Founded in 1983 with 39 attorneys, Wiley Rein has grown to be a
big player in the nation's capital, with more than 240 attorneys
who practice in over a dozen areas of law. Best known for its
telecom, media & technology group, the firm's other major
practices include insurance, government contracts, election law,
international trade, and intellectual property.
Growing Up on K Street
Wiley Rein was founded in Washington, DC by two attorneys with
deep roots in the nation's capital: Bert Rein-a former U.S. deputy
assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs-and
Richard Wiley-former chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission. Noted for its expertise in communications, media,
government affairs, and political law, Wiley Rein counts among its
ranks many prominent DC attorneys who have held high-level
positions in the White House, on Capitol Hill, and in federal
agencies.
The firm represents a wide range of clients-from Fortune 500
corporations to trade associations to individuals-in myriad
industries, including energy, manufacturing, defense, aerospace,
intelligence, information technology, professional services,
telecommunications, health care, A&E, and construction. Clients
include AT&T, The Boeing Company, Chubb, UPS, Verizon, and
Sirius/XM, among others.
Communications, Campaigns, and Contracts
Consistently ranked by Chambers USA in its top tier,
Wiley Rein's Telecom, Media & Technology handles the full scope
of telecommunications, wireless, litigation, international,
satellite, and media issues from headline-setting, billon-dollar
mergers to business disputes and advocating particular regulatory
and legislative results.
Naturally, for one of the largest firms in DC, Wiley Rein has
built an important Election Law group, which advises on everything
from forming Political Action Committees to counseling political
campaigns on funding a run for office. The department is led by
Michael Toner, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission,
and Jan Baran, former general counsel of the Republican National
Committee. Baran has lent his expertise to such notable cases as
Citizens United v. FEC for which he filed an amicus brief
on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Election law practice
clients include many of the country's most prominent corporations
(30% of the Fortune 50), trade associations, nonprofit
organizations, public officials, political parties, individual
campaign committees, and candidates.
Wiley Rein has built one of the largest government contracts
practices in the nation. Over the years, the group has represented
more than 400 top government contractors-including a third of the
top 100 biggest government contractors-as well as small businesses
and entities performing their first government contracts. The
practice group is consistently ranked by Chambers USA in
the top tier of the nation's government contracts practices and was
named Law360's Government Contracts Practice Group of the
Year for 2017.
Putting its politics, government, and communications experience
to good use, Wiley Rein acquired SIGNAL Group (formerly McBee
Strategic Consulting, LLC) in 2014, a lobbying and consulting
agency that counts the likes of Microsoft, Intel, American
Airlines, and FedEx among its clients.