The American Lawyer Litigation Daily awarded its “Litigators of the Week” distinction to Jeff Wall and Morgan Ratner for their “knockout blow” to the Federal Communications Commission’s net-neutrality rules, which had been in flux for more than a decade. On January 2, a unanimous U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down the rules, which would have reclassified broadband as a common carrier subject to public-utility-style regulations. Jeff and Morgan, who represented NCTA—The Internet & Television Association, USTelecom—The Broadband Association, and the Ohio Telecom Association, took the lead for petitioners challenging the policy, with Jeff arguing the appeal at the Sixth Circuit.
In their Q&A with the Litigation Daily, Jeff and Morgan praised the telecom industry for partnering S&C’s generalist litigators with seasoned telecom experts at other firms. “This allowed us all to take a fresh look at issues the industry had been grappling with for a long time,” Jeff said.
This marks Jeff’s second “Litigator of the Week” award in four weeks. He was recognized in December for eliminating a $650 million public nuisance judgment against Walgreens and two other national pharmacy chains in a bellwether case in the national opioid multidistrict litigation.