Michael P. Donahue

Partner

Mr. Donahue counsels a diverse range of communications and technology companies in nearly all aspects of their business, including transactional, operational, regulatory, tax and public policy matters.

t. (703) 714-1319

f. (703) 563-6222

Mr. Michael P Donahue counsels communications and technology companies from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies on a broad range of legal and regulatory matters, including transactional, operational, regulatory, tax and public policy matters.  He also counsels companies on customer privacy and data security issues. Through his unique combination of in-house and outside counsel experiences serving some of the nation’s top communications service providers, Mr. Donahue has developed a proven record for delivering strategically sound, pragmatic management and proactive strategies for business clients.

In private practice for nearly thirty years, Mr. Donahue spent several years at one of the nation’s leading communications law firms. He then served as senior counsel for a nationwide CLEC and Tier I Internet provider with one of the largest IP transit networks in North America. Today, Mr. Donahue employs his deep knowledge of  federal and state legal and regulatory issues and his understanding of the unique financial and risk profile of each company to serve our firm’s clients.

Mr. Donahue’s clients include technology, software, and communications companies, including competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), domestic and international interexchange carriers (IXCs), ISPs, eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs), Broadband providers, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and other advanced services providers, wireless and MVNO service providers, satellite service providers, cloud communications (SaaS/UCaaS/CCaaS/PaaS) and cloud-computing providers, and equipment manufacturers.

Additional Information

Mr. Donahue is a graduate of the University of Southern California and received his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.

Mr. Donahue is admitted to practice in the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia and is a member of bar of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

 

Transactional Experience: Mr. Donahue has advised a wide-variety of clients with regard to mergers and acquisitions, transfers of control and other restructurings; asset acquisitions and sales; debt and equity financing and security arrangements; and transactions in bankruptcy. Mr. Donahue has also drafted and negotiated interconnection, traffic exchange and other inter-carrier agreements; pole attachment, building access, rights-of-way and franchise agreements; wholesale and retail commercial agreements, including customer, vendor, service and sales contracts, and non-disclosure agreements; and multi-state, multi-party settlement agreements.

Regulatory Compliance: Mr. Donahue has managed national licensing activities for numerous clients, including preparing and prosecuting applications for CLEC, IXC, and ETC authorizations and petitions for approval of mergers, transfers of control and authority to issue securities or enter into credit arrangements before state PUCs throughout the United States and its territories, and applications for international authority and to transfer control of international and domestic authority before the FCC. Mr. Donahue has also advised clients regarding the myriad of federal and state regulatory compliance obligations applicable to licensed telecommunications carriers, VoIP providers, ETCs, VRS providers and other communications providers, including USF and other contribution mechanisms; E911/911 and NG911; CALEA; CPNI, data security and privacy; STIR/SHAKEN; LNP and numbering issues; tariffs; telemarketing, slamming and cramming; CVAA and other requirements, as well as state regulatory and corporate annual reporting and tax obligations.

Public Policy Advocacy: Mr. Donahue has assisted senior management in formulating and implementing regulatory and legislative policy to respond to the continually evolving regulatory framework for competitive telecommunications and Internet services. Mr. Donahue has regularly engaged in oral and written advocacy on behalf of a variety of companies before the FCC, state PUCs, taxing authorities and other regulatory agencies and has prepared numerous comments, petitions, and other policy filings in proceedings before these agencies. Mr. Donahue has also frequently met with the Commissioners and Staff of these agencies to advocate a client’s position or for policy or regulatory change.

Litigation: Mr. Donahue has also participated in cases in the federal and state courts and in numerous state commission proceedings, including TCPA and robocalling investigations and litigation, ICC reform, interconnection arbitration, inter-carrier compensation and other contract disputes, Triennial Review, Section 271, and UNE pricing proceedings. Mr. Donahue has also represented clients in FCC and state PUC enforcement actions, show cause proceedings, and formal and informal complaints.

Practice Areas

Advocacy and Access to Government
Commercial
Dispute Resolution and Litigation
Startups
Venture Capital and Angel Investment
Regulatory
Tax
Communications Infrastructure
Privacy and Security
Accessibility

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Disclaimer: Please be advised that contacting our law firm through this contact form does not establish an attorney-client relationship. While we appreciate your interest in our services, we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any information shared until an attorney-client relationship has been formally established. Therefore, we kindly request that you refrain from submitting any confidential or sensitive information through this form. Any information provided through this form will be treated as general inquiries and not as privileged or confidential communications. Thank you for your understanding.