Seth Davidson and Craig Gilley Join as Members in Washington, D.C.

Mintz, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. continues to enhance its highly respected Communications Section with nationally recognized attorneys Seth Davidson and Craig Gilley joining as Members based in the firm’s Washington D.C. office.

Mr. Davidson and Mr. Gilley, formerly of Edwards Wildman, bring to the firm decades of specialized experience focused on the complex regulatory and legislative issues affecting cable operators and other multichannel video programming distributors as well as Internet service providers and other communications companies. They regularly handle matters arising before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Copyright Office, Congress, state public utility commissions, and federal and state courts.

“Mintz has long maintained exceptionally strong regulatory practices, a reflection of our deep commitment to our clients’ interest in this important and complex area of law,” said Bob Bodian, Managing Member of Mintz. “This is particularly true with the firm’s Communications practice, which has been among the most prominent in the country since the establishment of our Washington, D.C. office more than 30 years ago.”

“Beyond their regulatory capabilities, Seth and Craig together bring deep legislative knowledge and experience, bolstering the strong expertise of our veteran communications attorneys,” said Tara M. Corvo, Chair of Mintz Communications Section. “Their addition to the firm significantly increases our capacity to help clients navigate the rules and policies shaping the future of the industry, from net neutrality to the effect of cloud-based technology, to any rewrite of the Communications Act.”

Expert in both copyright and communications law and in the intersection of the two, Mr. Davidson has played an active role for more than 30 years in the legislative and regulatory matters affecting the communications industry. In addition to being a written and oral advocate for clients before various federal, state, and local government agencies in rulemaking and adjudicatory proceedings affecting cable television and satellite companies, he has played an instrumental role in the drafting of a wide range of legislative proposals of interest to the cable and satellite industries, including the 1992 Cable Act, the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the DMCA, and the reauthorizations of Satellite Home Viewer Act. 
 
Mr. Davidson also has written briefs in appellate litigation before both the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.  Mr. Davidson is a frequent speaker at cable industry and bar association events and is the former Co-Chair of the Federal Communications Bar Association’s Cable Practice Committee and Intellectual Property Committee.
 
Before joining Edwards Wildman, Mr. Davidson served his communications clients’ interests first as a lawyer in private practice and later as Associate General Counsel and then Legislative Counsel to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.   Mr. Davidson received his undergraduate degree (magna cum laude) from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Stone Scholar and an editor of the Law Review.

Mr. Gilley is an expert on the broad array of regulations impacting cable operators and multichannel video programming providers.  Mr. Gilley regularly represents such companies in proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), state public utility commissions (PUCs), and federal and state courts.  Mr. Gilley also regularly counsels cable operators in their often contentious relationships with broadcasters, including navigating broadcaster must-carry rights, negotiating retransmission consent and other carriage agreements, and responding to carriage and channel placement complaints. 
 
Mr. Gilley also has extensive experience representing a wide array of communications entities, including programmers, broadcasters, wireless companies and Internet service providers.  Such experience includes counseling in the evolving area of net neutrality compliance and best practices, drafting over a dozen net neutrality and acceptable use policies for cable operators and wireless providers, as well as negotiating pole attachment and other rights-of-way agreements.  Finally, Mr. Gilley regularly assists communications entities negotiating complex IT, cloud services, co-marketing and equipment procurement contracts.
 
Mr. Gilley holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.