Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski last week announced the appointment of Zac Katz as legal adviser, with particular focus on wireline communications, international and Internet issues.
Katz is replacing Priya Aiyar, who has been appointed deputy chief counsel to the national commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and offshore oil drilling.
Katz’s legal and policy-making experience will make him an invaluable member of Genachowski’s team as it moves move forward on critical wireline and broadband issues, including reforming the Universal Service program, the chairman said.
“I am extremely grateful for Priya’s tireless work to help develop and implement our communications agenda for the nation. She will be missed, but I wish her much continued success in her new position with the Oil Spill Commission. They will benefit greatly from her legal brilliance and keen judgment.â€
Katz has served as deputy chief of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis for the past year. He joined the FCC from the White House Counsel’s Office and previously practiced law at Munger, Tolles & Olson in Los Angeles, Calif., focusing on transactional and litigation matters involving intellectual property.
Katz also previously clerked for the Honorable Kim M. Wardlaw of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after getting his law degree from Yale, where he was editor-in-chief of The Yale Law Journal. Before embarking on his Yale career, he worked with technology companies at a strategy consulting and investment firm in Silicon Valley.
