Former FCC Member Abernathy To Join Law Firm

[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ashby Jones ashby.jones@wsj.com]
Kathleen Quinn Abernathy, a former commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, is joining Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP's Washington, D.C., office as a partner in the law firm's communications and information-technology department. Ms. Abernathy, 49 years old, will counsel the firm's media and telecommunication clients on policy-related and regulatory issues. She starts March 29. In December, Ms. Abernathy left the FCC after her term as commissioner expired. Ms. Abernathy initially anticipated that, upon leaving the FCC, she would re-enter the corporate world. (Before serving at the FCC, Ms. Abernathy served as a vice president of public policy at BroadBand Office Communications Inc.) "But my meetings with Akin Gump convinced me that a law firm offered a much more flexible venue," she said, referring to her ability to represent different clients in a variety of different forums, both in the U.S. and internationally. Ms. Abernathy said she chose Akin Gump over other firms that courted her because the firm had "tremendous lawyers on board," many of whom were working on international issues.
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