Law Seminars International Presents

Two Comprehensive Days on Negotiating

Telecommunications Deals for Carriers

Making solid deals in a shaky regulatory framework

July 29 & 30, 2004
Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Francisco, CA
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Who Should Order Homestudy

Attorneys; telecommunications, cable, and electric utilities industry executives; representatives of local government and large telecommunications users

Why Order

"LSI is pleased to offer its Negotiating Telecom Carrier Deals seminar (West Coast version) 2004 - and the timing could not be more propitious.The backdrop for this year’s seminar is, of course, the D.C. Circuit Court upheaval of the FCC’s Triennial Review Order. At the time of this publication, it is uncertain whether the United States will seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the appellate court’s seismic decision. And unless "USTA II" is stayed, many of the FCC’s interconnection rules will soon be gone. This leaves a question mark for local exchange incumbents and their competitors - wireline, wireless, and "UNE-P" carriers: how to negotiate (or for that matter enforce) interconnection agreements based on a regulatory framework that, eight years after the enactment of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, remains unstable. The "Negotiating Deals" faculty, all experts in their field, will show you how. "Commercial agreements" havebeen endorsed by the FCC and now appear to be an alternative to "section 251" interim agreements. The seminar focuses on practice pointers, negotiation techniques, spotting deal points, contract drafting tips, pricing, deal protection and what to do when deals crater. The agenda also includes transactional issues raised by the convergence of internet and telecommunications technology, as well as intellectual property, outsourcing, internet access, VoIP, Wi-Fi and antitrust topics. You won’t want to miss it!" ~ Program Co-Chairs: Colleen O’Grady Diamond, Esq. and Walt Sapronov, Esq.

What You Will Learn

- Interconnection Agreements - The Current Dealmaking Environment for Carriers - The Rapidly Evolving Environment for Wireless and Wi-Fi Services - Interconnection Following the DC Circuit’s USTA II Decision - Inter-Carrier Compensation - Access Charges for VoIP: What’s on the Horizon? - Regulatory Update: Federal and State - Pole Attachment and Building Access - Outsourcing and Transactions Involving Intellectual Property or the Internet - Remedies

Agenda

Thursday, July 29, 2004
8:30 am Day One: Interconnection
  Interconnection agreements between ILEC's and competitors today; commercial agreement alternatives and other variations on the interconnection theme.
  Colleen O'Grady Diamond, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 SBC Communications, Inc. / San Francisco, CA
  Walt Sapronov, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Gerry & Sapronov LLP / Atlanta, GA
8:45 am A Macro and Micro Look at the Current Dealmaking Environment for Carriers
  The Macro view of strong vs. weak segments and players: Where can you boldly set forth and where will you need to exercise caution?
  Luke Schaeffer, Managing Director
 FTI Consulting, Inc. / San Francisco, CA
  A seasoned dealmaker updates his checklist: Formerly contentioius ares with fairly standardized solutions; new areas requiring time and creativity
  Walt Sapronov, Esq.
 Gerry & Sapronov LLP / Atlanta, GA
10:15 am Break
10:30 am The Rapidly Evolving Environment for Wireless and Wi-Fi Services
  Legal perspective on the changing landscape for wireless services and the implicatiaons for carriers property owners, and customers
  Suzanne Toller, Esq.
 Davis Wright Tremaine LLP / San Francisco, CA
  Business perspective
  Jeff Bartee
 T-Mobile, USA / Bellevue, WA
  Wireless broadband service provider perspective on transactional trends and key deal points
  Carl W. Peede, President & CEO
 Tri-State Broadband, Inc. / Roswell, GA
12:00 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:15 pm Interconnection Following the DC Circuit's USTA II Decision:
  Interconnection and unbundling under Section 251; What's left and for how long; TELRIC, rates and UNE-P availability; perspectives on what's settled; what's still to be resolved; what to do pending final resolution -- ILEC perspective
  Colleen O'Grady Diamond, Esq., General Attorney-Western Markets
 SBC Communications, Inc. / San Francisco, CA
  Interconnection and unbundling under Section 251; What's left and for how long; TELRIC, rates and UNE-P availability; perspectives on what's settled; what's still to be resolved; what to do pending final resolution -- CLEC perspective
  Jonathan Jacob Nadler, Esq.
 Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP / Washington, DC
2:45 pm Break
3:00 pm Inter-Carrier Compensation
  Update on FCC efforts to reconcile carrier access charges, reciprocal compensation and other forms of carrier-to-carrier compensation, including "bill and keep" - CLEC perspective
  Jonathan E. Canis, Esq.
 Kelley Drye & Warren LLP / Washington, DC
  Update on FCC efforts to reconcile carrier access charges, reciprocal compensation and other forms of carrier-to-carrier compensation, including "bill and keep" - ILEC perspective
  John M Devaney, Esq.
 Perkins Coie / Washington, DC
4:15 pm Access charges for VoIP: What's on the Horizon? Access charge treatment of VoIP: does (or should) the information service exemption apply; update of FCC NPRM regarding VoIP regulation; USF, 911, and CALEA issues relevant to dealmaking
  VoIP service provider perspective
  William B. Wilhelm, Jr., Esq.
 Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman, LLP / Washington, DC
  Established carrier perspective
  Jack Zinman, Esq.
 SBC Communications / Washington, DC
5:30 pm End of Day

