Partners Bio

L. Andrew Tollin

Areas of Practice Telecommunications and Mass Media Law Administrative and Appellate Litigation Born November 28, 1950; Wilmington, Delaware Education J.D., The National Law Center, George Washington University, 1975 (Law Review) B.A., George Washington University, 1972 Bar Admissions New York, 1976 District of Columbia, 1978 United States Supreme Court United States Court of Appeals (most Circuits). Memberships: American Bar Association Federal Communications Bar Association (“FCBA”)

Andy Tollin, the managing partner of Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, has been practicing as a communications advocate and litigator since 1977. He joined the firm in 1984 after a distinguished career in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel and has represented many of the nation's leading telecom companies. He has appeared in over 40 cases before the federal appellate courts and has been appointed a co-chair of the FCBA’s Judicial Practice Committee for 2008-2009 (and is a recent past chair). He also has been selected for Super Lawyers®, Washington, D.C. Edition and The Best Lawyers in America® (2008 and 2009) in the area of communications law.

Early in his career, Mr. Tollin worked as a staffer for U.S. Senator Caleb Boggs and as a litigator at a large Wall Street law firm. He turned his attention to telecom and mass media issues in the late 1970s when he joined the Federal Communications Commission. Mr. Tollin worked closely with Commissioners in drafting opinions and was promoted to the litigation division in the Office of General Counsel, where he successfully defended any number of prominent FCC decisions in the courts.

At Wilkinson Barker, Mr. Tollin leads an experienced team who follow communications developments closely and have handled a wide assortment of administrative law issues -including FCC licensing matters, regulatory compliance issues, telecom mergers and acquisitions, and new technology issues involving network neutrality and information service regulation. Valuable licensing rights have been obtained and successful challenges have been mounted to a variety of regulations.

Mr. Tollin has written extensively on telecom and broadcast matters. He co-authored Litigation before the Federal Communications Commission published as the lead article in a collection entitled Inside the Minds: Telecom Law Best Practices (Aspatore Books, 2006). He wrote The Battle for Portland, Maine, 52 Fed. Comm. L.J. 63 (December 1999), describing a client's decade-long fight to secure an FCC license. He also co-authored Beyond the Telecommunications Act, A Domestic and International Perspective for Business. Other publications include: The Comparative Renewal Process: A New Approach Based on Old Law, 1 CommLaw Conspectus (1993); Who Will Regulate Utility-Owned Fiber Optic Networks? The States or the FCC?, Public Utilities Fortnightly (1988); and The RKO Case: Unique Facts with Extraordinary Consequences, 35 Fed. Comm. L.J. 275 (1983). He also has taught telecommunications courses at George Washington University and the Smithsonian Institution and has spoken at bar functions including the FCBA's seminar on "Practical Tips for Appellate Litigation and FCC Advocacy."

Mr. Tollin lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and son.

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