The Federal Communications Commission announced staff changes in the Office of General Counsel. David Gossett will serve as Chief of Staff, Ashley Boizelle will succeed David as Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, and Michael Carlson will succeed Ashley as Deputy General Counsel for Administrative Law.
“I am very excited that such talented attorneys are willing to assist me with the critical task of providing sound legal representation to the Commission,” said FCC’s General Counsel Tom Johnson. “David has served with distinction as the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation for five years under four General Counsels, in which role he has argued some of our most challenging appeals, overseen our entire litigation docket, and consulted on potential litigation issues in pending matters. He will bring that wealth of experience to bear as my new Deputy General Counsel/Chief of Staff. Ashley brings an invaluable combination of skills to the Litigation Deputy position after two years expertly advising the Commission and overseeing the Administrative Law Division, and as a former accomplished appellate lawyer in private practice. Michael has already ably tackled some of my Office’s most complex and sensitive matters as Special Counsel and will be a worthy successor to Ashley as Ad Law Deputy. And Deputy General Counsel Michele Ellison will continue her exemplary work heading up our Transactions, Bankruptcy, and Fraud teams and using her considerable executive leadership skills to assist me with the overall management of the Office.”
David has been at the FCC for five years, previously serving as Deputy General Counsel for Litigation in the Office of General Counsel. Before coming to the FCC, David was assistant general counsel for litigation at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a partner at Mayer Brown LLP. He also served as an Honors Program attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Frauds Group, and clerked for the Honorable Diane P. Wood of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Ashley previously served as Deputy General Counsel for Administrative Law at the FCC for two years. She also worked at the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra S. Ikuta of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Michael previously served as Special Counsel to the General Counsel. Prior to joining the Commission, Michael worked at Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in telecommunications, and clerked for the Honorable Deborah Cook of the Sixth Circuit. Michael also has prior experience as a senior advisor at Microsoft, where he worked for the Chief Strategy Officer, and as an attorney in the U.S. intelligence community.
The FCC’s Office of General Counsel serves as the principal legal advisory office to the Commission as a whole. Attorneys in the office represent the Commission in litigation, recommend decisions in adjudicatory matters, assist the Commission in its decision-making capacity, and perform a variety of legal functions regarding internal and other administrative matters.