Tim Hyland is the founder of Hyland Law. He is well-known as one of the “go-to” counsel for difficult civil litigation and appeals in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
Tim has successfully represented clients in a range of commercial disputes, including domain name, trademark, shareholder disputes, common law and securities fraud, employment, and contractual matters; and in handling cases in federal and state appellate courts. Tim also serves as corporate counsel to a number of public and private companies, and private schools.
Having represented some of the largest domain name registries and registrars in the world for more than 20 years, Tim has secured numerous state and federal trial and appellate victories in the domain name field, many of which were cases of first impression. In addition, Tim has won groundbreaking appellate victories in cases ranging from First Amendment rights, to escrow agreement interpretation, to the law of de facto mergers. Representative victories include:
- Successfully represented a major domain name registrar in the seminal appellate case involving whether a domain name is a property right, Network Solutions, Inc. v. Umbro Int’l, Inc., 259 Va. 759, 529 S.E.2d 80 (2000);
- Represented a major internet services company in securing prompt dismissals of consumer litigation in California, New York, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, and other states;
- Represented the nation’s largest medical group and others as amicus curiae counsel in the United States Supreme Court, in a case involving immunity for Public Health Service personnel, with the case resulting in a 9-0 victory, Hui v. Castaneda, 559 U.S. 799 (2010); and
- Obtained summary dismissal of a defamation case against an Arizona resident, in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, on jurisdictional grounds.
Tim is a Northern Virginia native and holds BA and JD degrees from the University of Richmond where he was a member of the McNeill Law Society recognized for graduating in the top 10% of his class. He serves on the University of Richmond Law School Advisory Board.
Tim is rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating available to a lawyer. He also has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a top-rated business litigation attorney in Virginia and Washington, DC in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and was named by Virginia Business Magazine in 2020 as one of Virginia’s “legal elite” in civil litigation.
Tim is admitted to practice in Virginia, Maryland, New York, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia. He is admitted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of Virginia, the District of Maryland, the District of Columbia, the Northern District of Illinois, the United States Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia and the District of Maryland, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Sixth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits, as well as the United States Supreme Court.
Publications and Presentations
Co-Author, “Boundary Law in Virginia” (NBI 2000)
Co-Author, “Domain Name Seizures: A Primer on the Government’s Hot New Weapon Against Internet Businesses,” Electronic Commerce & Law Report (Bloomberg BNA 2013)
Presenter, “Kentucky v. 141 Domain Names,” Council of European Top Level Domain Registries, General Counsel Forum (2010)
