Nelson L. Drake

Nelson Drake litigates as part of Motley Rice’s tech and media team, pursuing cases that seek to protect consumers’ privacy and well-being against social media companies and online service providers.

Nelson’s practice includes representing people who suffered emotional and physical harms allegedly caused by social media platforms such as Meta Platforms, Instagram, Snap and TikTok that are accused of encouraging addictive behavior to maximize screen time. In a rapidly changing legal landscape, he works on new case development related to digital privacy, deepfakes, cryptocurrencies, broadband and other emerging technologies.

Prior to his tech and media work, Nelson worked on the firm’s team representing dozens of states, counties, cities, towns, and townships in litigation targeting the alleged deceptive marketing and over-distribution of highly addictive opioid drugs, a contended cause of the nationwide opioid crisis. He also represented a government entity in litigation against e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL, alleging unfair and deceptive marketing and sales practices. Additionally, Nelson worked on multiple drug pricing investigations on behalf of public clients.

Before joining Motley Rice, Nelson worked as a summer associate at a business law firm in Savannah, Ga., where he assisted with civil litigation relating to real property disputes. He analyzed developments in the scope of non-competition clauses and the applicability of federal trade secret regulations in employment contracts. He also was a trademark protection manager for the National Grange of the Order of the Patrons on Husbandry in Washington, D.C., where he drafted license agreements, performed trademark infringement analysis, and conducted quality control operations to manage trademark infringement violations.

Blog Posts

July 6, 2023

Social media’s grip on teen mental health

by: Laura K. Stemkowski

January 8, 2021

Clicking with caution: Cybersecurity data breach risks are higher than ever Causes, Not Just Cases

by: Jodi Westbrook Flowers

August 12, 2020

Denied business interruption insurance payouts due to COVID-19 losses, some business owners may find justice in civil courts Causes, Not Just Cases

by: John A. Baden IV

News

April 13, 2026

Social media juries send a clear message: protect our children

by:
Annie E. Kouba

March 25, 2026

New Mexico AG Prevails in Lawsuit Against Meta Platforms Inc.

by: Motley Rice