The veteran attorneys on LeClairRyan's Telecommunications Industry Team pride themselves on understanding their clients' business objectives and offering sound legal strategies to advance those goals. Our attorneys, who have established a substantial and nationally-recognized practice in the telecommunications industry and related areas, have broad experience in the full range of regulatory, transactional, legislative and corporate governance matters at play in the telecom world. We routinely work with both regulated and unregulated public utilities, municipal organizations, wireless and wireline carriers, commercial business and industrial customers, and alternative communication providers. Our Telecommunications Industry team also offers an in-depth understanding of the rapidly-evolving regulatory, financial, taxation and other issues now shaping emerging and established telecommunications markets. Indeed, our team is helping to shape the very regulatory climate in our clients operate.
Our Telecommunications Industry Team has been actively involved in numerous projects of Virginia cities, counties, and towns to provide telecommunications and broadband internet access to residents and businesses. As such, we are uniquely qualified to assist clients involved in all aspects of the telecommunications industry. In addition, our attorneys have participated in the development of the regulatory and statutory framework affecting municipal entry into these markets by helping to promulgate regulations at the Virginia State Corporation Commission and enact legislation at the Virginia General Assembly, giving us multiple perspectives on these issues.
Our team serves as state regulatory counsel to major telecommunications companies, competitive and incumbent local exchange carriers, internet service providers, and innovative broadband-industry enterprises, and numerous public and private entrants into the telecommunications market. Our attorneys have experience representing clients in telecommunications regulatory matters, transactions, and litigation. In this era of continued competition and restructuring of telecommunications markets, our industry team provides critical assistance with the regulatory aspects of mergers, acquisitions, stock transfers, and other transactions involving telecommunications carriers.
We have litigated many cases for telecommunications and related clients before federal and state regulatory commissions and have counseled clients on a wide array of matters, including:
- Incumbent local exchange carriers;
- Wireless telephone companies;
- Facilities-based and reseller competitive local exchange carriers;
- Long-distance carriers;
- Internet service providers;
- Shared tenant service providers;
- Information access providers;
- Cable television providers;
- Radio common carriers; and
- Paging companies.
Representative cases include:
- Successful representation of major incumbent local exchange carrier in litigation regarding intrastate switched access charges;
- Major litigation in a regulatory proceeding involving eminent domain authority for competitive telecommunications carrier;
- Successful Virginia Supreme Court appeal of regulatory proceeding against major telecommunications provider of inmate telecommunications services;
- Favorable negotiation and arbitration of interconnection agreement terms for telecommunications carriers;
- Formation and certification of over 150 competitive local exchange carriers;
- Successful actions against incumbent telecommunications carrier for anti-competitive and unfair business practices; and
- Successful implementation of regulatory process to "streamline" approval of merger and transfer of ownership/control applications for telecommunications carriers.
Wireless Telecommunications
Through our work on hundreds of wireless communications facilities, all in various phases of development, we have established an extremely experienced and knowledgeable wireless telecommunications practice. Our work in this area encompasses regulatory, transactional, legislative, and corporate governance matters, and includes such practical matters as the acquisition and requisite permitting of antenna sites and negotiation of master agreements with public utilities, transportation departments, and government entities.
The attorneys on our Telecommunications Industry Team are committed to knowing our clients' industries and understanding their business operations with a view toward providing maximum strategic advantage. Through our work in the wireless telecommunications field, we have acquired a keen understanding of the issues that affect the industry. We have been highly successful in permitting tower facilities and have also participated in industry-wide legislative initiatives that have helped shape public policy and changed state law. Our attorneys are actively involved in legislative matters, having represented wireless carriers for more than fifteen years in the Virginia General Assembly. This includes legislation dealing with tower siting, proposed restrictions on wireless telephone usage, and state and local taxation.
Our Telecommunications Industry Team is well-versed in the financial pressures affecting the highly competitive wireless market. We know that pursuing legislative changes can often prove to be the most effective and cost-efficient solution to a variety of business and regulatory challenges. Indeed, our attorneys have assisted wireless carriers in a number of proceedings that have resulted in millions of dollars of local and state tax savings to these clients. In addition to legislative matters, our telecommunications industry team has assisted a number of tower companies, general contractors, and sophisticated wireless telecommunications carriers with their primary and supplemental network developments and taxation issues. We understand the intricacies involved in brokering solutions among landlords, concerned citizens, local governments, political decision-makers, and our clients. Our team has also gained significant understanding of radio frequency technology and science and is able to effectively translate this knowledge to persuade decision makers of our clients' infrastructure needs.
At both the state and local level, we handle the following wireless telecommunications matters.
Land-Use Approvals
Utilizing various technologies and our strategically-positioned offices, our Telecommunications Industry Team has extensive experience with respect to land-use approvals of wireless communications facilities. We have worked in numerous jurisdictions throughout Virginia, where the largely political zoning-approval process is relatively uniform statewide.
Leasing
The attorneys on our Telecommunications Industry Team have a strong background in drafting, negotiating, and interpreting agreements in compliance with tower company and wireless carrier guidelines.
Coordination of Title and Survey Matters
Our Telecommunications Industry Team has extensive experience working with title companies and surveyors to ensure thorough site evaluation. We understand the critical need for accuracy and consistency and work to identify and resolve any impediments to the use or occupancy of a site. We are adept at obtaining all necessary easements, approvals, and non-disturbance agreements.
Legislative Matters
Our legislative work includes such issues as replacing differing local regulations with a uniform statewide rule; simplifying and ensuring the fairness of state and local taxation schemes; and moving proactively to prevent restrictions on wireless telephone usage.
State and Local Taxation
The attorneys on our Telecommunications Industry Team understand the importance of the bottom line to our clients, and routinely advise them on innovative and practical methods for reducing their tax burdens. Our attorneys have provided significant savings to wireless carriers in their regulatory gross receipts taxes paid to the state government; business, professional, and occupational license (BPOL) taxes; assessments on public utility property; and right-of-way use fees. Whenever possible, we work to reach mutually-agreeable compromise with taxing authorities, as these results are clearly in our clients' best interests. However, there are times when it is necessary to litigate these issues before regulatory bodies and trial courts, and we are fully prepared to do so and capable of wining at trial.
Major Telecommunications Customers
All corporations have varied arrangements and agreements with telecommunications providers. Indeed, the typical Fortune 500 Company spends over $116 million per year on telecommunications products and services. That said, however, many corporate customers execute contracts with their telecommunications providers without any expert legal or consulting advice, assistance or representation, thereby running the significant risk of (i) entering into "standard" agreements constructed for the benefit of the providers, rather than the customers, and/or (ii) paying rates for these products and services far in excess of what they should be paying. These results can put these corporations at a competitive disadvantage relative to their peers and degrade their bottom line, impacting their business and their shareholders. On a foundation built by representing two of the three largest telecommunications providers, LeClairRyan is uniquely suited to, and currently advises, many major corporations, healthcare organizations and government entities, on the "buyer side" in their procurement, negotiation and contracting for telecommunications products, services and outsourcing arrangements.
Government and Utility Company Master Agreements
We are experienced in negotiating broad-based master agreements with public utility companies and state agencies, including the Virginia Department of Transportation and Dominion Virginia Power. Our attorneys fully understand the importance of administrative guidelines and of building close contacts when working with these entities. Indeed, our Telecommunications Industry team has cultivated extensive relationships at both the state and local level-and continues to do so-in order to give our clients maximum strategic advantage.