Friday, July 30, 2004
8:30 am What's Coming Next? A Regulatory Update -- Federal and State Policy Initiatives Following the DC Circuit's USTA II Decision
  FCC response to USTA II remand revisions to UNE list; other key items on the FCC's agenda
  Michelle M. Carey, Esq.
 Federal Communications Commission Common Carrier Bureau / Washington, DC
  Status of impairment findings and other sub-delegations to state commissions; acativities and trends at the state level
  The Hon. Loretta M. Lynch, Esq.
 CA StatePublic Utilities Commission / San Francisco, CA
10:00 am Break
10:15 am Pole Attachments and Building Access
  Pole attachment, building, conduit and rights-of-way access issues involving utilities and telecom carriers; regulatory issues and negotiation tips -- Telecommunications carrier perspective
  Chad S. Wachter, Esq., Vice President, General Counsel
 Knology, Inc. / West Point, GA
  Grant Guera, Esq.
 Pacific Gas & Electric / San Francisco, CA
  Manuel M. Fishman, Esq.
 Stoel Rives LLP / San Francisco, CA
12:00 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:15 pm Outsourcing and Transactions Involving Intellectual Property or the Internet
  Deal points for outsourcing of telecom and IT services, equipment, software and other functions; licensing and other IP considerations
  Ellen G. Ray, Esq., Counsel
 King & Spalding LLP / Atlanta, GA
  Integrated services and equipment agreements; web-based contracting
  Gregory P. Cirillo, Esq.
 Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP / Washington, DC
2:45 pm Break
3:00 pm Remedies
  Update on key case decsions; implications for decciding whether to litigate or pursue regulatory relief; jurisdictional and appeals' process considerations
  Caroline N. Mitchell, Esq.
 Jones Day / San Francisco, CA
  Antitrust actions after Goldwasser and Covad decisions
  Harvey I. Saferstein, Esq.
 Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky Popeo PC / Santa Monica, CA
  FCC Remedies
  Brian FitzGerald, Esq.
 LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae LLP / Albany, NY
5:00 pm Adjourn

Cancellation

There is a $25 cancellation fee for Course Materials orders and $50 for Homestudy orders

Continuing Education Credits

Law Seminars International automatically obtains CLE credit approval for the state in which a seminar is held. On request, we will apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits. Current credits status: CA MCLE 14 | CO CLE 17 | GA CLE 13.8 | ID CLE13.75 (#041194) | KS CLE 16 (#33495) | NY CLE 16.5 (0 ethics; nontransitional) | WA CLE 13.75 (#122589) |

Cost

Our complete Homestudy Course, consisting of a VHS or DVD recording and the written course materials, is available for $905. The course materials alone are available for $100. We will ship your homestudy order via UPS ground within two weeks after the seminar or the date we receive payment (which ever is later).
Order Homestudy

Faculty Bios

Colleen O’Grady Diamond, Program Co-Chair, of SBC Communications, is Supervising Attorney in charge of Industry Markets for SBC’s western region for interconnection agreement negotiations for Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) headquartered in California and Nevada.

Walter Sapronov, Program Co-Chair, is a partner at Gerry & Sapronov LLP. Mr. Sapronov concentrates his practice on telecommunications law and regulation and transactions involving regulated communications carriers. He represents numerous clients before the Georgia Public Service Commission, the FCC, and the Georgia State Legislature.

Jonathan E. Canis a partner with Kelley, Drye & Warren, LLP, focuses his practice on telecommunications, representing new competitive entrants in federal and state venues by analyzing clients’ business plans and advising them of business opportunities; undertaking litigation; and negotiating service and joint provisioning contracts with carriers and customers.

