Robert Kelly leads Squire Sanders' Communications Practice Group and has practiced telecommunications and emerging technology law since 1981. He negotiates major transactions involving acquisitions in the telecommunications industry and advises US and international interests regarding transactional, legislative and regulatory matters, often appearing before US regulatory authorities.

Robert has extensive experience in the areas of wireless communications and intelligent transportation services. He represents wireless service providers and equipment manufacturers in matters relating to spectrum policy, allocation and assignment, and is a coauthor of the Spectrum Regulation Handbook. Robert has served as counsel to the principal trade association for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) in the United States since 1992 and has advised the ITS industry on a wide array of issues involving the deployment of emerging technologies. He served as chair of ITS America Task Forces on Privacy and e-Commerce. Robert is a columnist on ITS legal issues for Traffic Technology International, a bi-monthly publication, and is a frequent speaker on legal issues associated with ITS deployment.

Representative Experience

• Acting as general counsel to the 800 MHz Transition Administrator.
• Acting as transactional and regulatory counsel to US telecommunications service providers and equipment manufacturers. Negotiating business relationships including joint ventures, partnerships, asset purchases, management agreements, roaming agreements, interconnection agreements, network agreements, collocation agreements, distribution agreements, lease agreements and other arrangements.
• Providing counsel to wireless communications interests concerning Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and policies.
• Providing strategic and tactical advice and representation on client positions on FCC rulemaking and adjudicatory proceedings, including the preparation and prosecution of comments, reply comments and ex parte submissions, and the coordination of major client and industry lobbying efforts.
• Serving as counsel to wireless communications service providers in administrative litigation before the FCC involving licensing and enforcement issues.
• Serving as counsel to major participants in FCC spectrum auctions.
• Providing strategic advice to board of directors and management regarding spectrum policymaking and regulation.
• Serving as US counsel to a major publicly traded Europe-based company in the acquisition of US telecommunications service providers and equipment manufacturers.
• Coordinating and reviewing the preparation of public disclosure filings including registration statements, proxies and annual and quarterly reports.
• Negotiating and reviewing CEO, CFO and senior management compensation, severance and incentive packages.
• Negotiating business relationships and agreements with investment banking and venture capital firms.
• Serving as counsel to non-US telecommunications service providers and equipment manufacturers investing in US business opportunities.