Michal Nowicki

Mr. Nowicki is a Senior Associate Attorney at Marashlian & Donahue, PLLC. His practice focuses largely on helping clients comply with a wide range of U.S. and Canadian telecommunications laws. Mr. Nowicki has advised clients on exemptions from Universal Service Fund contribution requirements, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules strengthening access to E911 emergency services, regulation of telecommunications carriers by state public utility commissions, and regulation of Canadian telecommunications service providers (TSPs) by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). He has also given software developers and service providers guidance on telemarketing and call recording laws. Mr. Nowicki’s primary area of expertise, however, centers around U.S. and Canadian laws requiring access to digital products and services by people with disabilities, including the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) in the U.S. and the Accessible Canada Act (ACA). 

Mr. Nowicki has a strong personal interest in the CVAA. Even well before joining Marashlian & Donahue, Mr. Nowicki helped the National Federation of the Blind convince the FCC to deny Amazon’s petition for a permanent exemption from CVAA accessibility requirements for e-book readers. He has also worked closely with Comcast and DirecTV to ensure that both companies comply with FCC regulations requiring audio descriptions for blind and low vision customers. Finally, Mr. Nowicki recently responded to the FCC’s request for public comments on how audio description rules have been implemented, hoping that the FCC will expand the requirements to cover video-on-demand programming and television broadcasts delivered over the Internet. 

Mr. Nowicki proudly exhibits his love for disability inclusion alongside other accessibility experts through various speaking engagements. In 2020, he co-hosted a unique webinar highlighting the wide range of business opportunities arising from making digital products and services accessible to customers with disabilities, presenting alongside the Chief of the FCC Disability Rights Office and the top product designer at Poly: the maker of various communication devices. More recently, he provided a highly interactive,  in-depth overview of audio description requirements under the CVAA, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act at the 2021 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium; shared his experiences with online conferencing platforms at an American Bar Association sponsored webinar on disability access to virtual courts; and delivered an informative presentation on the current state of U.S. video accessibility laws. 

Mr. Nowicki closely monitors changes to disability access laws affecting every sector of the telecommunications and information technology industries, including: 

• Access to advanced communications services and the equipment used to provide such services by persons with sensory, physical, learning, and psychological disabilities;
• Closed captioning of television broadcasts and online video programming;
• Audio description, access to emergency information conveyed in live video programming, and the accessibility of set-top boxes and other video playback equipment;
• The National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program;
• Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) for persons with hearing and speech disabilities; 
• Canadian accessibility developments at both the federal and provincial levels; and 
• Updates to information and Communication technology accessibility generally, including enhancements to the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and procurement requirement developments under Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Mr. Nowicki is also interested in, and has significant practical experience with, transactional matters. Mr. Nowicki prepares and reviews various types of contracts, including data services, non-disclosure, resale, and joint venture agreements.  He reviewed complex software purchase, licensing, and maintenance agreements between Fortune 500 companies for Axiom Global Inc., a legal consulting company. Additionally, in law school, he took two contract drafting courses in which he drafted a promissory note, security agreement, personal guarantee, and an asset purchase agreement. 

Mr. Nowicki also occasionally supports the firm’s Dispute Resolution and Litigation practice. Mr. Nowicki advises clients at all stages of litigation on a wide array of topics ranging from Telecommunications and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to breach-of-contract, data privacy, and other commercial claims.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

• Counsel communications and video playback equipment manufacturers and resellers, interconnected and non-interconnected VoIP providers, TRS providers, and software developers on their regulatory compliance obligations under all disability access laws enforced by the FCC and the CRTC;
• Prepare, file, and prosecute applications of Internet-based TRS (iTRS) providers for FCC certification to provide these services to U.S. residents with hearing and speech disabilities and obtain compensation for iTRS calls made and received through their platforms from the Interstate TRS Fund;
• Prepare accessibility feedback process descriptions, accessibility plans, accessibility progress reports, and otherwise assist Canadian broadcasters and TSPs comply with CRTC and Canadian Human Rights Commission reporting requirements under the ACA; 
• Advise equipment manufacturers, software designers, and all types of communications service providers on specific accessibility features they can incorporate into their products, services, and networks to satisfy applicable legal requirements, as well as to go beyond these requirements to leverage accessibility to expand their customer base to persons with a wide range of disabilities;
• Refer interested companies to trusted, third-party accessibility vendors for comprehensive accessibility audits of websites, software, and all types of end-user equipment with digital user interfaces, for compliance with the World Wide Web Consortium’s latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, and other industry-recognized accessibility standards;
• Manage client relationships with third-party accessibility vendors;
• Assist all types of regulated communications service providers in all matters before the FCC and state public utility commissions, including applications for authorizations to provide services, regulatory approvals for transfers of control and other major corporate changes, and discontinuance of service;
• Draft demand letters on behalf of clients harmed by violations of telecom, technology, and other laws;
• Draft, review, and negotiate non-disclosure agreements and all types of contracts involving communications service providers, equipment suppliers, and their commercial partners;
• Counsel Canadian TSPs on their registration, licensing, reporting, and other regulatory obligations to the CRTC; 
• Advise Canadian TSPs on their French language obligations under Quebec law