DLA Piper announced today that it has added a prominent group of telecom practitioners in the firm’s Washington, DC office. Co-chaired by Michael Senkowski and Nancy Victory, the team also includes partner Eric DeSilva and engineers Tom Dombrowsky and Michael Lewis.
Together, they bring extensive experience advising and representing a broad cross-section of the telecommunications and technology sectors on a variety of regulatory and business issues, with a focus on spectrum and emerging technology matters.
Senkowski began his legal career with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), holding various positions over the years, including FCC Chief of Staff, legal advisor to the Chairman and acting deputy chief of the Litigation Division. Victory served as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the US Department of Commerce.
“Mike and his team bring a reputation as among the top telecommunications lawyers in their field,” said Frank Ryan, US co-chair of DLA Piper’s Intellectual Property and Technology practice. “There are no better practitioners to offer clients counsel on how best to address complex and novel business and regulatory issues associated with the delivery of telecommunications services or new spectrum-based technologies.”
“The addition of this group presents a strategic opportunity to expand our telecom practice and regulatory offerings in the nation’s capital,” said Mary Gately, managing partner of DLA Piper’s Washington, DC, office. “Their specialized skills, coupled with their telecommunications policy and technology backgrounds, will also allow them to expand their practice to serve new industries and emerging fields, including autonomous vehicles, unmanned aircraft, and the Internet of Things. We look forward to them being tremendous resources to our clients.”
“This team’s practical cross-border insight into telecommunication laws and regulations will be invaluable to our clients who have pressing global interests,” said Roger Meltzer, global co-chairman and Americas co-chairman of DLA Piper. “In addition, their experience handling such a diverse array of matters affecting wireless, telecom and new technology companies, from initial licensing and approval strategies to M&A transactions, compliance counseling and enforcement defense, is unparalleled.”
The group joins from Wiley Rein LLP, where Senkowski was chair of the firm’s Telecom practice; Victory was chair of the Wireless practice group; DeSilva was a lead partner in the firm’s Wireless practice; Dombrowsky was senior engineering adviser; and Lewis was as an engineering consultant.
Michael Senkowski has represented and advised entrepreneurs and technology industry leaders in significant telecom matters for more than 30 years. He has been involved in nearly all telephony issues stemming from the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and has managed some of the largest telecom mergers in history. He has extensive experience in regulatory counseling, spectrum allocation, wireless policy and enforcement matters and is known for developing innovative solutions. Senkowski has been recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” by Chambers USA, with one client saying he “knows more about the FCC, both at a procedural and substantive level, than any lawyers in the USA.” He also has extensive knowledge in the emerging area of unmanned aircrafts. Senkowski earned his J.D. with honors from George Washington University, and his B.A. from Yale University.
Nancy Victory has extensive experience in the full range of communications policy and transactional issues affecting telephony and wireless providers, satellite operators, submarine cable operators, equipment manufacturers, new technology companies and their investors. A well-respected former head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and telecommunications policy advisor to the president, she also previously chaired the FCC’s Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina as well as the FCC’s Advisory Committee on the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference. Victory is particularly well known for her work on FCC enforcement matters as well as all forms of transactions requiring FCC approval, be they minor license transfers or significant mergers. Her work has earned her recognition as a “Leading Lawyer” by Chambers USA in communications policy. Victory earned her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, and her A.B. with honors from Princeton University.
Eric DeSilva focuses his practice on wireless telecommunications issues and regulations with extensive knowledge of wireless policy and spectrum auctions. He counsels wireless companies on various contractual regulatory issues spanning licensing, leasing, management, operational, and resale, and advises clients on relationship structuring with minimal network regulatory requirements. He received his J.D. cum laude from University of Michigan Law School and earned his B.S. with honors from the University of Maryland.
Tom Dombrowsky has extensive experience in spectrum engineering, particularly with respect to spectrum allocation, interference issues and licensing of new technologies. A former engineer in charge of technical and policy issues concerning commercial mobile systems at the FCC, he worked to develop PCS licensing and technical rules and was active in the development of the Commission’s automated auction system for spectrum licenses. He is a member of NTIA’s Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee where he provides advice to the government on issues affecting Federal use of the electromagnetic spectrum. Dombrowsky has provided technical and policy advice to clients on new spectrum allocations, 5G technology and rules, Internet of Things (“IoT”), and unlicensed device requirements and policies. He has also played a key role in supporting clients’ technical arguments as part of major and minor license transfers and mergers. Dombrowsky received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University.
Michael Lewis is a spectrum engineer that advises equipment manufacturers and new technology innovators on how to get radio-based products access to spectrum and approved for use in the U.S. Formerly a senior engineering advisor to the Chief of the FCC’s Private Radio Bureau, he is an expert on public safety and other specialized private wireless networks. Mr. Lewis is also well experienced on aeronautical communications matters and was invited by the FAA to speak on spectrum issues at this year’s UAS Symposium in Daytona, Florida. Lewis earned his B.S. from the University of Michigan.
Source: www.dlapiper.com
