Chris Wright, a partner at HWG since 2001, served as General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, in the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States, and as a law clerk to Chief Justice Warren Burger of the United States Supreme Court.

Chris, who is both an appellate and a communications lawyer, is one of very few lawyers who has argued more than twenty cases in both the Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit, and he has argued in numerous other federal circuit courts as well.

As an appellate lawyer, Chris has argued cases in diverse areas of law, ranging from administrative law to tort law. He, along with HWG’s appellate team, is experienced both in taking the lead on appeals previously handled by other firms at earlier stages and in helping other counsel prepare briefs and conduct appellate arguments. The firm has filed amicus briefs on a variety of topics in the Supreme Court and the federal circuits. Chris and HWG’s appellate group pride themselves on their ability to take complex issues and present them in a way that is comprehensible and persuasive to generalist judges.

Chris is a former President of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, the nation’s preeminent association of appellate lawyers, and has been recognized as an outstanding appellate lawyer by Chambers USA and Best Lawyers. Chris is a former member of the Board of Governors of the D.C. Circuit Historical Society and the D.C. Circuit’s Rules Committee. He co-teaches the D.C. Bar’s annual course on Judicial Review of Agency Decisions.

As a communications lawyer, Chris counsels clients and represents them in proceedings at the FCC. He has worked on a wide variety of communications matters on behalf of communications companies of every type. When he served as General Counsel of the FCC, Chris assisted the Chairman and Commissioners in drafting the Commission’s orders on all aspects of communications law. He also established the FCC’s Transaction Team and supervised its oversight of issues relating to mergers.

Chris is a former President of the Federal Communications Bar Association, the nation’s preeminent association of communications lawyers, and is currently recognized as an outstanding communication lawyer by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, and many other publications. Chris has testified before congressional committees, both as FCC counsel and in private practice, and served as an expert witness on communications law issues.

As an appellate lawyer in communications cases, Chris has handled cases involving all areas of communications law. He is uniquely qualified to handle appeals in communications cases since he is (a) the only person selected by his peers to lead both the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court and the Federal Communications Bar Association, and (b) one of very few lawyers recognized as both an outstanding appellate lawyer and an outstanding communications lawyer by publications such as Chambers USA and Best Lawyers.