By: Laura Phillips
Jeff Gee has been around telecom for quite a while. I first met him when he was an associate at Dow, Lohnes & Albertson, a former DC telecom firm where I also worked back in the day. Jeff is currently a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer (WBK) where he works on a variety of matters involving media and telecommunications law, policy, and regulation. He helps telecommunications and media clients respond to government inquiries and investigations and other enforcement-related issues. Jeff also works with media companies on regulatory and compliance matters and assists media and telecom companies and investors with regulatory issues arising out of corporate transactions. I was delighted we had the chance to catch up this month and have a wide-ranging discussion focusing on his experiences and perspectives on a career and life.
Q: What attracted you to the field of communications?
A: As an undergrad at Syracuse University I triple majored in Policy Studies, Political Science, and Writing for Television, Radio, and Film. I was a policy and government student from the beginning but I stumbled into making silly television shows with the student-run television station, which drew me into media and communications. That makes it seem like I intended to go into communications law from the start but I actually didn’t learn about the field until after my second year of law school. Once I did, however, it felt like a perfect fit. And it pretty much has been. While some of my classmates went on to Hollywood careers, I’ve been very fortunate to find my place in the communications bar.
Q: Tell us about the various places you’ve worked through the years.
A: Prior to joining WBK, I was with the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau for over a decade. It was great opportunity to experience the real breadth of communications law because the work ranged across all of the industries regulated by the FCC. I had the privilege of working with a talented team of people on an enormous variety of cases, including broadcast matters, Universal Service Fund issues, auction rules, consumer protection issues, and merger conditions. We also served as the FCC’s trial staff for administrative hearings.
One of the best things about having such a broad portfolio was routinely working with all of the other bureaus in the agency and seeing firsthand the depth of knowledge and experience in each bureau and office. Before joining the FCC, I was in private practice with two different DC area communications law firms. I was lucky to work with and learn from a lot of smart and experienced lawyers at both firms.
Q: Have things unfolded in your career more or less the way you planned?
A: It’s very kind of you to assume there was a plan. It’s easy to look backwards and see how one opportunity led to another but, for better or worse, I’ve tended to pursue the work I found most interesting at the time rather than following a specific career plan. There has never been a glorious five-year plan that has guided my steps. Luckily, it seems to be working out alright. At the very least, it’s never been boring.
Q: What’s the most interesting or challenging thing that you’ve done in your current position?
A: We live in interesting and challenging times, don’t we? There have been so many foundational shifts over the past few years and the hits keep coming. The pandemic changed the way we work, the media and telecom landscapes continue to shift, Loper Bright and other cases are revamping our legal thinking, and we’re all adopting and/or adapting to AI in one way or another. Just keeping up with the pace of change can be challenging but it’s also what keeps things interesting.
Q: Is or was there something interesting or someone who surprised or impressed you during your career and why?
A: Moving from private practice to government, I was hugely impressed with the number of people who had dedicated their careers to public service. I met so many attorneys and engineers at the FCC that were devoted public servants and deep subject matter experts and genuinely dedicated to finding solutions that served the public interest. The other thing about moving to the government after having been in private practice for well over a decade was having to learn how to practice as a lawyer within government. While the fundamentals are the same, you can’t assume there is no learning curve!
Q: What do you enjoy reading?
A: My reading list moves a lot between mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, and histories … standard nerd fare. Recently, I’ve enjoyed The Captive’s War series by James S.A. Corey, The Divide series by J.S. Dewes, The Blacktongue Thief and The Daughters’ War by Christopher Buehlman, and 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin. At the urging of several friends, I’ve started Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. We’ll see if I’m up for the seven (and counting) additional books in that series.
Q: Is there something (a hobby or other tidbit) people don’t know about you that you are willing to share?
A: It’s not a surprise to anyone that knows me, but I’m a huge theater fan. DC is a fantastic place if you love theater. The theater community here is so rich and varied that there’s always something worth seeing. For classical works, we’ve got two great theaters, Shakespeare Theatre Company and The Folger. Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Studio Theatre, and Round House Theatre all do a mix of contemporary and new works. Signature Theatre is best known for musicals (their current production of Pippin is the best I’ve seen) but they also produce outstanding plays. If you have kids, you should be going to Imagination Stage and Adventure Theater. All of the “big” theaters in DC do great work but I think one of the hidden gems of DC is the community of small and independent theater companies. Groups like Rorschach Theatre, We Happy Few, Prometheus Theatre, Happenstance Theater, Theater Alliance, and Monumental Theatre Company constantly produce challenging and engaging new work all over the DC area. Go see live theater!
Q: Can you share your perspective on the pitfalls to avoid or other career advice for those who are just getting started in the communications field?
A: It’s not particularly insightful but the best advice I’ve received is to do great work, every time, all the time. There’s a huge amount that’s out of your control, particularly as a new attorney. But you can immediately take ownership of your own work product. Even if the project you’ve been given seems small or uninteresting, people notice great work, which generally leads to bigger and more interesting projects. None of the people I’ve dealt with over my career who seemed to be effortlessly impressive got that way by avoiding doing the hard work of learning and continuing to learn.
In thinking about this, I recall Dow Lohnes’ Managing Member, Bill Perry, at the first meeting of the first-year associates remarking that “legal expertise is arduously obtained and arduously maintained.” That has stuck with me. I’ve seen people take many different paths to successful and rewarding careers but all of them start from a base of doing great work and never assuming that they know everything there is to know.
Q: Has your life changed as a result of COVID-19?
A: The pandemic showed that we can work from anywhere but I’ve really appreciated returning to the office. We get a lot of our best ideas from spontaneous in person interactions at the coffee maker or bumping into people in the hallways. That doesn’t happen when everyone is working from home every day. It didn’t happen at my house, anyway.
Q: How long have you been an FCBA member, and what to you is the value of FCBA membership?
A: I’ve been an FCBA member for twenty eight years. It’s a unique organization that’s as much of a community as it is a professional association. As great as the CLE programming is (and it is great), the ability to create and maintain connections with folks working at different firms, in government, and within the industries we serve is irreplaceable. Those connections can make a big difference in how we do our jobs. It’s much easier and more effective to contact someone you’ve worked with on a CLE or the Charity Auction to compare notes on an issue versus a cold call to someone who is just a name on a website. There are many opportunities over time to be mentored or to mentor others, which is itself rewarding. Membership and participation in the FCBA offers a wide range of benefits you really can’t quantify.