Adriana Levandowski
Adriana Levandowski
Adriana is a second-year law student at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, graduating in December. Before law school, Adriana received a Bachelor’s Degree focused in International/Global Studies with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of San Francisco. She obtained minor degrees in African Studies, Legal Studies, and Peace and Justice Studies. During her undergraduate degree, Adriana spent a semester in London working on a landmark LIBOR rigging case at Bark & Co. solicitors. Adriana then studied in Paris, gaining proficiency in French. In 2017, Adriana completed a U.K. law degree (equivalent to an L.L.B.) at BPP University London.
Adriana is an active member of both the law school's and Greater Denver's legal community. She spends her time volunteering with a number of projects and initiatives, including the Tribal Wills Project, Our Courts Program, and as a peer mentor and student ambassador. In addition to her work with The Race to the Bottom, Adriana is on the board of the Business Law Society, co-founder of Law Students Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, and is a member of the Colorado IP Inn of Court.
She is interested in business litigation and consumer protection work. Outside of law school, Adriana works at SoulCycle on the weekends and enjoys karaoke, trivia, and traveling.
On March 18, 2025, the Professional Tennis Players Association (“PTPA”) served a message to not only the world of tennis but also to the broader sports industry: antitrust behavior does not belong in professional sports. The PTPA, founded by former and current tennis players, advocates for players’ rights and interests and aims to maximize the power of a united player organization. (PTPA) The PTPA, accompanied by 14 named professional tennis players (and collectively with the PTPA, the “Complainants”), filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against four tennis organizations, including the Association of Tennis Professionals (“ATP”) and Women’s Tennis Association (“WTA”). Compl. ¶ 3, Pospisil v. ATP Tour, Inc., 1:25-cv-02207, (S.D.N.Y. Mar 18, 2025). These two organizations dominate and control the sport by being the two main governing bodies and controlling the rankings for both men’s and women’s players. (Wilson). These organizations require that their players compete in 8-12 specific tournaments to earn points, and playing in non-sanctioned tournaments will not earn players any points. Id. Points and rankings play a vital role in players’ overall reputation and earnings throughout their careers. (Edara).
The robo-advisory market has become a globally popular tool for financial institutions, growing in prominence within the financial advice industry in particular. (KPMG). Advances in artificial intelligence (“AI”) enable robo-advice platforms to deliver personalized investment advice tailored to individuals’ diverse needs and investment preferences. Id. Robo-advisors use algorithms to automatically construct investment portfolios tailored to an individual's goals, replacing the traditional need for a human advisor to select ideal investment options. (Molly Grace, WSJ). The growth of the robo-advisory market is driven by the increasing adoption of digital wealth management platforms and the rise in financial literacy, particularly as investors turn “towards mobile-first advisory services” that support continued market momentum. (Yahoo Finance). This article will discuss the recent growth of the robo-advisory market while focusing on the increased regulatory and legal risks that may impact financial institutions.
On October 14, 2025, Stellantis, the Dutch-headquartered automaker whose brands include Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram, announced that it would invest $13 billion into the United States, focusing on four states with existing facilities: Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. (Stellantis). Stellantis plans to expand the facilities’ capabilities to produce new products for the company by growing U.S. production by 50%, launching five new vehicles along with 19 product actions, and adding more than 5,000 jobs across the four states. Id. Stellantis calls the investment the largest in its 100-year history. Id. This post will examine the logistics of the plan, its controversy within Canada, and its signaling of wider macroeconomic shifts.
The electric vehicle industry’s once prosperous and promising future, filled with Biden-era electric vehicle waivers and mandates, now faces barriers from the Trump Administration (Ciara Cook, New Automotive). The most recent blow stemmed from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”), which ended deductions offered to taxpayers buying a new electric or hybrid vehicle. Id. This Act, along with Trump’s recent Executive Order, has nudged industries to hedge their investments away from clean energy projects and toward oil and gas technologies, weighing the once promising growth of the electric vehicle industry against the Trump administration’s intent to move away from clean energy. Id. This post explains the clean energy credit, why it was terminated, as well as the effects on the automotive industry and consumers.
Actors are increasingly seeing videos of themselves, but they don’t remember taking them. This is an issue Hollywood actors, talent agencies, and studios are facing with artificial intelligence (“AI”), specifically OpenAI’s Sora 2. (Wendy Lee and Samantha Masunaga, LA Times). Sora 2 generates realistic videos with synchronized audio from user-entered text prompts. (OpenAI). Sora 2 has technology that can generate recognizable properties or likenesses into deepfakes — either friends, copyrighted characters, or famous likenesses. (Winston Cho, Hollywood Reporter). A deepfake is a video that seems authentic but has been manipulated by AI; sometimes used for disinformation or extortion. (Government Accountability Office, Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics). In one such video, viewers can see Michael Jackson interacting with Bryan Cranston, of “Breaking Bad.” (Wendy Lee and Samantha Masunaga, LA Times). Thus, the controversy revolves around who owns the copyrighted images and human likenesses that are utilized to create such videos. Id. This post will discuss a brief overview of copyright law; why Sora 2 is alarming Hollywood; how agencies and studios are protecting their clients and intellectual property; and the implications of the rising use of Sora 2 and similar technologies.
