Mark J. Prak

A seasoned litigator and counselor, Mark represents businesses and trade associations, with particular expertise in media and communications law. For some clients, he provides specialized regulatory, legislative, corporate, or litigation work. For others, he serves an outside general counsel role. Throughout his career, Mark has developed a capacity for solving complex problems that have stymied others.

Mark’s principal clients are media and communications enterprises, such as digital media and web-based businesses, television and radio stations, newspapers, wire services, magazines and cable companies, as well as trade associations representing these industries.

He has represented communications businesses and state and national trade associations in administrative rule making proceedings before the FCC and other government agencies on issues such as: internet distribution of video products, content licensing and use agreements, retransmission consent agreements, network affiliation agreements, political broadcasting rules, cable, satellite and OTT carriage of television signals, digital television and radio, syndicated program exclusivity, compulsory copyright licenses, the siting of broadcast towers, and equal employment opportunity issues.

Mark counsels clients on day-to-day operational issues and transactions. He has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, including negotiating all aspects of asset sales, stock sales and merger agreements, securing requisite state and federal regulatory approvals, negotiating and drafting bank financing and security documents, and analyzing antitrust and competition issues.

He also assists businesses of all types in complying with laws relating to the use (or abuse) of telephones, email, text messages, faxes and other forms of business communications. Over the past decade, he has been increasingly involved in content licensing, intellectual property licensing, and data breach matters.

Mark has served as lead counsel in litigation of numerous cases in state and federal courts and before federal and state administrative agencies. His litigation experience includes: intellectual property issues, contract disputes, unfair competition, libel, invasion of privacy, indecent content, non-compete, labor and employment matters, public records, and corporate and insurance law issues. He has also represented corporations and educational institutions before the FCC and North Carolina Utilities Commission in administrative litigation.

Mark has testified before Congressional and state legislative committees and has assisted clients in lobbying and testifying before Congress, the North Carolina General Assembly, and the FCC in efforts to influence debate on broad issues of public policy and other matters of concern to a single client.