Practice Areas & Industries: Hunton & Williams LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Although the firm's expertise extends to almost every legal discipline, it is particularly well known for its work in sectors that traditionally were regulated, including telecommunications. The telecommunications industry is going through a period of profound change. At Hunton & Williams, we are an integral part of that change, building on our experience but working closely with clients to find solutions for the ever¿competitive future. As these sectors become more competitive, solutions often are transactional in nature. We are one of the leading law firms in the United States in the field of project finance, and we have been involved in some of the largest and most complex utility financings ever done. We also have broad¿based experience in public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions, and the purchase and sale of all kinds of assets, as well as the environmental issues that inevitably emerge in a transactional practice.

Hunton & Williams lawyers counsel numerous clients engaged in the sophisticated and fast-growing field of telecommunications. We represent local exchange and inter¿exchange telephone companies, wireless telephone companies, power line communications providers, telecommunications equipment providers and manufacturing companies, international foreign governmental entities, and users of telecommunications equipment and services. Our work for these clients is broad¿based and includes representation in rate, licensing, and other regulatory proceedings, general corporate and contract advice, finance, trademark, copyright and trade secrets advice, antitrust, general litigation, legislative work, and international trade matters.

Services Available
Common Carrier Regulation And Litigation

At the state and federal level, our common carrier work involves representation of incumbent and competitive local exchange telephone companies in regulatory matters from rate and certification proceedings to the intricacies of implementing the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as well as state and federal court litigation. The Firm's attorneys have more experience in the negotiation, arbitration and litigation of interconnection agreements between incumbent and competitive local exchange companies than any other law firm in the country. The firm also represents national long distance resellers, and interexchange carriers in various modes of operation.

The recent decisions of the United States government to extend its domestic deregulatory principles to international communications present a number of novel and complex international law and policy questions. Members of our telecommunications group are especially well qualified to advise on these issues given their particular professional experience and expertise. Our international work, anchored in our Brussels and London offices, is an important part of our telecommunications practice and has several complementary dimensions:

• representation of domestic or foreign clients on matters that have no direct government involvement;
• representation of international organizations; and
• representation of clients in equipment antidumping proceedings.

The firm has extensive experience in transactions involving the acquisition or sale of local exchange companies, pay telephone assets, earth stations, transmission facilities, software licenses, lasers, fiber¿optic cables and systems, switches, and other types of hardware. We have completed the sale¿lease back financing of significant public utility property, including telecommunications facilities and large office complexes. In addition, we have represented telecommunications clients in a variety of transactions, including those involving corporate mergers and reorganizations, public and private equity and debt offerings, sales and acquisitions of dealer and distribution assets including proprietary customer base, asset¿based bank financings, a variety of dealer financing packages, and equipment lease financings.

We have developed environmental policies and procedures relating to USTs, lasers, asbestos, batteries, OSHA, and hazardous materials storage and handling. The firm has prepared comments, lobbied, and participated in Environmental Protection Agency regulatory proceedings for telecommunications interests. In addition, we have assisted in the evaluation of the environmental issues associated with the construction and operation of a transatlantic fiber¿optic telecommunications system.

We have represented telecommunications companies throughout the United States as to labor and employment matters, including negotiations with locals of the Communications Workers of America.

Clients:
Deltek Systems, Chesapeake , Storage USA, Micron Technology