Philip L. Malet

Vice Chairman

• pmalet@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Philip Malet is Vice Chairman of the firm and is located in the Washington office where he is head of its Telecommunications, Internet and Media practice group.  He has a broad telecommunications, E-Commerce, and litigation practice, with a substantial industry focus on international and wireless telecommunications, satellites, undersea cable networks, and technology companies.  Mr. Malet’s strong engineering background, government experience, and over 25 years of private practice in the telecommunications industry enable him to provide authoritative advice and strategic counseling on a myriad of regulatory and legal issues.  He is particularly adept at solving interference and spectrum-related problems affecting wireless and satellite companies, having served as a US delegate to several international telecommunication conferences and having a detailed knowledge of the international and domestic frequency allocations.

Mr. Malet has represented domestic and international satellite operators, telephone companies, cellular radio providers and manufacturers, broadband wireless companies, corporate telecommunications users, fiber optic cable operators, broadcast owners, Internet companies, and electric utilities in matters before the Federal Communications Commission, other government agencies and departments, and in court.  He has also advised cable companies and municipalities on regulatory matters affecting cable television, and has negotiated major contracts for wireless carriers, cable systems, and programmers.  In addition, he continues to advise foreign companies on US telecommunications policy issues, including matters relating to the Basic Telecom Services Agreement of the World Trade Organization and before the International Telecommunication Union.

Mr. Malet has a substantial satellite regulatory and counseling practice.  He represented Motorola Inc. for almost a decade as its principal attorney on all of its satellite-related matters, including the FCC regulatory work for the IRIDIUM® System, the first global mobile satellite system, and for its broadband satellite projects.  Mr. Malet is outside telecommunications regulatory counsel to EchoStar Communications Corp., one of the two leading Direct Broadcast Satellite providers in the United States.  He was also regulatory counsel for The Boeing Company on its aeronautical and maritime broadband service venture.

Mr. Malet is very experienced in the International Telecommunication Union rules and regulations, and has served as a Delegate of the United States to several international spectrum and policy conferences, including the 1997 and 2003 World Radio Conferences and the 1996 World Telecommunication Policy Forum. Mr. Malet was an Attorney Advisor at the Federal Communications Commission, Review Board, 1979-80.  Between 1975-79, he served as its chief engineering advisor.

Mr. Malet's Federal Communications Bar Association activities have included membership on the Continuing Legal Education, Wireless, and International Practice Committees.  He has authored several articles and treatises, including "Emerging Satellite Service" update of the International Communications Practice Handbook, and frequently speaks on telecommunication regulatory and Internet issues.  Mr. Malet is the former Chair of the E-Commerce Practice Group of Lex Mundi, an international association of over 168 independent law firms around the world, and is in the leadership of the Space Law Committee of the International Bar Association. 

Noteworthy

• Ranked Attorney Chambers USA 2007, America's Leading Business Lawyers; Telecom, Broadcast & Satellite: Regulatory (District of Columbia)
• Recommended by Legal 500 US 2007 for Telecommunications: Regulatory Counseling and Compliance Advice
• Recommended by PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook 2006 for Telecommunications

News

• Chambers and Partners Names Steptoe A Leading Firm in 22 Practice Areas
• Legal 500 US Ranks Steptoe's Technology Department

Professional Affiliations

• Federal Communications Bar Association
• International Bar Association