In June of 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed suit against Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”) for allegedly deceptively enrolling customers into its Amazon Prime (“Prime”) membership program and making cancellation from the program excessively difficult. Prime provides access to exclusive digital content, consumer deals, and faster shipping for its estimated 197 million members. (Jordan Valinsky, CNN). The FTC’s suit marks one of the more significant uses of consumer protection law against a technology giant of this scale. (Caroline Haskins, Wired). The case centered around so-called “dark patterns,” subtle user interface designs and features aimed at manipulating consumer behavior. (FTC). This post seeks to explain the FTC’s complaint, acknowledge the personal liability implications of the action, and consider what the enforcement may suggest for corporate liability and consumer protections actions moving forward.
Electronic Arts (“EA”), the California-based video game maker responsible for Madden NFL and The Sims, recently announced in September of 2025 that it is going private in a landmark $55 billion deal. (Nicholas Miller & Lauren Thomas, Wall Street Journal). A consortium of financial entities, namely Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (“PIF”), Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners investment fund, and the massive private equity fund Silver Lake Partners, are jointly facilitating the leveraged buyout. (Daniel Stone, Center for Economic and Policy Research). As the terms stand, the consortium will acquire 100% of EA and stockholders will be paid a staggering $210 per share, which represents a 25% premium to EA’s share price on September 25, 2025 (valued at $168.32). (Electronic Arts). While the deal has raised eyebrows for being the largest leveraged buyout since TXU (“Texas Utilities”) was acquired for $32 billion in 2007, it has also raised concerns related to national security and foreign influence by Saudi Arabia. (Michael Liedtke and Michelle Chapman, AP News). The acquisition reflects Saudi Arabia’s ongoing effort to expand its global influence through interactive entertainment and sports, while U.S. investors and political allies provide financial and regulatory cover. (The Economist). This post examines the key players of the acquisition, their motives for pursuing such a legendary deal, the regulatory hurdles the acquisition faces at the federal level, and the possible social & political implications of the deal.
Corporate law firms nationwide were relieved as attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine remained safeguarded. In a recent decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals had temporarily stayed a district court’s decision requiring the disclosure of investigative materials related to the FirstEnergy Corporation (“FirstEnergy”) bribery scandal (“Scandal”). (Debra Weiss, ABA Journal). After the Scandal implicated FirstEnergy in funneling money to politicians to secure the passage of Ohio House Bill 6, the company’s board of directors hired the law firms of Jones Day and Squire Patton Boggs to internally investigate the allegations. (Alison Frankel, Reuters). The district court reasoned that because FirstEnergy sought counsel’s advice for both business and legal purposes, the communication did not fall under attorney-client privilege or the attorney-work-product doctrine. In re FirstEnergy Corp., No. 24-3654, 2025 WL 2335978, at 2* (6th Cir. Aug. 7, 2025). The Sixth Circuit disagreed, stating "Th[is] approach gets it backwards” and found that communications produced by law firms hired for the purpose of conducting internal investigations are protected by attorney-client privilege and attorney-work-product doctrine. Id. This post examines how the Sixth Circuit addressed the privacy issue raised by the district court’s decision and analyzes the ruling’s ramifications for corporate internal investigations, as well as its broader effects on large corporate firms and law firm business practices.
The Wu-Tang Clan’s secretive album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, is the unicorn of recorded albums—everyone has heard of it, but only few have listened. Recently, this elusive album was at the center of a novel decision in New York federal court. PleasrDAO v. Shkreli, No. 24-CV-4126 (PKC) (MMH), 2025 WL 2733345, (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 2025). On September 25, 2025, in evaluating the legal sufficiency of PleasrDAO’s argument, and whether a jury could reasonably find a trade secret violation, the court concluded that the album could qualify as a trade secret protected under the trade secret doctrine. Id.; (Aislinn Keely, Law360). This holding wades into uncharted territory and opens the door to further trade secret protections of traditionally unprotected art forms. (Aislinn Keely, Law360); (Jennifer Klausner, Davis+Gilbert). This post explores the case surrounding the uniqueness of the Wu-Tang Clan album and the implications the decision can have for other creatives.
