Brian W. Murray

Partner
Office Washington DC
Contact
VCARD

Brian’s practice is premised on merging the future of communications with past successes and best practices. While counseling new entrants who aim to challenge the status quo in modern and innovative ways, Brian concurrently advises established service providers who seek to enter new lines of business utilizing emerging technologies in addition to maintaining and modifying their more traditional offerings.

As a result, Brian’s substantive experience encompasses some of the most salient communications policy issues of the day — whether it is cybersecurity, the regulatory treatment and classification of broadband-based services, or the national security implications of foreign investments and other commercial activity.  At the same time, he is well versed in a range of traditional telecommunications and media regulatory issues that remain relevant even in an evolving marketplace.

These diverse client needs mean Brian’s practice takes various forms — from participating in rulemaking and adjudicatory proceedings before the FCC to representing clients at all levels of the federal courts and state public utility commissions to providing strategic and compliance-oriented advice.  He also speaks and writes about communications law and policy issues in various arenas.

Brian has over two decades of experience as outside counsel to clients in the communications marketplace, with about half of that coming at AmLaw 50 law firms prior to his joining WBK in 2014.  Away from the practice of law, Brian enjoys spending quality time with his wife Kari and son Markus, re-learning how to play musical instruments, and feeling both wistful and hopeful about Baltimore sports.

Representative Engagements
  • Regularly counsels large and small communications providers on compliance, entry into adjacent markets, and regulatory classification issues
  • Manages the regulatory diligence and federal and state approval processes for transactions and acquisitions involving communications companies
  • Served as co-counsel for incumbent telephone companies in FCC and appellate advocacy on Business Data Services (BDS) proceeding
  • Advised and submitted comments on behalf of several clients in connection with cybersecurity proceedings at FCC, NTIA, and NIST
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Honors
  • Recognized in Best Lawyers for Communications Law (2017 – 2024)
  • Washington, DC Super Lawyer (Communications) (2014 – 2021)
  • Featured in Legal 500 US 2014, Telecoms & Broadcast Regulatory
  • Chair of WBK Attorney Development Committee; Former Chair (and current member) of WBK Associate Hiring Committee
  • Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA)
    • Co-Chair, Cybersecurity Ad Hoc Committee (2020 – 2021)
    • Co-Chair, Video Programming & Distribution Committee (2013 – 2016)
    • Co-Chair, National Telecommunications Moot Court Competition Committee (2008 – 2010)
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Publications
  • Co-Author (with George Leris), The International Comparative Legal Guide to Telecoms, Media, & Internet Laws and Regulations 2024 (chapter on United States law)
  • Co-Author (with Dan Kahn), The International Comparative Legal Guide to Telecoms, Media, & Internet Laws and Regulations 2023 (chapter on United States law)
  • New Trump Order Could Impact Telecom Company Licenses Past and Present,” Law.com (April 2020) (interview)
  • Co-Author (with Rachel Wolkowitz), The International Comparative Legal Guide to Telecoms, Media & Internet Laws and Regulations 2019 (chapter on United States law)
  • Co-Author (with Natalie Roisman), The International Comparative Legal Guide to Telecoms, Media & Internet Laws and Regulations 2016 (chapter on United States law)
  • Co-Author (with Bryan Tramont), The Open Road Ahead for FCC’s Open Internet Rules, Law360 (June 2015)
  • Out With the Old, In With the New: The FCC and the Paradox of Broadband Access Mandates, SYRACUSE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LAW REPORTER, available at http://sstlr.syr.edu/ (2008)
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Speeches and Presentations
  • Co-Presenter, China, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the Newly Developing Regulatory Regime for Communications Security, WBK Client Webinar (2020)
  • Panelist, National Security Reviews of Telecom Transactions, FCBVA CLE (2017)
  • Co-Presenter, Your Company’s Networks: 21st Century Battlefields, Espionage Platforms, and Crime Scenes: Cyber threats, policy risks, and what you can do about it, FCBA (Atlanta Chapter) CLE (2017)
  • Moderator, Critical Infrastructure and Information-Sharing: Threats and Opportunities, 2016 Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology Symposium
  • Panelist, Cybersecurity 101: How to Mitigate Risk to your Organization and Address Evolving Regulatory Obligations, Second Annual IAPP/FCBA Florida Privacy and Cybersecurity Law Symposium (2016)
  • Moderator, The Courts, the First Amendment, and the Future of Video, FCBA CLE panel (2014)
  • Panelist, FCC Enforcement Bureau Nuts and Bolts, FCBA CLE panel (2013)
  • Presenter, Overview of Universal Service Support for Rural Health Care, Virginia Telehealth Summit (2011)
  • Guest Lecturer, Communications Law, Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America (2015, 2016)
  • Guest Lecturer, Communications Law, Marymount University (2018, 2020)
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Bar Admissions
  • District of Columbia
  • Virginia
Education
  • J.D., University of Virginia School of Law
  • M. Sc., London School of Economics and Political Science
  • B.A., Duke University