Michelle Carey is currently the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau’s Competition Policy Division. As Chief of the Competition Policy Division, Ms. Carey is responsible for overseeing various rulemakings, including the IP-Enabled Services NPRM, Triennial Review, and Broadband proceedings. She is also responsible for supervising various adjudicatory proceedings such as license transfer applications filed by common carriers. Before becoming Chief, Ms. Carey was Deputy Chief in the Policy Division Ms. Carey received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Mr. Cirillo, co-chair of Wiley Rein & Fielding's Aerospace & Aviation Practice, is a transactional, corporate attorney, providing legal counsel on business formation, corporate finance, corporate control, and mergers & acquisitions. In addition to representing entrepreneurs and growth companies regionally, he has a national practice in aviation and aerospace transactions including equipment acquisition and finance.

John Devaney, a partner with Perkins Coie, LLP focuses his litigation practice on Commercial, Telecommunications, Employment counseling and Environmental insurance coverage.

Manuel "Manny" Fishman is a principal in the San Francisco office of Stoel Rives. His real estate transactional practice is focused on office and industrial leasing, secured lending, the acquisition and sale of commercial properties, and the interface between landline and wireless telecommunications and internet-based services with commercial real estate.

Brian FitzGerald is a partner in the international law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, L.L.P. He specializes in telecommunications and utility law. Mr. FitzGerald has represented competitive local exchange providers and MSOs dealing with the many difficulties and opportunities presented by the ongoing deregulation of the telecommunications marketplace. Mr. FitzGerald has been actively involved in negotiating and drafting interconnection contracts, court challenges to state and federal administrative agency actions and providing general legal counsel to telecom, cable and utility clients.

Grant Guera is General Counsel for Pacific Gas & Electric where he is primarily responsible for municipal law in PG&E contract negotiations. Before joining, PG&E, Grant practiced with McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen in Walnut Creek, California.

Loretta Lynch served as President of the California Public Utilities Commission from March 2000 to December 31, 2002. Ms. Lynch is currently one of five Commissioners charged with regulating telecommunications, energy, commercial transportation, and water companies. Her term expires January 1, 2005. Commissioner Lynch coauthored a report in August 2000 for Governor Davis that provided a comprehensive survey of the potential causes of the energy crisis, the history of California's deregulation experiment, and dozens of recommendations to solve the crisis. Ms. Lynch ,an early critic of energy deregulation, served as director of Governor Davis’ Office of Planning and Research. Prior to her appointment to the PUC. 

Caroline N. Mitchell, a partner with Jones Day, specializes in antitrust litigation, complex litigation, and regulatory proceedings before the California Public Utilities commission. Her work on complex antitrust cases focuses on the oil and telecommunications industries.

Jack Nadler is a partner  in the Washington DC office of Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP,  where he has worked extensively on issues regarding  local telecommunications competition, international telecommunication liberalization, broadband deployment, and the growth of the Internet.

Carl W. Peede, President and CEO of Tri-State Broadband, Inc. has held executive level positions in several publicly traded companies including Sr. VP of Marketing for TeraGlobal Communications, Inc., San Diego, CA, COO for HomeCom Communications, Inc., Atlanta, GA, and Sr. VP Worldwide Marketing for NetManage, Inc., Cupertino, CA

Harvey Saferstein is Of Counsel in the Litigation Section of Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC. His practice specializes in antitrust and trade regulation counseling, intellectual property counseling and litigation, and complex commercial and business litigation. Currently, he is consulting with the California Attorney General's office on antitrust matters.

Luke Schaeffer, of FTI Consulting, specializes in advising companies in the telecommunications and technology industries. His work covers corporate finance, due diligence, M&A advisory, private equity finance, strategy and business plan development, business recovery and restructuring, and valuation.

Suzanne Toller is a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Previously, Ms. Toller was Senior Counsel for AT&T Wireless, where she was responsible for overseeing and coordinating all of AT&T Wireless’ state regulatory work throughout the country. Prior to joining AT&T Wireless, Ms. Toller served as a Legal Advisor to a former FCC Commissioner.

Chad S. Wachter is Vice President and General Counsel for Knology, Inc. providing advanced broadband services to both business and residential customers.

William B. Wilhelm is in the Technology & Telecommunications group at Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman, LLP, where he is actively engaged  in practicing before state and Federal regulators. Mr. Wilhelm represents    VoIP providers, CLECs, domestic and international technology companies, broadband providers,  equipment manufacturers, domestic and international ISPs and a variety of  communications software developers .

Jack Zinman is an attorney in SBC Communication’s federal regulatory group based in Washington, D.C., responsible for a variety of communications issues, with a focus on Internet Protocol (IP) services and broadband technology. Before joining SBC, Mr. Zinman served as Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).