Barbara S. Esbin has been named a partner of the Cinnamon Mueller law firm, assuming the role of managing partner of the firm's growing Washington, D.C., office.
Esbin joined the firm in 2010 after an extended tenure as a senior Federal Communications Commission attorney, and following influential work as a senior fellow and director at the Progress & Freedom Foundation. Her practice includes representing the American Cable Association, the leading national trade association for small and medium-sized cable companies. She also advises a wide range of cable and telecommunications clients, advising on FCC broadband, cable, and telecommunications regulation, and access to content, both traditional and online.
"Barbara is an exemplary lawyer and a wonderful colleague," Chris Cinnamon, CM's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "ACA and all our clients have benefited immensely from her experience and judgment in dealing with an increasingly complex and challenging regulatory environment. I am delighted she has become a partner of the firm."
ACA CEO Matthew M. Polka commented in the release: "I am pleased to hear of Barbara's advancement at CM. She has been an outstanding addition to the team. ACA will continue to rely on her insight and counsel as we face the challenges of 2012 and beyond."
Esbin has extensive experience in broadband regulation, having contributed to FCC broadband policy beginning in 1996. At the FCC, Esbin's positions included associate Media Bureau chief, with significant responsibility for evaluating major media combinations, including News Corp./DirecTV, and handling a wide range of cable, wireless and telecommunications regulatory proceedings and cases. At PFF, Esbin authored comments and briefs throughout the Comcast/BitTorrent case, which was ultimately decided much as she had advocated.
