Former FCC chief of staff, media bureau chief keynote Second Annual Communications Law & Policy Symposium March 3

Former FCC chief of staff, media bureau chief keynote Second Annual Communications Law & Policy Symposium March 3February 20, 2007Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

The Syracuse University Communications Law & Policy Society will host the Second Annual Communications Law & Policy Symposium Saturday, March 3, from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Goldstein Alumni and Faculty Center. Presented by DirecTV, AT&T and Patton Boggs, the event is co-sponsored by SU’s College of Law, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, School of Information Studies and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Jennifer Richter, chair of Patton Boggs’ technology and communications practice group, is honorary chair.

The symposium is free and open to SU students, faculty, staff and the general public. Free parking is available in the Marion and Waverly lots. Those interested in attending must register online at http://www.suclps.org.

The symposium will offer an interdisciplinary perspective on communications, technology, law and public policy. The morning keynote speaker is W. Kenneth Ferree (left), former chief of the media bureau at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and currently a partner in the business trial practice group in the Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton law firm’s Washington, D.C., office. The lunchtime keynote speaker is Bryan Tramont (right), who served as chief of staff to former FCC Chairman Michael Powell. Tramont is currently a partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Wilkinson Barker Knauer.

The one-day event includes panels on homeland security and communicating during national emergencies. It will feature an all-new dean and faculty roundtable on “The Legacy of 9/11: What is Left of Free Speech, Free Press, Access to Information, and the Right to Privacy.” Other panels will focus on real property and digital technologies, media ownership and lobbying the federal government.

In addition to Ferree and Tramont, speakers include representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the International Association of the Chiefs of Police and National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, the National Association of Broadcasters, Cox Communications, Lenovo, AT&T and the Media Access Project. Joseph Di Scipio G’95 L’95, Alumni of the Year for SU’s College of Law and president of the SU Law Alumni Association, will also speak.

Second-year law student Jennifer Holtz, vice president of outreach for the Communications Law & Policy Society, says the symposium has strong ties to many fields of study, making it applicable to students, professors and practitioners from numerous disciplines.

“Communications law involves not only facets of law, but also media studies, information technology policy and public administration,” says Holtz. “We wanted to organize an interdisciplinary program that would provide a diverse audience an opportunity to learn about the field and engage in a dialogue about emerging communications technologies with practitioners.”

For more information, contact Holtz at (386) 795-7763.