REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

• As lead counsel on behalf of Comcast Corporation, successfully appealed the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) first "net neutrality" decision.  In a unanimous decision in Comcast v. FCC, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected the FCC's claim of ancillary authority over Comcast's high-speed Internet network management practices and vacated the agency's order sanctioning the company for supposed violations of federal Internet policy. 
• Currently serving as lead counsel for Verizon in the lead industry challenge to the FCC's order formally adopting "net neutrality" rules in response to the decision in Comcast v. FCC.  The challenge includes a claim that the FCC lacks statutory authority to adopt the rules and that the rules violate the First Amendment.
• Currently representing nation's largest telecommunications companies in several cases pending in various federal courts of appeal regarding a wide range of issues such as the legality of the FCC's decisions with respect to universal service and the scope of authority of state commissions in the interconnection arbitration context.
• Led appeal of most recent FCC mass media ownership ruling on behalf of a major national radio company and argued appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
• Represented Verizon and a coalition of other major companies in a proceeding at the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to implement the America Invents Act.
• Obtained unanimous reversal on appeal of a federal district court's dismissal on jurisdictional grounds of Coors Brewing Company's challenge to Puerto Rico's beer tax scheme under the dormant Commerce Clause.
• In cases raising important complex litigation and First Amendment issues, secured dismissal of all claims against clients Molson Coors and Coors Brewing Company, as well as numerous other American manufacturers and distributors of alcohol beverages, in several class action lawsuits alleging that industry advertising was to blame for underage drinking. Successfully defended those rulings on appeal in state and federal appellate courts across the country.
• Secured victory for the nation's largest national wireless carrier in first test of state legislative authority over wireless rates and business practices, litigating case from federal district court to U.S. Supreme Court.
• Led litigation team for Fortune 500 media company in historic challenge to FCC's children's television rules, resulting in successful settlement for client, paired as co-counsel for industry litigation group with former U.S. Solicitor General Seth Waxman.
• Assisting various clients with other high-level national legal issues.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Associate Counsel to the President of the United States (2001-2003).  Responsible for legal matters arising out of the FCC, U.S. Departments of Labor and Transportation and Federal Election Commission (FEC), as well as general regulatory and administrative law matters and judicial selection.
• Senior Legal Advisor and Chief of Staff (1999-2000) and Legal Advisor (1997-1999) to FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth.  Responsible for mass media and cable matters.
• Associate in the appellate and constitutional law private practice group headed by Theodore Olson, former U.S. Solicitor General (1996-1997).
• Deputy Press Secretary (1990-1991) and Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Press Assistant (1988-1990) to Senator Strom Thurmond.

AFFILIATIONS

• Member, 2012 D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference, Conference Arrangements Committee.
• Public Member, Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) (2010-Present).  The 2011 ACUS Annual Report describes its members as "leading authorities in administrative law."
• Appointed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to serve on the Court's Advisory Committee on Procedures (2009-Present).
• Member, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference (2008-Present).
• Elected Member, Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court (2008-Present).
• Appointed by the President of the United States to serve on the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission (2006-2010).
• Appointed by the U.S. State Department to serve as the U.S. Representative on the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization Panel of Legal Experts (2006-Present).
• American Bar Association (ABA), Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, Chair, Communications Committee (2000-2001).

HONORS & AWARDS

• Listed by Chambers USA as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" in both Appellate Law and Telecom, Broadcast & Satellite (2011-2012).
• Named by The American Lawyer magazine to its nationwide list of "45 Under 45" (2011).
• Named one of Washington's "Best Lawyers" by Washingtonian magazine (2011).
• Named by the National Law Journal as one of "Washington's Most Influential Women Lawyers" (2010).
• Named one of DC's "Top 50 Women Lawyers" (2013) and "Super Lawyers" (2009-2013) for Appellate by Super Lawyers magazine.
• Named by Lawdragon as one of "500 Leading Lawyers in America" (2010-2012).
• Named by The American Lawyer as its "Litigator of the Week" for role as lead counsel in obtaining for Comcast a "blockbuster appellate decision" in a judicial challenge to the FCC's first "net neutrality" decision (April 2010).
• Named by The Legal 500 US a "leading lawyer" in Telecom Litigation and Regulatory. Clients praise her for being "first rate" and "always on top of the case," while commending her "amazing work in litigation" and ability to "untangle the regulatory problems but still retain an eye on the commercial current." (2007-2012).  
• Rated in the top tier of regulatory communications attorneys by The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers (2013).
• AV Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell's highest ranking by peers for general ethical standards and legal ability.

PUBLICATIONS

CURRENT | CHOOSE YEAR 2012 2011 2010 2009 2004 | VIEW ALL

• Administrative Law Bulletin: Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham—A New Limit on the Deference Accorded to an Agency's Interpretation of Its Own Regulations
  Bert W. Rein, Helgi C. Walker, Brendan J. Morrissey and Elbert Lin
  June 20, 2012

SPEECHES

CURRENT | CHOOSE YEAR 2013 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 | VIEW ALL

• Women in the Life and Law of the D.C. Circuit Courts

  Helgi C. Walker, Panelist
  The Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit
  June 18, 2013 | Washington, DC | More Information

NEWS RELEASES

CURRENT | CHOOSE YEAR 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 | VIEW ALL

• Fifty-Eight Wiley Rein Attorneys Named to DC "Super Lawyers" List Across 18 Areas of the Law

  April 19, 2013

• D.C. Circuit Upholds FCC Pole Attachment Rate Order

  February 27, 2013

• Four Wiley Rein Partners Earn Who's Who Legal Honors

  January 4, 2013

• Sixth Circuit Rejects Michigan’s Bottle Law With Help from Wiley Rein Amicus Brief

  December 4, 2012

• Wiley Rein's Telecom Practice and Richard E. Wiley Receive Top Tier Honors From Chambers USA for Ten Years in a Row

  June 12, 2012

• Chambers USA Ranks Helgi C. Walker Among Nation's Best Appellate Lawyers

  June 8, 2012

• Chambers USA Recognizes Thirty-Two Wiley Rein Attorneys Across Fifteen Practice Areas as Best in the Country

  June 7, 2012

• The Legal 500 US Ranks Wiley Rein's Telecommunications Group in the Top Tier for the Sixth Consecutive Year

  June 6, 2012

• The Legal 500 US Ranks Four Wiley Rein Practices Among Nation's Best; Wiley and Senkowski Named 'Leading Lawyers'

  May 30, 2012

IN THE NEWS

CURRENT | CHOOSE YEAR 2012 2011 | VIEW ALL

• Helgi Walker Interviewed by Bloomberg TV for Profile of Eugene Scalia

  December 5, 2012 | Bloomberg TV

• Helgi Walker Discusses Supreme Court Class Action Case in The National Law Journal

  July 27, 2012 | The National Law Journal