Kent Bressie is a partner with the law firm of Wiltshire & Grannis LLP.  An expert on telecommunications and international trade and investment, he advises companies, international organizations, and governments regarding the legal and policy problems of conducting business internationally and deploying new technologies.  Before entering the telecommunications field, he practiced exclusively as an international trade and investment lawyer. 

Communications Regulation, Licensing, and Transactions.  Mr. Bressie represents communications and technology companies (including network operators, service providers, and software and equipment manufacturers in the undersea and terrestrial fiber-optic, mobile, and satellite sectors) in policy, rulemaking, and licensing proceedings before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission ("FCC"); the Departments of State, Commerce, and Defense; the federal appeals courts; state and territorial regulators; all sectors of the International Telecommunication Union; and foreign regulators in Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region.  He also advises foreign governments and financial institutions regarding U.S. laws and regulations, and companies regarding the impact of regulation on corporate and commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, financing, new product and service launches, interconnection, and capacity leases. Mr. Bressie has been admitted as expert and testified in federal court on foreign telecommunications laws, regulations, and licensing requirements.

Foreign Investment.  Mr. Bressie represents U.S. sellers and foreign purchasers of defense and critical infrastructure businesses to obtain investment clearances from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") under the Defense Production Act.  He also represents service providers, infrastructure owners, and investors in negotiating security agreements with the "Team Telecom" agencies—the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security ("DHS"), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.   In the sale of the Tyco Global Network to VSNL of India, he represented the seller, Tyco International Ltd., before the CFIUS (which terminated its review without formal investigation), Team Telecom, and the FCC (which granted a first-ever expedited review for such a transaction, approving the transaction in record time).  In the sale of foreign-owned U.S. carrier TelCove to Level 3 Communications, he represented purchaser Level 3 in the first-ever termination of a Team Telecom security agreement (in this case, TelCove's).

Export Controls and Economic Sanctions.  Mr. Bressie counsels companies regarding compliance with U.S. and multilateral economic sanctions and export controls, and represents them before the Departments of the Treasury (OFAC), Commerce (BIS), State, and Defense to obtain licenses necessary to consummate investment, financial, and export transactions.  Most recently, he has represented companies in seeking licenses under the agencies' regulations with respect to Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria, and worked extensively with the agencies to develop their new regulations for Cuba-related telecommunications transactions.

National Security, Law Enforcement, and Public Safety.  In addition to his foreign investment-related work, Mr. Bressie represents companies before the FCC, DHS, and the Departments of Commerce and Justice with respect to public safety communications, wiretapping, surveillance, spectrum allocation, and related policy issues.

Trade Policy and Market Access.  Mr. Bressie represents companies before the U.S. Trade Representative and foreign governments in WTO matters (accession, liberalization, and dispute settlement), market access disputes (including disputes over goods, services, investment, and government procurement), and bilateral and regional trade negotiations.  He recently completed a report for the World Bank analyzing the impact on economic development of WTO commitments to liberalize trade in basic telecommunications services and investment.

Public International Law and Law of the Sea.  Mr. Bressie represents companies in public international law matters, particularly those involving jurisdictional disputes among sovereign states and the law of the sea.  He has long represented undersea cable operators regarding treaty protections and environmental regulation, as well as mobile carriers regarding the provision of roaming services in foreign countries and on board cruise ships.

Mr. Bressie graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1994, where he served as Associate Editor of The University of Chicago Legal Forum and won the Joseph Henry Beale Prize for legal writing.  Prior to law school, he served as an economic policy intern in the American Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.  Mr. Bressie graduated from Stanford University, with distinction, in 1991, and studied political philosophy at Brasenose College, Oxford University, in 1990.

Mr. Bressie is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Federal Communications Bar Association (Co-Chair, Global Telecommunications Development Committee, 2000-2003), and the American Society of International Law (Assistant Treasurer, 2003-2007).  He is a native of Portland, Oregon.