Jim
Baller
is a Senior Principal of the Baller Herbst Law Group, a national law firm based in Washington, DC, and Minneapolis, MN. The Firm specializes in representing local governments and public power utilities in matters involving telecommunications, cable television, high-speed data communications, the Internet, wireless communications, right-of-way management, pole and conduit attachments, barriers to the public-sector entry into communications, bankruptcy, and antitrust. His clients include the American Public Power Association, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA), regional and state utility associations and municipal leagues, and numerous public and private entities in more than 35 states. He is also a founder and spokesman of the Community Broadband Coalition, a broad consortium of associations, consumer groups, and high technology companies that support community broadband initiatives.
The Fiber to the Home Council and the Public Technologies Institute have both called Jim "the nation's most experienced and knowledgeable attorney on public broadband matters," and MuniWireless has observed that he is "the foremost legal expert on U.S. public broadband matters." In 2001, NATOA named him its Member of the Year. In 2006, MuniWireless awarded him its first “Esme Award.” In 2007, NATOA honored him as its first "Community Broadband Visionary of the Year," for "almost single-handedly putting the issue of the need for a national broadband strategy to the forefront of public consciousness." Also in 2007,
Washingtonian Magazine listed Jim as one of Washington's "Best Lawyers" (defined as the top one percent).
As a litigator, Jim has had first-chair responsibility in numerous cases involving complex factual, legal and policy issues, multiple parties, and large amounts in controversy. These include successful challenges to Virginia's and Missouri's barriers to municipal entry into the telecommunications field (subsequently reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court) and important victories in cases involving unfair and deceptive practices by incumbent communications providers and the meaning of "level playing field" in the communications industry.
Working regularly with multi-disciplinary teams of legal, financial, accounting, engineering and other technical experts, Jim also assists government entities in making comprehensive telecommunications plans, developing state-of-the-art telecommunications systems, searching for strategic partners, and integrating right-of-way and zoning ordinances, franchises, licenses, pole-attachment agreements, contracts, forms, permits and other related documents.
Jim is a frequent keynote speaker and author on communications matters. Several extensive interviews are available online, including:
