Description of the Law Firm:

Languages: English, Spanish

History

Founded in 1936, Fletcher Heald & Hildreth (“FHH”) is one of the oldest independent telecommunications law firms in the United States.  Headquartered in the National Capital area of Washington DC, our attorneys include former government officials and industry experts.  Because of our areas of expertise, namely in media, telecommunications and technology, our clients come from across the United States and around the world.  We represent companies in a wide range of industries, including software, telecommunications, financial services, health care, e-commerce and entertainment. We have represented many international media and telecommunications companies including T-Mobile, the large US cell phone company, Telecinco of Spain; CableCom of Mexico City; Ecuavisa of Ecuador; and Russia TV of Moscow, to name a few. 

Corporate/tax/transactional practice/estate planning

Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, has a long history of representing both buyers and sellers in a wide range of transactions. Since 2010, we have represented clients in more US media transactions than any other law firm in the United States, according to SNL Kagan, a preeminent source of financial analysis in the media industry. Our practice includes the negotiation of Asset Purchase Agreements or Stock Purchase Agreements and the necessary government regulatory filings.  Our attorneys work with clients and their counsel in connection with media and telecom lending and investment transactions. We serve as counsel in a variety of financing transactions, including private financing and investment, public financing and offerings, bankruptcies, workouts, and foreclosures. We have served as counsel for lenders, mezzanine funds, and private equity and venture capital firms, as well as for media and telecommunications companies and entrepreneurs in connection with loans and equity investments and financings.

FHH attorneys also provide assistance in estate planning for clients concerned about the disposition of a business – for example, they may desire to provide for continued family ownership of the business, or they may wish to provide for a carefully planned sale of the business should the family choose not to retain it. Our involvement can be as simple as working with local counsel in drafting of a will or buy-sell agreement, or as complex as helping to prepare a family limited liability company agreement or a trust.

Media/telecommunications practice

FHH counsels and represents over 1,500 broadcast stations in nearly every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. We represent many domestic and international broadcast networks in negotiating contracts for the distribution, licensing and protection of their content.  We assist clients seeking FCC licenses and other regulatory approvals. We help television stations and video programmers obtain distribution on cable television and direct broadcast satellite systems via must carry or retransmission consent.

US Government representation

FHH attorneys have experience in representing clients before many US government agencies and departments, including the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of State, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Election Commission, the Department of Defense spectrum offices, the Department of Commerce (particularly, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration), the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the United States Copyright Office, and state regulatory commissions.

New technologies and equipment imports and equipment authorizations in the US

FHH is a national leader in helping innovators bring new radio-based technologies to market. The Federal Communications Commission’s technical rules, often geared to legacy approaches, can block creative wireless or broadband solutions. The more novel the idea, the more likely it is to encounter regulatory obstacles. We are very experienced at obtaining waivers of and changes to the FCC’s technical rules. Our recent successes include airport body-scanning devices, medical implants for treating obesity, surveillance robots, remote power, through-the-wall public safety radar, and ultra-wideband systems. Past projects in which FHH attorneys have been involved include broadband over power lines, the current Wi-Fi standards, millimeter wave communications, radio-based meter-reading systems, software-defined and cognitive radios, ground-penetrating radar, building security systems, satellite-based location of mobile assets, new-generation police radar detectors, and many more.