John B Richards

Prior to joining Keller and Heckman LLP in 1986, I served for 10 years as an Attorney at the Federal Communications Commission, where he held senior policy and management positions, including Legal Assistant to Commissioner Mimi Weyforth Dawson, Chief of the Enforcement Branch, Legal Advisory and Enforcement Division, and Chief of the Rules Branch, Land Mobile and Microwave Division, of the Private Radio (now Wireless Telecommunications) Bureau.

Currently, I represent petroleum and natural gas companies, electric utilities, equipment manufacturers, mobile radio and microwave operators, trade associations and others at the FCC and elsewhere on licensing, regulatory, and telecommunications transactional matters.

I  work with investor-owned electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives on pole attachment matters, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating pole attachment and joint use agreements. 

I serve as counsel to the American Petroleum Institute (API) on telecommunications matters before the FCC and as the General Counsel of the Energy, Telecommunications and Electrical Association (ENTELEC).  His clients also include the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), which he has represented before the FCC since 1986.

I was selected in 2014 and again in 2015 as a Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer in the Communications category.  Annually, no more than five percent of the lawyers in each state or territory are selected by Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

In 2015, I received the Corporate LiveWire Award in the category of Telecommunications – Washington, D.C.

I am AV® PreeminentTM Rated by Martindale-Hubbell – the highest ranking available indicating professional excellence.