Alan G. Fishel

Client Work

Alan’s clients consist of many different types of entities that have significant transactional needs, including both customers and providers of technology and telecommunications services, auto parts companies, property management companies, non-profit associations, equipment manufacturers, health care companies, operators of research and education networks, and educational institutions. Alan:

• Helps clients revise their template agreements to make them more protective, yet also more conducive to quicker and easier negotiations.
• Drafts and negotiates a wide variety of agreements, including cloud service agreements, software license agreements, dark fiber agreements, contracts concerning telecommunications, cable, and wireless services, many other types of service agreements, purchase agreements, manufacturing agreements, hardware agreements, colocation agreements, professional services agreements, and service level agreements.
• Represents professional sports teams, commercial office building owners, hotel owners, and other entities in connection with their receipt of in-building wireless services and rooftop antenna leases.
• Represents clients before the FCC on matters concerning equipment authorization issues, unlicensed devices, universal service, e-rate, pole attachments, public rights-of-way, public safety, national security issues, voice over IP, wireless and data services, cable services, cable programming, and emerging technologies.
• Played an instrumental role in his clients’ successful efforts to convince the largest college sports conferences to move from the bowl championship series structure to a college football playoff. 

Publications, Presentations & Recognitions

Alan has been recognized as a leading telecommunications lawyer by Legal 500 for more than 10 years.

In light of Alan’s work, the Association of Corporate Counsel chose ArentFox Schiff to be its exclusive law firm content provider for ACC’s negotiation portal for several years.

Alan was recognized by a client with an award for his contributions to the work that led to the client receiving the only national infrastructure grant given under the BTOP program, which was for more than $62 million.

Alan has been the Recipient of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee Vincent E. Reed Award for his community service work.

Alan has presented at numerous Association of Corporate Counsel conferences over many years in prominent speaking positions and has published many legal articles, including the cover article for an issue of the ACC Docket entitled “Five Secrets to Successfully Negotiating with … Your Own Side.”

Life Beyond the Law

Alan created an award-winning geography game, GeoPlunge, which has been played by more than 10,000 children in the Washington, DC school system over the past 20 years. Twice a year, hundreds of children play in GeoPlunge tournaments at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and other DC locations. Tournaments are run and coordinated by ArentFox Schiff, the DC Public School System, and/or the Washington Lawyers’ Committee. Many businesses coach teams in connection with these tournaments. Several years ago, the then-current Chancellor of the DC Public School System stated that the GeoPlunge tournaments are “incredible to see” and GeoPlunge “has a catalytic effect” on our students while providing an “opportunity [that] is huge for our students.” In 2019, the non-profit with which Alan is involved launched a history game called HistoryPlunge in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Several HistoryPlunge tournaments have been conducted since then.