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Peter Karanjia

Peter Karanjia

Partner
Chair, Administrative Law Appellate Practice
Washington, DCNew York
About

Peter Karanjia is chair of DLA Piper's Administrative Law Appellate practice. Drawing on his experience as Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (2010 – 2013) and Special Counsel to the Solicitor General of New York (2007 – 2010), Peter focuses on appellate, regulatory, and complex civil litigation.

Law360 has selected Peter four times (including as recently as 2022) as an MVP of the Year for his "successes in high-stakes litigation." Chambers USA notes that Peter "has a broad range of experience in representing clients in high-stakes courtroom proceedings," adding that he is "widely regarded as one of the go-to folks for appellate work" and "is a tremendous intellect with strong litigation knowledge," (2025 and 2019 editions). The Legal 500 United States similarly describes Peter as a "[l]eading partner," (2025) and "an expert appellate and civil litigator," (2022). Washingtonian magazine (2024) identifies Peter as a "Top Lawyer," and Lawdragon (2025) features Peter among "500 Leading Litigators in America" in the categories of appellate and complex commercial litigation.

Peter has extensive experience handling government-facing litigation and enforcement matters, including appeals and trial court litigation involving constitutional issues, federal preemption, and privacy and cybersecurity matters. He has successfully briefed and argued major appeals covered in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other national publications. In addition, Peter has handled high-stakes challenges to government action in trial courts across the country, including a recent First Amendment challenge to Florida's first-of-its-kind social media "deplatforming" law, which restricts moderation practices by a wide variety of online services providers.

Peter is also actively involved in pro bono and civic work, including regularly filing amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of members of Congress, bar associations and government officials. He serves on (and is a past chair of) the national board of the American Constitution Society and is an elected member of the American Law Institute (which publishes Restatements of the Law, Model Codes, and Principles of Law).

Areas of FocusLitigation, Arbitration and InvestigationsAntitrust and CompetitionRegulatory and Government AffairsTechnologyTelecomsArtificial Intelligence and Data Analytics
Bar admissionsDistrict of ColumbiaNew York
CourtsDistrict of Columbia Court of AppealsNew York Court of AppealsSupreme Court of the United StatesUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the First CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eighth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh CircuitUnited States Court of Federal ClaimsUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New YorkUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New YorkUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia

EXPERIENCE

  • Silverado Fire Litigations – Represented a national telecommunications service provider in more than 25 lawsuits, as well as related regulatory investigations, arising out of a major California wildfire
  • AI Defamation Case – Represented a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company in a first-of-its-kind defamation action based on outputs generated by a large language model chatbot. Case dismissed on summary judgment
  • NetChoice v. Moody (N.D. Fla.) – Obtained preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of Florida's recently enacted candidate "deplatforming" statute, which forces a wide variety of online service providers (including social media platforms and online marketplaces) to host disinformation, hate speech, and other objectionable third-party content in violation of their standards. The court found that the statute likely violates the First Amendment, and the Supreme Court subsequently issued a favorable opinion endorsing key aspects of the district court's reasoning while remanding for further proceedings
  • MetroPCS v. Picker (9th Circuit and N.D. Cal.) – Successfully represented prepaid wireless carrier in a constitutional challenge to the California Public Utilities Commission's assessment of a surcharge imposed on users of pay-as-you-go wireless services. As amici civil rights groups explained, the surcharge disproportionately burdens low-income and minority consumers who rely on prepaid wireless service as their sole means of obtaining internet access
Education
  • M.A., Law, University of Oxford, 2001
  • LL.M., Harvard Law School, 1998
    John F. Kennedy Scholarship (full scholarship)
  • B.A., Law, University of Oxford, 1997
    First Class Honors (highest honors)
    Brasenose College Scholarships, (1994 and 1996)
    Distinction in First-Year Examinations
    Slaughter & May Prize

Awards

Chambers USA

  • Band 2, District of Columbia Telecom, Broadcast & Satellite, (2023 – 2025)
    • Chambers comments that Peter "has a broad range of experience in representing clients in high-stakes courtroom proceedings," (2025) and that "Peter is widely regarded as one of the go-to folks for appellate work," (2019).
    Chambers also quotes client comments that "Peter is a go-to for telecom appeal work" and "is a tremendous intellect with strong litigation knowledge. Strategically speaking, his intellect, acumen for the law and ability to craft a multifaceted strategy are key," (2025).

