Telecom

Representative Experience

• Represented Lendlease after their request to build a wireless tower was denied by the Village of Cary, Illinois, alleging that it would impede development in the area, there was no gap in wireless coverage, and there were feasible alternative sites within the area. We demonstrated that the Village’s reasons for denial were based on conjecture and that the Village Code did not require Lendlease to prove a gap in coverage or the absence of a feasible alternative site within the area. The favorable settlement paves the way for the construction of the first privately-permitted wireless tower in the Village.
• Counseled SKC Communication Products on an expansion investment that set the stage for future acquisitions and growth beyond the company's current states.
• Assist the nation’s largest wireless service provider and other wireless infrastructure companies, including the largest privately held infrastructure companies in the country, in permitting and siting of wireless telecommunication facilities, negotiating real estate and other land use agreements with private property owners and municipalities for use of property and public rights of way and addressing governmental or community considerations related to the siting of wireless infrastructure.
• Persuaded Government Accountability Office to rule in favor of our communications client, retaining their contract award, valued at over $600 million, to provide satellite bandwidth services that had been challenged by a competitor.
• On behalf of a national IT communications and solutions provider, contested aspects of a highway project by intervening in an administrative proceeding pending with the Illinois Commerce Commission concerning a highway and bridge project proposed by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the project’s impact on two railroads. We secured an order from the state administrative commission requiring the State to pay for the relocation of fiber optic cable resulting from the IDOT highway/bridge construction and any corresponding changes in the impacted rail tracks, as well as the attorney fees.
• Challenged municipal planning commission’s rejection of an application for a conditional use permit for Central States to build a wireless communications tower. We challenged the commission’s rejection in court, while negotiating with another wireless carrier to remove an existing tower from the property. A favorable settlement allowed Central States to build a tower able to accommodate multiple carriers.
• Negotiated multiple agreements on behalf of Midwest Fiber Networks to provide fiber service to a facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. 
• Represented Tillman Infrastructure in its real estate deployment of 35 new towers across the country.
• Represented major wireless carrier in the deployment of traditional cell sites with 5G and small cell technologies across the country, while also negotiating with rural communities that currently have poor coverage to bring towers to their communities for internet access.
• Secured a victory for cloud-based IT service provider in its federal lawsuit against a municipal body when a district judge granted a motion for summary judgment in a dispute over permits for cell tower construction.
• Advised on MVNO structuring and regulatory risk mitigation with a licensed carrier, to launch a white-labeled prepaid wireless service. Delivered strategic counsel on FCC classification risks, CPNI compliance, and carrier-of-record delineation. Drafted legal memoranda, negotiated contractual language to reinforce regulatory posture, and guided the client through complex consent and privacy obligations under the Telecommunications Act.
• Led legal due diligence and transactional support for a mobile network operator’s (MNO) mobile switching center, including title review, easement analysis, and coordination with municipal and private stakeholders. Provided strategic counsel on access rights, utility infrastructure, and leasehold interests to ensure uninterrupted network operations and long-term site viability. Collaborated with the MNO’s in-house counsel and external consultants to align real estate documentation with operational and regulatory requirements.
• Serve as lead counsel to an MNO in the deployment of wireless infrastructure across multiple jurisdictions, advising on site acquisition, lease negotiations, title and easement review, and regulatory compliance. Routinely draft and negotiate amendments to master lease agreements, coordinate with municipal stakeholders, and resolve complex land use and utility access issues to support macro and small cell installations.
• Represented telecommunications infrastructure developer in the release of mortgages across multiple jurisdictions, supporting a one-billion-dollar refinancing transaction tied to its national wireless tower portfolio. Coordinated with title companies, local recorders, and internal stakeholders to prepare, revise, and record satisfaction instruments, including first and second lien releases. Navigated jurisdiction-specific recording requirements and ensured timely delivery of executed documents to meet lender deadlines.
• Counseled technology, data, and communications companies on nationwide implementation of next-generation technologies, including distributed antenna system, 5G, and small cell.
• Represented NYSE and Nasdaq telecommunications companies in complex administrative, regulatory, legislative, commercial, and litigation matters.
• Advised telecommunications and technology companies on successful solutions to handle difficult government regulations, resulting in development of infrastructures supporting emerging technologies.
• Successfully obtained then strategically defended telecommunication infrastructure approvals for continental U.S. tower company client after competitor sued to challenge the approvals. Judicial oral decision rejected all arguments in the lawsuit and affirmed client’s wireless development approvals.