Fish Adds Leading Telecommunications Group to Growing Regulatory Practice
Washington, D.C., June 1, 2010 – Continuing the growth of its regulatory practice and increasing its capacity to meet demand in the expanding broadband and wireless communications sectors, Fish & Richardson today announced that four partners from McDermott Will & Emery LLP, including the head of the firm’s U.S. Telecommunications practice, have joined Fish & Richardson’s Regulatory and Government Affairs Group in Washington, D.C. The new Fish attorneys include Shirley S. Fujimoto, McDermott’s U.S. Telecommunications practice leader, and partners Jeffrey L. Sheldon, David D. Rines, and Kevin M. Cookler. Ms. Fujimoto and Mr. Sheldon will be principals at Fish and Mr. Rines and Mr. Cookler will be of counsel.
Ms. Fujimoto and her team are best known for their representation of electric utilities that operate sophisticated internal communications networks. Their practice includes a mix of counseling, advocacy, and litigation concerning “smart grids” that are being deployed by utilities to remotely monitor and control the electric grid and to provide new energy-efficiency services to consumers; regulatory issues affecting commercial wireless carriers; data privacy and cyber security; new technologies and spectrum allocations; and the terms and conditions for use of utility infrastructure. They have extensive experience in regulatory issues associated with new technologies and entry into new communications markets and in identifying business opportunities created by regulatory and technology developments.
“Fish has a unique, high-tech oriented telecommunications practice leveraged off of its strong intellectual property platform, so this impressive group is a natural fit for our firm,” said Terry G. Mahn, head of the Regulatory and Government Affairs Group at Fish & Richardson and managing principal of the Washington, D.C. office. “Shirley, Jeff, David and Kevin are among the best at what they do. Broadband service is undergoing explosive growth right now, and with these new attorneys Fish can offer clients a technical and regulatory perspective that few other firms can match. As a group, we have the capability to address the most complex and challenging issues confronting the broadband and wireless industries.