John Frantz

Partner

Co-Chair, US Telecom Practice
Co-Chair, Global Telecom Regulatory Practice

John is an incredibly strategic, intelligent lawyer and a thoughtful, insightful leader. He has an incredible ability to quickly discern the critical legal issues and facts and advise constructively on next steps. He is a careful listener and demonstrates a genuine interest in both the complex problems that his team brings and the individuals themselves.

— Client

Emailjohn.frantz@us.dlapiper.com

Call+1 212 335 4795

Boston

About

John Frantz is a business-centric telecommunications and media lawyer who advises clients on high-stakes regulatory, transactional, and litigation matters at the intersection of communications law, technology, and business strategy. He serves as Co-Chair of the US Telecom Practice and Co-Chair of the Global Telecom Regulatory Practice, and draws on experience as general counsel for a global business with more than $30 billion in annual revenue to help clients navigate complex matters before the Federal Communications Commission, state public utility commissions, and other government authorities, as well as in litigation, commercial disputes, strategic transactions, and cross-border projects requiring coordinated legal and business execution.

John represents communications and media companies, technology providers, private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, online and consumer-facing businesses, and other enterprises that rely on communications services in their operations. His practice includes merger and acquisition approvals, regulatory counseling and compliance, antitrust and competition counseling, government and internal investigations, commercial contracting, content and technology transactions, privacy and marketing-risk counseling, litigation, and other sensitive matters where legal judgment must be closely aligned with business objectives. He regularly helps clients coordinate communications, compliance, commercial, and dispute-related workstreams across jurisdictions in support of global transactions, product launches, and strategic initiatives.

As a litigator and counselor, John combines tough-minded advocacy with practical problem solving. He has substantial experience developing regulatory strategy and preparing fact and expert witnesses, arguing before regulators, negotiating complex transactions and commercial arrangements, coordinating cross-border projects, training business leaders on legal and policy issues, and helping clients manage matters that present overlapping legal, operational, reputational, and policy risks.

Before joining the firm, John spent more than two decades in senior legal leadership roles at a major global telecommunications company, including as general counsel of two business divisions, head of corporate litigation, head of patent litigation, and a member of the antitrust and telecom regulatory teams. In those roles, he partnered with executive leadership on revenue growth, product development, compliance, privacy, information security, and enterprise risk, while leading handling significant litigation, government investigations, regulatory proceedings, intellectual property disputes, contract matters, class actions, and strategic transactions for business and government-focused operations worldwide.

Areas of FocusRegulatory and Government Affairs Technology Telecoms Litigation, Arbitration and Investigations

Bar admissionsVirginiaNew YorkDistrict of Columbia

CourtsSupreme Court of the United States

RECENT EXPERIENCE

Secured approval before the California Public Utilities Commission for a leading telecommunications provider’s acquisition after representing a key witness at a contested evidentiary hearing and presenting oral argument before the full Commission
Represented a major media company in the communications regulatory analysis of a significant acquisition
Advised a global media company on succession-related transactions involving complex communications regulatory issues
Represented a private equity-backed company in roll-up acquisitions of wireless connectivity providers focused on IoT applications, including drafting a complex resale agreement governing the parties' post-closing commercial relationship
Secured dismissal, before any responsive pleading was required, of a TCPA action brought against a leading telecommunications company
Successfully represented a leading telecommunications company in a mass arbitration asserting biometric privacy claims under Illinois law
Represented an international telecommunications company in a pending appeal from an administrative decision before the Federal Communications Commission
Negotiated a series of complex telecommunications procurement agreements for a global media company
Supported a global media company in a series of product launches, including coordinated regulatory, business, and commercial counseling for expansion of its digital advertising program and the launch of a new streaming service
Advised a global technology company on regulatory compliance and commercial contracting for the deployment of internet services in multiple jurisdictions around the world
Negotiated a business-critical video distribution agreement for a broadband provider with a national content distributor
Developed and delivered competition law training for a client's finance, M&A, and business leadership teams
Supported a client in remediating compliance issues relating to automatic renewal law requirements across more than 20 states
Provided compliance counseling to an online retailer on marketing, TCPA, and privacy litigation risks associated with messaging programs and its website
Represented a global industrial company in a multimillion-dollar dispute involving software services and contract performance issues

