Sheppard Mullin

Sheppard Mullin’s Communications team provides experienced counsel in every sector of the communications industry, including wireline and wireless carriers, radio and television broadcasters, multichannel video programming distributors, equipment manufacturers and satellite companies.

Litigation

Our litigators are widely recognized as go-to counsel for complex communications disputes, often those involving issues of first impression or that carry broad precedential implications. They regularly appear before all levels of courts and administrative tribunals, federal and state, trial and appellate. Among other things, the team has extensive knowledge on infrastructure issues and the deployment of competitive networks and services, including access to rights-of-way, conduits, and utility poles; municipal franchising disputes; and disputes related to municipal and state-mandated franchise fees and fees in support of Public, Educational and Government (“PEG”) channels.

We also regularly defend companies against putative class actions and represent companies in government and internal investigations, including those implicating the FCC E-Rate program.

Transactional

We handle complex domestic and international corporate transactions on behalf of clients of all sizes, from start-ups to multinational companies. Our transactional experience includes:

• Drafting and negotiating stock purchase agreements, asset purchase agreements, merger agreements, and complex commercial agreements
• Providing advice in connection with regulatory due diligence efforts required for equity investments, license transfers, and transactions involving participants in the FCC’s E-Rate program
• Prosecuting applications for license assignment and transfer before the FCC
• Bankruptcy restructuring matters including providing regulatory and transactional advice to official committees of unsecured creditors of FCC regulated entities in bankruptcy
• Structuring and negotiating program carriage agreements

Regulatory Advocacy and Compliance

The Sheppard Mullin Communications team is actively engaged in regulatory advocacy and compliance. When important issues of first impression arise in the telecom industry, clients turn to us for focused insight and effective problem solving. We regularly assist clients in navigating FCC, state and international regulations. We frequently represent clients in FCC complaint and rulemaking proceedings, and counsel companies regarding the regulatory requirements related to, among other things, the deployment of broadband and IP-enabled services, such as VoIP. Sheppard Mullin attorneys have provided experienced legal counsel in the structural rules governing cable system ownership; program access and program carriage rules; local franchising authority negotiations; proposed changes to local franchising requirements; copyright laws; and the legal and business aspects of the production, licensing, and distribution of programming.

We represent wireless and wireline carriers in their provision of video and data services. Our experience on wireline issues includes:

• Regulation of VoIP and other Internet Protocol (IP-)enabled services, including emergency 911 and CALEA
• Universal Service, intercarrier compensation, and access charge reform
• Communications privacy issues

We also advise clients in connection with:

• Spectrum rebanding and restructuring proceedings and related auctions
• Rulemaking proceedings, including cognitive radio technology, RFID technology, and hearing aid compatibility
• Advice on tower siting issues

Sheppard Mullin also is well-positioned to advise wireline and wireless clients on issues arising from their entry into the market for the delivery of video content.

We have counseled broadcast clients in FCC regulatory matters, including:

• Content regulation issues, including indecency, sponsorship identification rules, payola/plugola, closed captioning, the provision of emergency information, children’s television obligations, contests and promotions, and political broadcasting
• Licensing issues, including auction of broadcast construction permits, character qualification issues, ownership reporting, renewal applications, foreign ownership limits, national, multiple and cross-ownership rules
• Compliance with tower siting requirements, federal environmental and endangered species statutes, related FAA and FCC rules, and antenna structure registration

We have represented several major manufacturers of consumer electronics and equipment. Manufacturers turn to us for advice on the following policies and FCC regulations:

• Part 15 Rule Compliance
• Equipment Certification
• Device Interoperability Issues
• Copy Protection Mandates and Technologies
• Compliance with the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act

"As Sheppard Mullin continues to grow, it is important that we not lose sight of the need to recruit women, attorneys of color and others of diverse backgrounds."
-Guy Halgren, Chairman of the Executive Committee

At Sheppard Mullin, we make every effort to recruit the finest lawyers and nurture their talents. The firm recognizes the importance of diversity and the need to create a workplace of inclusion. We need ¿ and our clients demand ¿ a team of attorneys that is as diverse as our increasingly global client base. Achieving and maintaining diversity is key to great client service ¿ a core value of our firm. What distinguishes good intentions from results is a commitment by senior management to find the best attorneys possible coupled with the sincere belief that people with diverse backgrounds bring valuable attributes to the firm. At Sheppard Mullin, the Executive Committee, Diversity Committee, and the lawyers in each of our offices work hard to ensure that all attorneys who join our firm fit in seamlessly and are encouraged to succeed.

Members of our Diversity Committee include ethnically diverse attorneys and a representative from the firm's Executive Committee. Diversity Committee members have served on the Boards of the Anti-Defamation League, the Black Women Lawyers Foundation (Los Angeles), and the Charles Houston Bar Association (northern California). Women and minority attorneys participate on key committees of the Firm (Executive Committee; Compensation Committee; Diversity Committee; Recruiting Committee; Professional Personnel Committee; Associate Issues Committee). Four of the Firm's nine Office Administrative Partners are women, one of whom is African-American and another is multi-racial.

"Serving on the firm's Diversity Committee is one of the most important things I do. I firmly believe that we must be vigilant in our efforts to recruit talented women attorneys and attorneys of color. Our success in this area has a positive effect our firm's culture, practice and client relationships."
-Joan Story, Member Executive Committee and Diversity Committee

Below is a description of just some of our outreach efforts.

• The firm participates in and financially supports the California Minority Counsel Program and the ABA Minority Counsel Program, as well as several minority bar associations. These groups are dedicated to increasing access for and promoting and retaining minorities in the legal profession.
• The firm actively recruits law students of color, e.g., we participated in the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA) of the Western Region job fair held at UCLA School of Law.
• Sheppard Mullin contributes to the Minority Corporate Counsel Association; California Women Lawyers; Queen's Bench; Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles; and the National Black Law Students Association, among others.
• We actively participate with other major Los Angeles law firms in the Diversity Directors Roundtable, a group that is committed to promoting diversity in the legal profession and in our firms.
• The firm received the Law Firm Award from the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Foundation for its strong commitment to the promotion of community and pro bono activities.
• Multicultural Law magazine named Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as one of "The 2011 Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity."
• Sheppard Mullin helped underwrite the production of a motion picture project entitled "Soul of Justice: The Life and Times of Thelton Henderson." The film chronicles the life of respected African-American jurist Thelton Henderson, a crusading civil rights litigator and role model.
• The firm signed the Bar Association of San Francisco's "No Glass Ceiling Initiative," BASF's "Minority Goals and Timetables," the New York County Lawyers' Association Diversity Statement, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Diversity Statement.

Much of our pro bono work relates to the diversity of the communities in which we practice; sample clients include:

• Constitutional Rights Foundation
• Domestic Violence Project, Los Angeles Bar Association
• Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights
• Task Force for the Women's Resource Fair, City of San Diego
• Tolerance Through Education Program, Beverly Hills Barristers Associations
• Violence Against Women Act Program, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

Awareness of diversity enables us to understand the value of differences. At Sheppard Mullin, we are committed to hiring top tier attorneys, without regard to race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.