Matthew Murchison is a preeminent advisor to market-leading communications companies in a wide array of regulatory, litigation, transactional, and compliance matters. 

Named a 2021 Telecommunications MVP by Law360 and 2023 Leading Lawyer for Telecoms and Broadcast Regulatory in The Legal 500, he is a distinguished advocate in the communications law arena. His clients include:

  • Internet service providers
  • Cable operators
  • Satellite operators
  • Providers of voice services
  • Technology companies
  • Broadcasters and other video programmers

He routinely appears before the Federal Communications Commission to advocate on a variety of core issues in the communications industry, including net neutrality, major transaction reviews, robocall mitigation, and spectrum policy. 

In addition, he has represented clients at all levels of the federal court system on communications matters — prevailing at oral argument in the DC Circuit and lower courts and spearheading briefing in cases before the US Supreme Court, US Courts of Appeal, and US District Courts concerning communications law, administrative law, federal preemption, and First Amendment issues. He also provides solutions-oriented counseling to clients on regulatory compliance and related matters.

Since 2020, he has served as Editor in Chief of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Review. In 2019, he was a Delegate to the ITU’s World Radiocomunication Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. He also currently serves as a member of the Law Firm Advisory Committee of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, and as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Homelessness Law Center.

Mathew’s publications include the following:

  • Technology, Media and Telecommunications Review, The Law Reviews 
    • Editor in Chief, 2020 to present (editions 11-14)
    • Author, United States chapter, 2019 to present (editions 10-14)
  • "Restoring Internet Freedom: FCC Eliminates Common Carrier Regulation of Broadband Providers," Client Alert, Jan. 2018 (co-authored with Matthew A. Brill)
  • "FCC Institutes New Privacy Regime for Broadband Providers and Other Telecommunications Carriers," Client Alert, Nov. 2016 (co-author)
  • "Extradition’s Paradox: Duty, Discretion, and Rights in the World of Non-Inquiry," 43 Stan. J. Int’l L. 295 (2007)

Mathew’s experience includes representing:

  • The cable industry association in FCC and appellate proceedings regarding net neutrality rules and in related preemption challenges to state net neutrality laws
  • Viasat in successfully obtaining FCC and Team Telecom approval for its US$7.3 billion acquisition of Inmarsat
  • Viasat in successfully obtaining FCC approval for its US$222 million acquisition of RigNet
  • The cable industry in FCC, state commission, and federal court proceedings on efforts to subject voice-over-Internet-Protocol services to common carrier treatment
  • Comcast in FCC proceedings regarding broadband data services and related appellate proceedings
  • Comcast in FCC and state commission proceedings regarding robocall mitigation initiatives and caller ID authentication requirements
  • The television industry in a federal court challenge to the constitutionality of a state law requiring sale of all cable channels and programs on an à la carte basis
  • The cable industry in a First Amendment challenge to program carriage rules in the Second Circuit
  • The cable industry in a DC Circuit appeal of FCC determinations regarding effective competition in the video marketplace
  • Various technology and entertainment companies in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation in appellate and trial courts and related counseling matters
  • A broad industry coalition seeking reform of FCC retransmission consent rules

Bar Qualification

  • District of Columbia
  • Virginia

Education

  • JD, Stanford Law School, 2008
  • BA, Yale University, 2002
    magna cum laude

Languages Spoken

  • English
  • French
General Recognition Thumbnail
September 30, 2021 Recognition

MVPs: Matthew Brill & Matthew Murchison

Connectivity, Privacy and Information Practice partners recognized for multiple high-profile telecom matters, including getting Maine’s a la carte cable law invalidated and steering an ongoing challenge to California’s net neutrality law.