Some Congressional Black Caucus leaders urged President Joe Biden to nominate DLA Piper’s Smitty Smith as FCC chairman, amid lawmakers' amplified calls for the administration to name people of color as commissioners. Lawmakers and others told us there’s uncertainty about Biden’s timeline for selecting a nominee to cement a Democratic FCC majority, seen as necessary to make changes to net neutrality rules and other potentially controversial matters, given the current 2-2 split (see 2101060055).
National Music Publishers’ Association hires Chris Bates, ex-DOJ, as senior vice president-legal and business affairs, and Ashley Jones, ex-Hyperscience, as manager-external affairs … Lam Research hires Chantal Lakatos de Alcantara, ex-Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security, as senior director-regulatory affairs and Taylor Sholler, ex-Applied Materials, as senior director-legislative affairs ... Resolution Economics adds Victoria Lipnic, former acting chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as a partner.
Wiley adds ex-FCC General Counsel Thomas Johnson as partner and co-chair, Appellate Practice ... Wilkinson Barker hires Karen Milne from Akin Gump as partner; she has worked on media, satellite, telecom, wireless and technology issues ... Kroll promotions to managing directors include Grant Aldridge-Duncan for cyber risk; Darren Burrell, digital products; Chief Technology Officer Scott Goodwin, technology; Keith Novak, cyber risk; and Chief Privacy Officer Aimee Sabolyk, compliance and privacy.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin has a good chance of being elected secretary general of the ITU next year, experts said. The U.S. government signaled its support, including statements by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In 2018, Bogdan-Martin was elected director of the ITU Telecom Development Bureau, after a campaign led by Donald Trump administration officials including then-FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and then-NTIA Administrator David Redl. She won on the first ballot, with support from the Americas and parts of Europe and Africa (see 1811010052).
Wiley hires Danny Sepulveda, ex-MediaMath, as vice president-government partnerships and public policy at the publisher (not related to the law firm with the same name) ... Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) appoints Jenifer French, ex-Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge, to the Public Utilities Commission and intends to name her chairwoman when her term begins; she fills term ending April 10, 2024, left open by Samuel Randazzo ... American Fintech Council appoints Financial Health Network’s Garry Reeder CEO, effective April 1.
After the Feb. 17 monthly commissioners' meeting, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel held her first news conference in over a year, the first by any FCC Democrat since February 2020. It was via conference call, unavailable to the public and cut off after half an hour, before multiple reporters were able to ask questions. That continues a trend, begun under former Chairman Ajit Pai, of sharply reduced and fewer public press briefings at the FCC during the pandemic and reflects a decadeslong and gradual reduction in availability of commission officials to reporters.
Association of American Publishers hires Terrence Hart from Copyright Office as general counsel ... Eric Feldman, ex-chief of staff to Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., joins Airbnb as head-federal and international affairs ...Stripe hires Katherine Mooney Carroll from Cleary Gottlieb as global head-policy ... Best Buy hires Janelle McClure from the office of Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, as associate director-government affairs in its Washington office, responsible for advocacy on social justice issues.
Opening conversations on a “micro level” can be a catalyst for change in recognizing systemic racism and working toward equity and inclusion, said Kimberly Hulsey, a legal recruiter with Major Lindsey, during an FCBA webinar Tuesday. Ensure new associates have representation, equal access to assignments and clients, access to speaking opportunities and support for growth, said Wiley's Anna Gomez, who heads FCBA’s diversity and inclusion committee. “If management is very sincere about increasing the diversity, managers have to be tasked with that, and their compensation has to be linked to that,” said Hulsey. Employers must insist those they do business with are focused on equity and inclusion, said Clint Odom, T-Mobile vice president-strategic alliances and external affairs. Build a pipeline, so when a diversity hire on a law firm partnership track leaves, others are still on track, he said. “Your ability to hire people who are diverse is not constrained by Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act.”
Virginia could soon become the second state with a comprehensive privacy law, after California. The Senate voted 32-7 Friday to send HB-2307 to Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who's expected to sign (see bulletin). Business privacy attorneys are watching New York and Washington as possible next states and monitoring bills in Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Utah, they said in interviews last week. The Virginia and Washington bills are weaker than California’s mandate and would do more harm than good, privacy advocates told us.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announces that Joseph Calascione, who was his acting legal adviser-wireline and consumer issues, detailed as FCC counsel to Senate Commerce Committee ... Wiley adds ex-Department of Commerce International Trade Administration Assistant Secretary-Industry and Analysis Nazak Nikakhtar as partner in International Trade Practice and co-chair of National Security Practice; she worked on e-commerce, data privacy, cybersecurity and emerging technology ... Wilkinson Barker lawyer-trademark expert Ronnie Raju promoted to partner.