Attorney Bios
Lawrence G. Walters, Managing Partner
Robert J. “Bobby” Desmond, Associate
Corey D. Silverstein, Of Counsel
Neil Braslow, Of Counsel
Lawrence G. Walters, Managing Partner
Lawrence G. Walters heads up Walters Law Group, a boutique law firm concentrating in First Amendment and Adult Entertainment law. Over the years, Mr. Walters has developed a noteworthy reputation for representing the interests of the adult entertainment community. He has practiced law for over 30 years and is recognized as a national expert on legal issues pertaining to Free Speech and the Internet. He frequently contributes to television news programs on networks such as NBC, ABC, PBS, BBC, CBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC, and CNN. His high profile cases are often followed by the print and online media, having been covered in such publications as the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. A partial listing of his articles and publications can be found here.
Mr. Walters began practicing law in Central Florida in 1988, after graduating from Florida State University, College of Law, with Honors. While in law school, he studied English common law at St. Edmunds Hall in Oxford University and interned with a federal judge in the Northern District of Florida. During his career, Mr. Walters has served as a Law Studies professor at the University of Central Florida and acted as a Director for the local Bar Association and the local Chamber of Commerce. Among his many civic and community activities, he has served as Chair of the Legal Panel of the ACLU, Central Chapter, and currently participates on the advisory councils for the University of Central Florida’s Law Studies Department and the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (asacp.org). Larry also serves as General Counsel to the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, which advocates for sexual freedom as a human right. His efforts in helping fight online child pornography earned him the Annual Service Recognition Award from asacp.org in 2005. He has earned a 10.0 (Superb) rating from avvo.com, and an AV (Preeminent) rating from lawyers.com. In 2017 he was named Media Lawyer of the Year by M&A Awards, and in 2018, he was named First Amendment Lawyer of the Year, by Global Law Experts.
Mr. Walters’ adult entertainment law practice dates back to the late ’80s when he defended numerous retail video store outlets in Florida against a government censorship campaign. Since then, he has represented many clients in the adult entertainment field on matters including Section 2257 compliance, DMCA safe harbor, content clearance, copyright, trademark, and obscenity defense. In 1997, he formed the Florida Bar’s First Amendment Law Committee, which he chaired for over a decade. He currently represents hundreds of website operators across the globe in connection with the regulation and protection of online content. Mr. Walters regularly deals with issues relating to online advertising, free speech concerns, domain name protection, mobile applications, and other cutting-edge practice areas. His adult entertainment clients include large live webcam networks, content producers, affiliate programs, video clip distributors, and adult dating sites. Mr. Walters has initiated over 100 federal law suits and defended over 30 criminal obscenity cases during his career, most of which resulted in no convictions or jail time. The lawyers in the firm also handle transactional matters such as licensing agreements, sales contracts, online user terms, and privacy policies.
Mr. Walters is a frequent lecturer on Free Speech issues and has presented seminars across the country on adult entertainment law and the First Amendment. One of his speeches dealing with the First Amendment and Terrorism, was published in the Representative American Speeches of 2003, along with those of former President George W. Bush, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, and Sen. Hillary Clinton. He regularly publishes articles of interest to adult website operators on countless websites and magazines, including legal updates directed at specific industries. His firm’s website, www.FirstAmendment.com, which has been in operation for over 20 years, is a popular resource for legal information on Internet and Constitutional law issues. Larry operates several other websites listed on www.weblawnetwork.com; each focused on a specific area of practice. His blog can be found at www.LawofSex.com. Over the years, Mr. Walters has published several law review articles on free speech issues and gaming law, along with a book chapter on the First Amendment protections of commercial speech.
In 2005, Mr. Walters was appointed to the Board of Officers of the First Amendment Lawyers Association, a prominent, nationwide group of First Amendment practitioners, and has served as the group’s president and national chairman. Mr. Walters is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Florida, as well as the 9th,11th, and DC Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the U.S. Claims Court in Washington, D.C. In addition, he has been admitted pro hac vice to courts across the country.
In addition to his law practice, Mr. Walters is an avid writer, public speaker, mobile app developer, and patent holder.
You can request additional information regarding his qualifications and experience by emailing us: Larry[at]FirstAmendment[dot]com . .
