Stephen L. Goodman

Practice Concentration

Steve Goodman is Counsel to Butzel, based in the firm's Washington D.C. office. Mr. Goodman brings Butzel Long extensive experience in both government service and private practice. After law school, he clerked for Judge William P. Gray on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. After working as an antitrust lawyer at a private law firm, Mr. Goodman worked for five years in the Common Carrier Bureau (now Wireline Competition Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission. While at the Commission, Mr. Goodman initially worked in the Tariff Division, and later served as Deputy Chief of the Industry Analysis Division, where he headed up the Task Force on Rate of Return Represcriptions.

Career Highlights

After leaving the Commission, Mr. Goodman worked as an attorney on antitrust and regulatory issues at COMSAT Corporation, and then entered private practice. Mr. Goodman counsels clients on a broad array of complex domestic and international telecommunications issues, including satellite, wireless, undersea cable, net neutrality, wireless medical devices and common carrier regulation. He represents clients before the Federal Communications Commission, Congress and other federal agencies, advises clients on regulatory and technology developments and suggests appropriate business strategies. In addition, he serves as counsel in trial and appellate litigation involving telecommunications issues.

In the satellite arena, Mr. Goodman has represented ORBCOMM in successfully obtaining a global allocation and U.S. license for low-Earth orbit satellite services license (including working with ORBCOMM engineers and consultants to coordinate with foreign administrations). Mr. Goodman also represented New Skies Satellites in obtaining U.S. landing rights for its international satellite system, and AT&T Skynet in obtaining C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band satellite licenses in the United States.

Prior Experience

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Goodman was a founding partner of the Washington, D.C. firm of Halprin, Temple, Goodman & Maher. Among his accomplishments on behalf of his clients was obtaining the first low-Earth orbit satellite system, securing a U.S. cable landing license for a global undersea cable system, serving on the Steering Committee for a class action lawsuit against an interexchange carrier that resulted in a $90 million cash settlement, negotiating multi-million dollar customer contracts with interexchange carriers, serving as regulatory counsel to telecommunications companies in bankruptcy, obtaining U.S. landing rights for foreign-licensed satellites, serving as FCC regulatory counsel in numerous financings and acquisitions, obtaining spectrum allocations, counseling clients on implementation and interpretation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, securing numerous terrestrial and satellite radio licenses, obtaining international authorizations and participating in the FCC's first successful negotiated rulemaking.

Educational Background and Civic Involvement

Martindale Hubbell has recognized his accomplishments by awarding Mr. Goodman an AV rating, which is the highest rating awarded an attorney. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (B.S. in Economics, cum laude, 1977) and his law degree from Cornell Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1980), where he served as an editor on the Cornell Law Review. Mr. Goodman is also a member of the District of Columbia, Florida and the Federal Communications Bar Associations, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and U.S. District Court for D.C.

All Related Practice Areas

Education

Cornell Law School, J.D.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Admissions