Fox Rothschild’s telecommunications team offers the rare combination of big-firm resources with the personalized service of a small firm.
A 1,000-attorney law firm with offices coast to coast, Fox Rothschild spans 70+ legal practice areas. The firm says it is known for lawyers who are enterprising, forward thinking and results driven.
“What sets us apart is that we’re nationwide, but we serve clients at the local level like we are a boutique firm. It’s the best of both worlds,” said Ellen Enters, a Fox Rothschild real estate partner whose practice includes complex sales, acquisitions and leases of wireless infrastructure.
Levin Czubaroff, a corporate partner at Fox, said the firm leverages its national platform in every telecom transaction, whether it is for 500 sites or just one. “With our nationwide presence, we are able to bring the appropriate resources to the table to meet the jurisdictional nuances on any given project,” he said.
A Diverse Array of Clients
Founded in Philadelphia in 1907, Fox has “grown remarkably” in the past two decades. It is now ranked in the Am Law 100 with 29 offices in the country’s most important business hubs. Fox’s comprehensive suite of services includes employment, environmental, litigation, intellectual property, real estate, tax and wealth planning.
In the telecommunications arena, Fox represents a diverse array of clients, including wireless infrastructure owners and operators, investors and broadcasters.
“Having a broad range of clients gives us a deep understanding of telecommunications, including the business and legal sides,” Czubaroff said.
“We often establish long-term partnerships with smaller clients that remain with the firm as they grow,” Enters explained.
The firm’s services span all aspects of a telecom transaction. In acquisitions, Fox generally handles both the real estate and the corporate aspects of a deal.
Fox negotiates asset purchase agreements and master leaseback agreements for small and large tower portfolio transactions, as well ground lease buy-out transactions. The firm also performs real estate due diligence, including title and survey reviews, and title insurance matters. It negotiates marketing and right-to-lease agreements with property owners for the installation of wired and wireless communications equipment.
Fox Rothschild has represented tower companies in master lease agreement negotiations with all of the four major wireless carriers, as well as internet of things (IoT) providers and utilities. The firm has prepared and negotiated design and construction contracts relating to tower modifications, including a complex project involving in excess of $500,000 of structural modifications to a public broadcast tower in New Jersey. It has also handled smaller-scale deals for a single site.
“In the telecommunications area, we also handle ground lease aggregation, rooftop sites, utility infrastructure, and small cells. It really runs the gamut,” Czubaroff added.
In addition to representing cell tower owners, the firm has obtained tower site zoning for a number of public safety agencies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as in other states, as they built out their networks. “We have also negotiated vendor contracts for public safety agencies with Motorola Solutions,” a major player in the public safety space, Czubaroff said.
The Differentiator: Tailored Service
At Fox Rothschild, solving problems is the top priority and the firm’s lawyers have a pragmatic mindset. “We map out a strategy that aligns with your goals. If a client wants us to do everything turnkey, we can. Alternatively, we can handle a specific piece of a broader project as they deem appropriate for a given transaction,” Enters said.
Fox Rothschild’s attorneys sit down with their clients at the outset of the transaction to learn what makes the most sense for them. “We proactively structure every deal so that it makes the most sense for the circumstances,” Czubaroff said.
Fox helps its clients acquire sites that are in good shape from a legal standpoint to mitigate liability in real estate and corporate transactions. “We want to make sure that our clients have proper real estate interests that are going to benefit them for years to come,” Enters said. “If you’re constructing a tower or taking an interest in a tower site, you want to make sure you have it for a long time,” she added.
What differentiates Fox Rothschild is its understanding of the telecommunications industry from both the legal and business perspectives. “Since we understand the telecom business, many times our clients will rely on our business advice just as much as our legal advice,” says Czubaroff.
Conclusion
Fox Rothschild prides itself on being nimble, entrepreneurial, and resourceful — qualities you might expect from a smaller firm.
Fox’s close relationships with its clients allow it to be sensitive to their needs and to serve as an extension of their in-house legal counsel. “We figure that if we provide them with good legal advice and gain an understanding of their business and goals, they will stick with us for the long run,” Czubaroff said.
For more information, visit foxrothschild.com or watch the firm video. Contact Levin Czubaroff directly at [email protected] or (610) 458-4948 and Ellen Enters at [email protected] or (610) 397-6505.
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