and Publishing. Steve has been involved in the following film, television and entertainment projects: Stay Then Go (film, 2014); Ryan Seacrest Productions (represented producer and talent in reality television production in-development, 2013); Nobody (film, 2009); A Prairie Home Companion (film, 2006); Building at a Crossroads (documentary, 2006); Million Dollar Idea (reality TV, 2005); Suspension (film, 2007). Steve also represented Hazelden Publishing, the world’s largest publisher of addiction and recovery work, including related e‑book publishing and apps.

Articles & Presentations

Website Accessibility Alert for Government Contractors

September 24, 2019

By Steven E. Helland

Government contractors, are the websites and deliverables you provide to government clients accessible?