The Legal 500 United States

  • Leading Partner, Telecoms & Broadcast: Regulatory, (2024 – 2025)
    • The Legal 500 noted that "Peter Karanjia is head of the administrative law appellate practice and brings a wealth of regulatory expertise from his time at the FCC," (2025). An earlier edition described Peter as "an expert appellate and civil litigator who represents clients in government-facing and enforcement litigation."
Additional Recognitions
  • Named by Lawdragon as one of "500 Leading Litigators in America" in Appellate and Complex Commercial Litigation, (2024 – 2025)
  • Named by Washingtonian magazine as a "Top Lawyer" in the area of Communications law, (2024)
  • Named one of the Best Lawyers in American Media Law, (2019 – 2024) and Privacy & Data Security Law, (2019 – 2021) by Best Lawyers
  • For "successes in high-stakes litigation," named MVP of the Year by Law360, (2015 – 2017, 2022)

Pro Bono

  • Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California (US Supreme Court) – Filed amicus brief on behalf of United We Dream, an organization that represents young individuals protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and 50 organizations in consolidated lawsuits challenging the government's rescission of the DACA program
  • Hawaii v. Trump (US Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit) – Filed amicus briefs on behalf of more than 100 members of Congress in litigation challenging President Trump's "Travel Ban" Executive Order
  • Janus v. AFSCME (US Supreme Court) – Filed amicus brief on behalf of US Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Richard Blumenthal in the litigation defending fair-share union fees against First Amendment challenge
  • Pavatt v. Sharp (US Supreme Court) – Represented Oklahoma death row inmate seeking Supreme Court review of his capital sentence, following en banc review by the Tenth Circuit, based on the Eighth Amendment
  • National Security Archive v. CIA (District Court for the District of Columbia) – On behalf of the National Security Archive (an award-winning research center founded by journalists and scholars), successfully obtained previously classified cables in Freedom of Information Act litigation against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The cables were covered in The New York Times and The Washington Post
  • Hernández v. Mesa (US Supreme Court) – Filed amicus brief in US Supreme Court on behalf of former police chiefs supporting petitioners in case involving the extraterritorial application of the Constitution and issues of qualified immunity
  • Evenwel v. Abbott (US Supreme Court) – Filed amicus brief on behalf of the Hispanic National Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the South Asian Bar Association of North America in major voting rights case. The New York Times reported that the Court's decision was "a major statement on the meaning of a fundamental principle of the American political system, that of 'one person one vote'"
  • Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado (US Supreme Court) – Filed amicus brief on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League, the Hispanic National Bar Association, and LatinoJustice in case addressing the admissibility of evidence of a juror's racial bias exhibited during deliberations

