Ari Fitzgerald > Hogan Lovells US LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Hogan Lovells US LLP
COLUMBIA SQUARE
555 THIRTEENTH STREET, NW
WASHINGTON DC 20004
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States

Work Department

Global Regulatory

Position

Partner

Career

Ari Fitzgerald provides strategic, legal, and policy advice on a wide range of communications and spectrum policy issues to some of the world’s largest and most dynamic communications network operators and equipment manufacturers, as well as a diverse assortment of industry trade associations and investors. He especially enjoys helping automobile manufacturers, medical device suppliers, consumer electronics device makers, and other technology companies bring new and innovative communications-related products and services to market.

Ari had a distinguished career in government before joining Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells) as a partner in 2001. He was a legal advisor to former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Bill Kennard, as well as deputy chief of the FCC’s International Bureau. He also served as a legal advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, where he advised the White House, executive branch agencies, and the U.S. attorney general on constitutional and federal statutory interpretation matters.

Ari started his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable H. Lee Sarokin, U.S. district judge, and worked for several years after his judicial clerkship as legal counsel to former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley. Ari worked as a financial analyst in the corporate finance department of the global investment bank First Boston Corporation before entering law school.

Today, Ari serves on the board of directors of Crown Castle International, a large, publicly owned operator of towers and other communications infrastructure, and on the advisory board of several private technology companies and policy advocacy organizations. He also serves on the board of several nonprofit entities, including as vice president of the Yale Law School Alumni Executive Committee, secretary of the Multicultural Media and Telecommunications Council, president of the Duke Ellington Fund, and as an advisory board member of Catholic Charities Legal Network.

Languages

English, Spanish

Memberships

Board of Directors, Crown Castle International
President, Duke Ellington Fund
Vice President, Yale Law School Alumni Executive Committee
Federal Communications Bar Association
Advisory Committee, Mobile Future
Advisory Committee, Spectrum Bridge

Education

J.D., Yale Law School, 1990
Henry Luce Scholar, 1985
A.B., Harvard College, magna cum laude, 1984

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions

Hogan Lovells US LLP advises market-leading companies in the telecoms and broadcast space on the full range of transactional matters, providing end-to-end representation through both the complementary work of the firm’s strong regulatory practice and the global resources of the wider firm. The team has experience working across the sector, with a particularly strong offering in space, satellite, wireless, and Internet of Things. Alexis Sáinz  joined the firm from Milbank in September 2022, co-leading the team on its satellite projects with extensive experience in the industry, advising on the development and financing of satellites and related assets. The Washington DC-based team is also led by Steven Kaufman, who has worked on a number of joint ventures, financings, and M&A, with a track record of leading first of their kind transactions in the space sector. The DC team works closely with co-lead Randy Segal in North Virginia, who focusses on cutting-edge work in satellite, wireless, drone, and technology transactions. The transactional team is bolstered by its close integration with the regulatory team, able to rely on Ari Fitzgerald, Michele Farquhar, and Mark W. Brennan to advise clients on all of the regulatory aspects of transactional work, just as it is able to draw on the firm’s broader corporate M&A practice, namely Keith Flaum, to assist with M&A in the telecoms space.

United States > Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory

Hogan Lovells US LLP is prominent in the telecoms and broadcast space for both its end-to-end capabilities, able to provide comprehensive representation to clients in all stages of their regulatory and transactional mandates, and its broad geographical reach, being well-placed to advise clients on complex, cross-border matters. The regulatory team has been bolstered by multiple new additions, with Katy Milner joining from Wiley Rein LLP in September 2022, specializing in wireless carriers and Internet of Things; senior counsel Charles Mathias, who brings his experience as former Deputy Chief in the FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau; and senior director David Fritz, who employs his expertise as a technical engineer in the telecoms industry alongside his regulatory expertise to assist clients within the service provider space. Ari Fitzgerald heads the Washington DC-based team, with experience working in the FCC and the Department of Justice that he brings to bear on the full-range of spectrum-related mandates amongst his broader communications practice, working alongside Mark Brennan, whose expertise in technology leads to a focus on compliance and data protection. Michele Farquhar is noted for her experience serving at the FCC, NTIA, and CTIA that she uses to advise in spectrum auctions and licensing, compliance matters, and issues related to cutting-edge technologies. Also of note are the transactional team comprised of Steven Kaufman, Randy Segal, and Alexis Sáinz, whose work complements the regulatory practice.