In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Act”) created the notion of an Opportunity Zone (“OZ”) to encourage private investment into economically disadvantaged communities. (Blake Christian, Holthouse). The goal of an OZ is to stimulate economic growth and job creation by offering tax incentives for investors in these communities. Id. Under the Act, a company that realizes a capital gain can reinvest the money in a Qualified Opportunity Fund (“QOF”) to defer capital gains taxes. (Nancy Anderson, Holland & Knight). Investments held for five to seven years before 2026 could reduce taxable capital gains by up to 15%. Id. Originally, OZs were intended to end in 2026, but the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) makes the program permanent while refining the rules to better target truly disadvantaged areas. Id. This post seeks to understand how the OBBBA reshapes OZs by narrowing eligibility to target the most disadvantaged tracts, introducing Qualified Rural Opportunity Funds (“QROFs”) with enhanced incentives, establishing a ten-year re-evaluation process to ensure designations remain accurate, and imposing stricter compliance measures to prevent abuse and promote genuine community investment.
With the 2020 Presidential Election just around the corner, voting paraphernalia, media campaigns, and the like are hard to avoid. Now, Corporate America is jumping on the voting bandwagon. Some companies, like designer fashion brand Tory Burch, are donating proceeds from limited-edition “VOTE” branded merchandise to get-out-the-vote programs. (Kate Kelly and Sapna Maheshwari, New York Times). Restaurant chain Shake Shack is giving away free French fries to all customers that vote early.
It is impossible to ignore the protests and social justice initiatives surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement spanning the country, recently surpassing 100 consecutive days of protests. (Patience Womack & Tosca Ruotolo, The Daily Barometer). In light of national demands for racial justice, the California state legislature introduced Assembly Bill 979 (“Diversity Bill”) aimed at increasing corporate diversity. In short, the Diversity Bill requires corporations that have nine or more Board of Directors to include at least three minority members by the end of 2022. (Saijel Kishan, Bloomberg). Additionally, California’s Secretary of State will be required to publish annual board diversity reports evaluating corporate progress and compliance. Id. In 2018, California enacted a similar gender equity law, S.B. 826, 2017-18 Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ca. 2018), requiring publicly held companies with a board of four or less to have at least one female director. (Women on Boards, California Secretary of State). Though the 2018 bill is widely criticized, its results are undeniable, increasing representation and corporate accountability. (See generally California Secretary of State, March 2020 Women on Boards Report).
As the COVID-19 pandemic reached the U.S. in early March, millions of American workers were furloughed or laid off, leaving many without a reliable income. (Kathryn Vasel, CNN Business). Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 17.8 million in June 2020, an almost 8% increase since February. (The Employment Situation, U.S. Dept. of Labor). Economists estimate unemployment could reach 32.1% in the second quarter of 2020, surpassing the Great Depression’s 24.9% peak. (Chris Morris, Fortune). Despite thousands of American workers struggling to pay their bills, Chief Executive Officers (“CEOs”) remain largely untouched. (Anders Melin, Bloomberg Law).
Following years of negotiations and various roadblocks, the Sprint and T-Mobile merger cleared its last big hurdle in federal court last month. (Laurel Wamsley, NPR) The “mega-merger” was announced in April 2018 but faced immediate backlash. The attorney generals of New York, California, the District of Columbia, and ten other states protested the potential merger as an anti-competitive practice. (Laurel Wamsley, NPR) The states argued the reduction of carriers in the telecom market creates less market competition, limits fair and free choice for consumers, and harms workers in this industry. (Id.)
In the booming era of blockchain, Facebook’s Libra Association markets itself as an “independent, not-for-profit, membership organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland” aiming to increase access to the global financial system and services. (Libra.org). In a world where 1.7 billion adults don’t have adequate access to the global financial system, Libra’s cryptocurrency claims it has the answer. (Id.) Through distributed network governance, open internet access, and cryptography security, cryptocurrencies aim to increase accessibility to financial services. (Id.) Yet, the volatility and value fluctuation of existing cryptocurrencies has hindered their adoption by the mainstream market. (Id.)
Phone carrier giants Sprint and T-Mobile announced an unprecedented merger in the spring of 2018. The merger would create a $146 billion powerhouse company under the T-Mobile name. (Taylor Soper, GeekWire). As of now, T-Mobile and Sprint are the third and fourth-largest carriers in the U.S., just behind AT&T and Verizon. Id. However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) initially wasn’t sold and filed suit to block the merger. (U.S. D.O.J. Compl. 3. July 26, 2019). A deal of this size raises fair market and antitrust concerns for both the D.O.J. and Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) and is dependent on the regulators’ approval. (Taylor Soper, GeekWire).