Bylines

Seminars

  • Panelist, "Recent SCOTUS Decisions' Impact on Businesses in Regulated Industries," Strafford Webinars, Washington, DC, December 5, 2024
  • Moderator, "FCC Year in Review – PDR Network, the Hobbs Act, and the Future of Deference to the FCC," Federal Communications Bar Association, Washington, DC, June 24, 2019
  • Panelist, "Representation Matters: Impact Litigation in the U.S. and Canada," SABA North America 2019 Convention, Atlanta, GA, June 21, 2019
  • Panelist, "Forty Years After FCC v. Pacifica Foundation," 23rd Annual Conference, ABA Forum on Communications Law, Napa, CA, March 3, 2018
  • Panelist, "Update on Net Neutrality," Wireless Legal Seminar for the West, CTIA and Federal Communications Bar Association, Seattle, WA, November 9, 2017
  • Interviewer, "Chai Chat With Neal Katyal," SABA North America 2017 Convention, Washington, DC, July 15, 2017
  • Panelist, "The 2016-2017 Supreme Court Review," American Constitution Society, The National Press Club, Washington, DC, June 29, 2017
  • Moderator, "Hot Topics in Media," PLI/FCBA 34th Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation, Washington, DC, December 2, 2016
  • Panelist, "The FCC in the Courts: Never Before Has the FCC Experienced so Much Litigation/Net Neutrality," Wireless Legal Seminar for the West, CTIA and Federal Communications Bar Association, Seattle, WA, November 18, 2016
  • Panelist, "The Evolving Role of Amicus Briefs in Appellate Litigation," NAPABA Conference, San Diego, CA, November 5, 2016
  • "The Nuts and Bolts of FCC Appeals," Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA), Washington, DC, September 30, 2016
  • Co-presenter, "The FCC and the 21st Century Media Marketplace," Media Law Conference 2016, Reston, VA, September 21, 2016
  • Panelist, "Privacy and Security," 2016 NaLA Spring Conference, New Orleans, LA, May 18, 2016
  • Moderator, "Privacy and Cybersecurity: The FTC and FCC," The Media Institute, Washington, DC, November 17, 2015
  • Moderator, "Net Neutrality: Past, Present, and Future," NAPABA Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA, November 7, 2015
  • Panelist, "Consumer, Litigation and Privacy Issues," Legal Seminar, CTIA The Wireless Association, Seattle, WA, October 29, 2015
  • Panelist, "Reading the Tea Leaves: How Will the D.C. Circuit Decide the Open Internet Order Appeals," COMPTEL Plus Conference, San Francisco, CA, October 21, 2015
  • Moderator, "Another Cop on the Beat: The FCC's Recent Privacy Enforcement," International Association of Privacy Professionals Conference, Las Vegas, NV, September 30, 2015
  • Panelist, "Cloud Computing," MLRC Seminar, New York, NY, April 28, 2015
  • Panelist, "Net Neutrality: A Brave New Era? Or, Back to the Future? Are we in 1934? 1993? Or, 2015?" Pacific Northwest Chapter's Federal Circuit Bar Association, Redmond, WA, March 25, 2015
  • Panelist, "Appellate Advocacy," NAPABA Annual Convention, Scottsdale, AZ, November 8, 2014
  • Co-presenter, "Class Action TCPA, and Other Litigation Issues," CTIA West Legal Seminar, Seattle, WA, November 6-7, 2014
  • Panelist, "The Broadband Policy Debates," Rutberg Wireless Influencers, Los Angeles, CA, October 19, 2014
  • Co-presenter, "The FCC and the 21st Century Media Marketplace," MLRC Conference, Reston, VA, September 18, 2014
  • Panelist, "Net Neutrality Redux: What Should the FCC Do?" FCBA Panel, Washington, DC, May 29, 2014
  • Panelist, "FCC Broadcast Indecency Regulation," FCBA CLE, Washington, DC, April 30, 2014
  • Panelist, "Appellate Advocacy," SABA CLE, Washington, DC, April 22, 2014
  • Panelist, "Alternative Regulatory Models to View Net Neutrality," CableLabs Winter Conference, Atlanta, GA, March 4, 2014
  • Panelist, "The Broadband Policy Debates," Rutberg Wireless Influencers, Los Angeles, CA, October 29, 2013

Media Mentions

Prior Experience

Before returning to private practice, Peter served from 2010 to 2013 as Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), where he was responsible for overseeing all of the agency's litigation. At the FCC, Peter argued a number of precedent-setting appeals, including one – described by The New York Times as a "big win" for the Commission – involving novel issues concerning mobile Internet services on smartphones and tablets.

Previously, Peter served as Special Counsel to New York Solicitor General Barbara D. Underwood. In that role, he briefed and argued several major appeals, including a constitutional challenge to a first-of-its-kind statute governing online commerce. As The Washington Post reported, the "multibillion-dollar issue" at stake in the case "is one of the most important in modern retailing."

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Member, American Law Institute
  • National Board Member and Past Board Chair, American Constitution Society
  • Law360 Advisory Board 2024, Telecommunications

My latest insights

Publication

Why Now Might Be a Great Time to Sue the Government

6 November 2024 .1 minute read

Past event

Policy Matters: Counseling companies post Chevron

10 September 2024 .1 minute read

Publication

The FCC’s enforcement process needs legislative reform following SEC v. Jarkesy

22 July 2024 .4 minute read

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Phone

+1 202 799 4135
(Work, Washington, DC)
+1 212 335 4500
(Work, New York)
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