Robert J. “Bobby” Desmond, Associate
Bobby Desmond is an Associate with Walters Law Group, and he focuses his practice on First Amendment, Internet law, and intellectual property issues.
Mr. Desmond received his Bachelor of Science degree in Telecommunication and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology & Law from the University of Florida in 2015 where he graduated with honors. While in college, Mr. Desmond worked as an on-air radio personality at Kiss 105.3 FM and wrote a weekly television column for the Independent Florida Alligator. He was a founding member of ChomPics Productions, where he directed or anchored numerous episodes of web-series content. He was also a recipient of the Machen Florida Opportunity Scholarship and served as a peer mentor for the program.
Mr. Desmond graduated from the University of Florida Frederic G. Levin College of Law in 2018. While in law school, he served as Vice President of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society and Managing Editor of the Journal of Technology Law & Policy. He also volunteered as a member of the Student Recruitment Team and as an ambassador of the Introduction to Law School and the Profession Orientation.
Mr. Desmond interned for America’s Public Television Stations at PBS in Arlington, VA. There, he prepared legal memoranda on the effect of proposed FCC rules on PBS member stations and other legal issues such as program licensing and the emergency alert system; assisted in researching and drafting comments and reply comments filed in FCC proceedings; and drafted legislation and lobbied members of the FCC and Congress in support of public television initiatives. Mr. Desmond also interned for AMC Networks in New York, NY. There, he drafted employee policies and nondisclosure agreements to secure the company’s intellectual property; negotiated and drafted a large variety of contracts for talent and production services, film acquisitions, video game licenses, merchandising deals, and property leases; sent DMCA takedown requests to social media and e-commerce sites that hosted or sold pirated content; and addressed a variety of legal questions raised by other departments in the cable business including right of publicity laws, guerilla marketing tactics, virtual reality, and more.
Prior to joining Walters Law Group, Mr. Desmond worked as an Associate for a boutique telecommunications law practice that represents telephone, cable, and internet companies. In this position, he concentrated on researching legal issues in defense of business owners and companies in various litigation and regulatory matters at the state and federal level.
Mr. Desmond is admitted to practice in Florida and New York.
Affiliations
The Florida Bar
– Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Section
– Young Lawyers Division
New York State Bar Association
– Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section
– Intellectual Property Law Section
– Young Lawyers Section
First Amendment Lawyers Association
Corey D. Silverstein, Of Counsel
Mr. Silverstein founded his law firm in 2006 and despite the firm’s exponential growth, Mr. Silverstein continues to focus on the individual needs of his clients. Mr. Silverstein is a general practitioner and litigator who practices multiple different areas of law.
Affiliations & Licenses
Affiliations & Licenses
State Bar of Michigan
Oakland County Bar Association
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The District of Columbia Bar
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals
American Bar Association
Commercial Law League of America
In addition to appearing before the Michigan Supreme Court, Mr. Silverstein has been quoted and published in such periodicals as the Detroit News, the New York Times, FOX News, MSNBC, the Miami Herald, the Washington Post, the Associated Press and various other news outlets.
Mr. Silverstein’s comments and opinions have been published in various magazines, message boards and Mr. Silverstein frequently conducts seminars across the United States.
Neil Braslow, Of Counsel
Neil D. Braslow focuses his practice on business matters, intellectual property issues, and transactional agreements. He regularly counsels clients in New Jersey and Florida as an entertainment and sports lawyer. His legal services address contractual and transactional issues of all types, such as advertiser agreements, copyright, corporate formation, domain disputes, entertainment, eSports, gaming, licensing, marketing, privacy protection, sports, trademark, web development agreements, and website terms of use.
Mr. Braslow received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Central Florida in 2009 where he graduated summa cum laude and his JD from Nova Southeastern University – Shepard Broad Law Center in 2012. His specialties include business, entertainment, and sports law in Florida and New Jersey.
Mr. Braslow is a member of the Sports Lawyers Association, the Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts, & Sports Law Section, the First Amendment Lawyers Association, the National Cannabis Bar Association, and the Esports Bar Association.
Mr. Braslow is admitted to practice in Florida and New Jersey.
