Brian D. Weimer

Mr. Weimer is a corporate partner in the firm's Washington, DC office and leader of the firm's Communications Practice.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Weimer provides transactional and regulatory advice to clients in the telecommunications industry, with particular emphasis on satellite, wireless and broadcasting companies.  He acts as corporate counsel to telecommunications companies in M&A and financing matters and also advises on regulatory issues presented by these transactions.  Mr. Weimer represents Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensees on a wide range of issues at the FCC, including rulemaking, licensing, and enforcement matters.  He also advises foreign and domestic clients on international telecommunications issues such as satellite landing rights and cross-border M&A transactions.  Mr. Weimer also has significant experience counseling clients through the national security review process administered by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Mr. Weimer frequently speaks and writes on telecommunications-related matters at industry events. He is also actively involved in the Federal Communications Bar Association, where he has served as co-chair of the International Telecommunications Committee, the Transactional Practice Committee and the Wireless Committee.  He is also a member of the Society of Satellite Professionals International.

Education

• J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1995, Olin Fellow in Law & Economics
• B.A., University of Chicago, 1990, Phi Beta Kappa

Admissions

• Delaware
• Maryland
• District of Columbia

• FCC counsel to Xsight Systems Ltd. in a rulemaking proceeding concerning the 76-77 GHz frequency range.
• CFIUS and FCC counsel to Providence Equity Partners in its acquisition of SRA.
• Special FCC and satellite industry counsel to the Committee of Unsecured Creditors of TerreStar.
• CFIUS counsel to Keane International in its acquisition by NTT DATA Corporation.
• Corporate and FCC counsel to San Diego Gas & Electric in the acquisition of wireless spectrum from NextWave for a Smart Grid project.
• Regulatory counsel to satellite company SES World Skies.
• Regulatory counsel to satellite company O3b Limited.
• Corporate counsel to Lincoln Financial Group in the sale of its radio properties.
• Regulatory counsel to GE Satellite.
• FCC and CFIUS counsel to European private equity group BC Partners in its acquisition of a controlling stake in Intelsat, the world's largest fixed satellite service provider.
• Strategic advice to Wall Street investment houses and private equity groups on opportunities in the wireless and satellite industries.

Honors

• Legal 500, 2010, 2011
• Legal Elite, SmartCEO Magazine, 2011

Articles

• Key details of CFIUS 2010 annual report, The Deal, January 25, 2012
• Strategies for Retaining Management in Auction Sales of Life Sciences Companies, Life Sciences Law & Industry Report, February 12, 2010
• Foreign Investment in China's Telecommunications Industry: Current Opportunities, Potential Barriers, and Future Prospects, 2010

• Regular contributor to Via Satellite magazine, including Twenty Years of Via Satellite: How the Commercial Satellite Industry Recaptured Public Attention (2006).  
• The Year in Wireless Telecommunications 2005-2006, 24^th Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation (2006).
• Legal Opinions in Corporate Transactions Affected by FCC Regulation: An Economic Approach, 51 Federal Communications Law Journal 773 (1999).

FCC Law Blog Articles

• FCC Approves Controversial Net Neutrality Rules, January 4, 2011
• FCC And FDA Focused On Convergence Of Communications And Medical Systems, August 4, 2010
• FCC Loses Net Neutrality Suit, April 7, 2010
• FCC Initiates Net Neutrality Rulemaking, November 2, 2009

Global Trade Law Blog Articles

• "CFIUS Submits Annual Report to Congress," January 30, 2012 

Speeches

• Panelist, Opportunities and Threats for a New Decade, Satellite 2010 Conference, Washington, DC (March 2010).
• Moderator, Satellites, Broadcasting, and Cable TV, Satellite 2007 Conference, Washington, DC (February 2007).
• Panelist, Hybrid Wireless Technologies, International Satellite Conference and Expo, San Diego, CA (June 2006).
• Moderator, Managing Risk in a Risky Business, Satellite 2006 Conference, Washington, DC (February 2006).
• Panelist, Mobile Satellite: New Systems, New Opportunities, Satellite 2005 Conference, Washington, DC (March 2005).
• Guest Speaker, Media Ownership and the Information Battlefield, on National Public Radio's WBUR, Boston, MA (January 2003).
• Panelist, Telecom Deals: M&A, Regulatory and Financing Issues, Practicing Law Institute, New York, New York (July 2000).