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Robert M. Jackson has over thirty-five years of experience representing clients in connection with regulatory matters before the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Courts, mostly in a series of boutique communications law firms.

After a judicial clerkship, he began his career in private practice representing clients in the extremely complex litigation environment of obtaining cellular licenses in comparative hearings before the FCC for the top-30 metropolitan area markets (the only markets for which comparative hearing procedures were used), and defending the license grants in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  Representing John Kluge’s Metromedia, Inc., he argued and won the first case before the D.C. Circuit resulting from the award of a cellular license in a top-thirty market (the Chicago metropolitan area) under the FCC’s cellular hearing procedures, a case which presented questions of first impression for the Court. Cellular Mobile Systems of Illinois, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission, 782 F.2d 214 (D.C. Cir. 1986).  Comparative hearings are conducted as a bench trial before an Administrative Law Judge with most evidence submitted in writing. Additionally, he represented the winning applicants for cellular licenses in additional top-30 markets: the Los Angeles, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Boston, and New Orleans metropolitan areas.  Additionally, he consulted with the law firm representing the winning applicant for the New York City metropolitan area. 

He helps clients develop and implement plans to promote their legal, policy, and business objectives.  He advises clients on significant regulatory, legislative, and market developments affecting the communications and internet industries, and advocates on a broad range of regulatory issues, including spectrum policy, net neutrality, broadband deployment and competition.

Robert M. Jackson has been awarded the Preeminent AV rating in both legal ability and adherence to ethical standards in the Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating process for some twenty-five years.

He has performed feature roles in independent films.

He represents clients in numerous adjudicatory, complaint and rulemaking matters before the FCC, and before various United States Courts of Appeal.  He represents clients in spectrum auction proceedings, wireless broadband matters, and in connection with compliance with Federal regulatory requirements.  He also represents clients in connection with the negotiation and performance of switch sharing agreements, inter-carrier roaming agreements, the acquisition of network equipment, tower siting and colocation matters, contracts for the purchase and sale of communications properties, loan agreements and spectrum leasing arrangements, management agreements, regulatory enforcement proceedings, government investigations and formal and informal complaint proceedings involving common carriers, administrative agency hearings, antitrust investigations initiated by the United States Department of Justice, and has served as co-counsel in a case arising under the Federal False Claims Act, among other things.  He has assisted clients in connection with the preparation of those portions of Securities and Exchange Commission registration statements for the public offering of securities and periodic reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission.  He has represented landline telephone companies in connection with payphone compensation litigation before the FCC.

He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from The George Washington University in 1974, and his law degree from The Catholic University of America in 1978, where he was a member of the Law Review.  He is admitted to the Bar in Maryland and the District of Columbia; and is also a member of the Bars of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the District of Columbia and the Tenth Circuits, and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.  He is also a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association and the Federal Communications Bar Association, where he served on the Professional Responsibility and Law Journal Committees.

Clients of record have included a) Metromedia, Inc. (a past television and radio broadcast and wireless service provider), b) CommNet Cellular, Inc. (a start-up turned publicly-traded wireless provider in the western states whose licenses are now owned by Verizon Wireless), c) ALLTEL Corporation (a publicly-traded landline telephone and wireless provider in the southern states whose properties are now owned by Verizon Wireless, AT&T and other companies), d) Midwest AWS Limited Partnership (a wireless service provided based in Minnesota whose licenses were acquired by Rural Cellular Corporation); e) Rural Cellular Corporation (a privately-held wireless service provider based in Minnesota, now owned by Verizon Wireless); f) Los Angeles Cellular Telephone Company; g) Radiofone, Inc. (of New Orleans, LA, acquired by Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems); and h) Mobile Communications Corporation of America; among others.

Admission Details
  • Maryland
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Law School Attended
  • The Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, Class of 1978, J.D.
University Attended
  • The George Washington University, Class of 1974, B.A.