Mr Dave Thomas > Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
2099 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W.
SUITE 100
WASHINGTON DC 20006
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States
Dave Thomas  photo

Work Department

Business Trial; Governmental

Position

Dave Thomas is a partner in the Business Trial Practice Group and Office Managing Partner of Sheppard Mullin’s Washington, D.C. office. He is also the partner in charge of lateral recruiting for Sheppard Mullin’s Washington, D.C. office.

Dave’s national practice handles matters in the telecommunications and broadband communications industries, as well as in the cyber and data security sectors. His practice focuses on the deployment and operations of competitive wire-based and wireless networks and services, with a particular emphasis on the mesh of federal, state and local regulations surrounding broadband networks in matters involving network operations and security, local franchising, rights-of-way and infrastructure.

During his more than 25 years as counsel to the nation’s top cable and broadband companies, cable and telecommunications trade associations and other business organizations, Dave became a nationally recognized authority on utility and telecommunications infrastructure, pole attachments, rights-of-way, federal, state and local broadband and telecommunications regulatory and communications plant deployment issues and public utility law. He has worked on cases in approximately 40 states.

Dave handles a wide range of regulatory, litigation and transactional matters involving telecommunications providers, broadcasters, satellite communications, federal, state and local licensing and permitting, data security and privacy and spectrum use. He litigates before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), numerous state public service commissions and federal and state courts. In addition to those bodies, he regularly appears before state legislatures and county and municipal governments.

A frequent speaker at communications and utility industry conferences, Dave has published works on a variety of domestic and international industry issues, including cyber and data security, new technology, infrastructure and use, network deployment and spectrum use and allocation.

Languages

Spanish

Memberships

Member, Federal Communications Bar Association

Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals

Member, Advisory Board, Webster’s New World Telecom Dictionary, Wiley Publishing, 2008

Education

J.D., Boston University School of Law, 1990

M.S., Boston University, 1987

A.B., Cornell University, 1984

Lawyer Rankings

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

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP has established itself in the satellite domain, representing high-profile market players before the FCC in respect of a range of business-critical spectrum mandates, including compliance with FCC programs, spectrum auctions, and contentious proceedings. The practice has a global reach to match that of its clients, but also has experience working with national operators in relation to infrastructure deployment and assisting regional broadcasters with their regulatory needs. Brian Weimer heads the Washington DC-based practice with a focus on satellite operators and investors in satellite and wireless, representing such clients before the FCC and ITU on a range of mandates, namely the regulatory approval of transactions. Dave Thomas focusses on the deployment and operations of wire-based and wireless networks and services, working at the federal, state, and local levels of regulation. Paul Werner brings his extensive litigation experience to the practice, representing domestic and international providers in state and federal trial courts and advising them on a range of policy issues arising from novel tech.