PRACTICE AREAS

Eckert Seamans' attorneys have significant experience in regulatory litigation, structuring and completing the equity and debt financing for, and the acquisition, development and sale of, numerous television, radio, cable television, cellular telephone, outdoor advertising and related properties in the media and communications fields, as well as a broad spectrum of service sector, manufacturing and technology-related businesses.

Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures

The firm has structured, negotiated and completed numerous acquisition and disposition transactions involving media companies and media assets, including mergers, asset acquisitions and asset exchanges.  These transactions have included competitive auctions conducted by large Wall Street investment firms, as well as privately negotiated deals.

As a part of its representation of clients acquiring media companies and media assets, Eckert Seamans has assembled a sophisticated and experienced interdisciplinary due diligence team that assists clients in assessing the risks of their investments.  With respect to clients who are selling media companies or media assets, the firm has assisted clients in the preparation of due diligence rooms, disclosure schedules and sale procedures, including auctions.

Financings

Eckert Seamans has represented its media company clients in a broad range of equity and debt financings, including initial and subsequent public offerings of common stock, institutional private placements of preferred equity and debt securities and senior secured credit facilities.

General Counsel

As general counsel to several media companies, the firm has provided a wide range of legal counseling, covering all of the normal challenges faced by media companies, including:

• FCC licensing, duopoly, renewal and related problems (working with specialist FCC counsel);
• Antitrust, including Hart-Scott-Rodino Act compliance;
• General corporate and commercial transactions;
• Preparation of proxy materials and annual and interim reports required of publicly held companies;
• Real estate, including tower and antenna issues;
• Network affiliation and programming agreements;
• Tax planning and reporting;
• Employment contracts, including severance and retention bonus packages;
• Employee benefits, including stock option plans; and
• Litigation, including defamation and discrimination claims.  

The role of any law firm is not merely to react to changes in the law and the marketplace as they occur, but also to anticipate those changes for the benefit of its clients.  Eckert Seamans is committed to providing maximum value to its media and telecommunications clients by staying at the leading edge of the legal and business issues affecting this highly dynamic industry sector.