Paavana Kumar helps major advertisers, retailers, disruptive e-commerce companies and startups assess risk and comply with the shifting landscape of advertising and media law. Clients rely on her counsel as they work to promote innovative products, run high-exposure campaigns and streamline the online customer experience. Paavana also has a deep bench of expertise working with advertising agencies.
Paavana is particularly experienced at navigating cutting-edge social commerce issues. She frequently advises businesses looking to leverage influencer talent, engage creatively on social media, and reimagine (or launch) e-commerce and subscription programs. Her ability to quickly spot and assess issues and provide efficient, practical advice makes her an invaluable sounding board for C-Suite executives and general counsel facing high-stakes judgment calls ranging from social media opportunities to major business model changes. Paavana works with brands in almost every industry sector including fashion and cosmetics, food and beverage, entertainment streaming, and software. She frequently partners with companies spearheading sustainability and cleantech initiatives.
As subscription programs continue to evolve, Paavana’s knowledge of the highly regulated automatic renewal and negative option laws in all 50 states, together with her deep understanding of the regulatory/FTC focus on “dark patterns” and consumer fraud sets her apart. Clients in this space look to her to draft transparent marketing disclosures and design effective, compliant user flows. Paavana also advises agencies, marketers and retailers on the rapidly evolving implementation of generative and agentic AI tools and currently serves on the Board of Advisors of Ragan's Center for AI Strategy. As part of her day-to-day advertising practice, Paavana guides clients with respect to all types of consumer promotions, including sweepstakes, contests, loyalty rewards and gift cards, cause marketing and donation programs, text message and email marketing, and major entertainment and sports collaborations.
Whether she’s counseling on a discrete issue or working with global legal teams for international campaign clearance, Paavana delivers practical advice for clients at all stages of growth — from subscription box startups to major technology and retail companies. She is a recognized thought leader who frequently speaks and writes about e-commerce, AI and influencer marketing for in-house counsel and industry stakeholders.
Retailers are facing a watershed moment in artificial intelligence development. Just as direct-to-consumer brands have begun to draft and implement solid policies, governance systems and approval thresholds for generative AI use cases, agentic AI systems are already out of the barn. Predictive, knowledge-based LLM systems have paved the way for systems that don’t just talk,...