Advised clients in the domestic and international telecommunications and high-technology industries on regulatory matters.
Represented hedge funds, private equity and other financial investors in structuring FCC-compliant commercial transactions.

Tom retired from the partnership in 2022. He advised clients in regulatory matters and commercial transactions in the domestic and international telecommunications, media, entertainment, wireless, satellite and high-technology industries. His practice focused on advising financial community clients regarding transactional, valuation and regulatory issues related to the financing and securitization of telecommunications companies, as well as advising technology companies in commercial transactions, licensing agreements and regulatory matters.

Tom represented radio and television broadcast companies before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on day-to-day licensing and compliance issues, sales and acquisitions of broadcast assets, interference protection matters, spectrum policies and protection of spectrum rights, the broadcast incentive auction and the digital television transition.

Tom represented wireless companies and their investors for more than 30 years in a variety of regulatory (licensing and compliance), adjudicatory, policy and transactional matters. He assisted wireless clients in preparing commercial agreements, including roaming, backhaul, interconnection, management and carrier-to-carrier contracts.

Tom’s wireless work included representation of clients in the AWS-3 and broadcast incentive auctions, appeals before the FCC and a federal court regarding the cancellation of licenses in the 24 and 39 GHz bands, preparation of comments in the FCC’s above 24 GHz proceeding and 3.5 GHz rulemaking proceedings, the FCC’s net neutrality proceeding, and preparation of governance and operating agreements for new wireless businesses.

Tom provided regulatory and transactional counsel to investors acquiring and selling broadband wireless and fiber networks. He negotiated the acquisition of various distressed fiber video and broadband networks that were constructed and deployed in rural and underserved portions of the United States using grants and loans obtained from the Rural Utilities Service and/or the National Telecommunications Information Administration pursuant to the Economic Recovery and Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2009.

Tom’s clients included:

Mobile and fixed wireless telecommunications operators
Competitive local exchange and interexchange carriers
Satellite systems
Video program suppliers and distributors
Fiber-optic network carriers
Radio and television stations
Television networks
Cable television system operators
Broadband wired and wireless networks
Equipment manufacturers
Private radio operators
Providers of new technologies and services.

Earlier in his career, Tom served as a trial attorney in the FCC’s Broadcast Bureau, now the Media Bureau.

Representative Work

Drafted and negotiated an asset purchase agreement on behalf of the investor, a diversified communications company, to acquire the assets of a broadband fiber network involved in an informal out-of-court restructuring from the system owner and the Rural Utility Service (the secured creditor).
Structured the ownership, drafted limited liability agreements and prepared FCC applications to enable wireless entities to qualify for a 25% bidding credit as a designated entity to participate in the FCC’s AWS-3, broadcast incentive and millimeter wave spectrum auctions.
Advised a large broadcast group owner in a proposed business transaction with a national television network involving cutting-edge and complex commercial and regulatory issues, such as compliance with the ultra high frequency (UHF) handicap, national television ownership cap, television duopoly rule, FCC attribution and control rules, and rules regulating the conduct of national television networks, including involvement in retransmission consent negotiations.
Advised a private equity fund on regulatory risks associated with the “bring into use” requirements as it applies to a satellite service provider’s rights to an orbital slot filed on its behalf by a foreign country for its proposed geostationary orbit satellite system under the rules and procedures of the International Telecommunications Union.
Assisted a private equity fund in structuring a controlling investment in a newly formed entity arbitraging television broadcast spectrum by acquiring television station licenses in major markets and then selling the spectrum for significant consideration to the FCC in the reverse portion of the incentive auction. The transaction involved novel and complex legal issues because it had to be structured to comply with media and foreign ownership requirements while minimizing public disclosure issues and providing the fund with control over the investment.

Education
J.D., University of Wisconsin Law School, cum laude, 1977
B.A., University of Wisconsin - Madison, with distinction, 1974

Bar Admissions
District of Columbia
Virginia
Wisconsin

Recognitions

Chambers USA, Leading Practitioner in Telecom, Broadcast and Satellite, 2008-2021.
Expert Guides, Best of the Best USA in Telecommunications, 2015-2017 and 2019.
The Best Lawyers in America, Communications Law, 2012-2022.
Who’s Who Legal, Data - Telecoms & Media, 2016-2021.
Cablefax, Top Lawyers Award, 2016 and 2017.
Expert Guides, Leading Practitioner in Media and Telecoms, 2015-2017.
Super Lawyers, Washington, D.C., 2017.

Affiliations and Public Service

Member, American Bar Association.
Member, Federal Communications Bar Association.

Speeches and Publications

“Annual Update on Regulatory and Policy Developments in Communications Sector in Washington, D.C.,” FTI Consulting Conference, May 9, 2017.
“Universal Service Reform,” ACI’s Second Annual FCC Boot Camp, San Francisco, California, June 27, 2016.