Previous Roles

In his prior in-house roles, John held senior leadership positions overseeing legal support for global business operations, major disputes, and regulatory and compliance functions for one of the world's largest telecommunications companies:

Led the legal team for a newly created business unit providing mission-critical services to business and government customers in more than 120 countries, including 99% of the Fortune 500, with more than $30 billion in annual revenue, and managed a high-performing team of more than 250 lawyers and legal professionals
Guided numerous new product and business initiatives that generated significant revenue and scaled to millions of users – including mobile apps, video services, and telematics offerings – while ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory obligations and protecting the company's intellectual property
Led a multi-year technology transformation program that saved millions of dollars, improved efficiency, and significantly enhanced employee satisfaction with complex business contracting systems, including evaluating legal artificial intelligence (AI) tools with a particular emphasis on contracting
Oversaw a team that supported the development of new wireless services with strategic partners, including negotiating complex commercial agreements with major technology companies
Created and led a robust compliance function that conducted extensive internal investigations and ensured compliance with evolving regulations, including Federal Communications Commission rules, customer disclosure requirements, and privacy and information security obligations
Spearheaded a comprehensive evaluation and restructuring of business, security, legal, and policy operations in high-risk international markets to mitigate risk while maintaining business continuity, including leading a team that managed operations in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and ensuring compliance with rapidly changing laws and complex customer requirements
Managed the team responsible for content licensing and for negotiating the resolution of disputes with some of the largest content providers in the industry
Led the team that coordinated interactions with law enforcement agencies across the company
Secured a nine-figure recovery from a federal fund for damages arising from the 9/11 attacks and repaired a damaged relationship with auditors, leading the matter to a successful conclusion through collegial and detail-oriented engagement with government officials
Initiated creative First Amendment litigation against a municipality for unlawfully withholding a franchise and delaying a billion-dollar market entry, and personally negotiated a successful resolution at court-ordered mediation that enabled the launch of services
Oversaw a team that managed more than 50 patent cases, examined witnesses at trial, took and defended depositions, argued motions, and negotiated resolution of significant matters
Procured millions of dollars in settlements and defense costs by enforcing vendor indemnification obligations in high-stakes commercial relationships
Negotiated millions of dollars in litigation and settlement costs from insurers that initially denied coverage
Led litigation and obtained an injunction against a competitor for false product comparison claims after a four-week trial, employing a novel evidentiary technique that the court endorsed in a published opinion
Created the company's electronic discovery function and led initiatives to internalize work that saved millions of dollars in litigation and discovery costs

Pro Bono

John is a proactive community leader who established and led for 15 years a successful and widely recognized corporate pro bono program that serves hundreds of people in need every year. He has experience leading a committee that designs and implements scores of global volunteer opportunities annually focused on educating and mentoring youth, providing legal services to individuals and nonprofits and providing community service.

John regularly participates in other extensive volunteerism and pro bono work in addition to frequently consulting with companies that are seeking to establish or expand their pro bono programs.

Education

J.D., Harvard Law School
magna cum laude
Executive Editor, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy

B.A., Political Science, Boston College
summa cum laude
Phi Beta Kappa

Clerk Experience

Prior to joining DLA Piper, John served as a law clerk on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Prior Experience

Prior to joining the firm, John worked at a top-ranking Am Law 100 firm, representing major clients in trial-court litigation, appeals, and regulatory proceedings on issues including telecommunications law, antitrust, class action, product liability, regulatory, and intellectual property. He was extensively involved in antitrust and regulatory reviews for telecommunications mergers. Additionally, he drafted appellate briefs on behalf of an insurance client in a case that reversed the largest punitive damages award to date in Virginia history.

Memberships and Affiliations

Advisory Board, New Jersey Law and Education Empowerment Project (2016 – present)
Board of Directors, Pro Bono Partnership (2018 – 2026)
Board of Trustees, Gill St. Bernard’s School (2016 – 2022)