Susan Stith

She/Her

Counsel

My goal is to assist communications providers in the deployment of advanced services and new technologies that will improve the quality of life we all enjoy.

Susan Stith is part of DWT's highly experienced team of infrastructure deployment experts, helping her clients navigate compliance issues and strategically manage risk. She is a seasoned litigator who has represented clients and communications providers before state regulatory agencies, commissions, and both state and federal district courts in a variety of proceedings.

Susan is well-versed in State Regulatory Commission and FCC rules and orders, having analyzed, interpreted and applied those rules and orders for more than a decade.

Practice Highlights

Negotiation of Pole Attachment Agreements

A large part of Susan's practice involves the negotiation of complex wireless and wireline infrastructure attachment agreements with investor-owned or municipally-owned utilities and cooperatives.

Cases of First Impression

Telecommunications law is an ever-evolving landscape of regulatory compliance issues, frequently changing the responsibilities of communications providers. Susan has extensive involvement in the interpretation and application of new laws, such as the implementation of Section 54.204 of the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act, which applied the FCC Telecom rate formula to Municipally-Owned Utilities in Texas.

Infrastructure Access Issues

Maintaining access to existing infrastructure that has largely been under the exclusive control of utility providers for decades is a challenge, even with the legal protections afforded communications providers. Susan enjoys cooperatively resolving disputes with utilities and removing roadblocks to the deployment of advanced services to build a better relationship between the utility and the telecommunications provider – and a better future for all.

Petition of CPS Energy for Enforcement Against AT&T Texas and Time Warner Cable Regarding Pole Attachments, Texas Public Utility Commission, Docket No. 36633

Petition for enforcement of pole attachment rates governed by Section 54.204 of the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act. This highly contested matter progressed from an enforcement action to a case of first impression in analyzing and interpreting the elements of the FCC telecom formula and then applying it to a municipally-owned utility.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice v. Simons, 02-0479, Texas Supreme Court

Case of first impression regarding specific requisite knowledge requirement under the Texas Tort Claims Act. Court held that actual notice requires knowledge of information and subjective awareness of fault, but lack of notice does not deprive the trial court of subject matter jurisdiction.

Wisconsin Cable Communications Association, Charter Cable Partners, LLC and Time Warner Cable Midwest, LLC v. City of Oconomowoc, Before Wisconsin Public Service Commission, Docket No. 4340-EI-100

Pole attachment rate dispute between communications providers and the City of Oconomowoc concerning the proper allocation of costs between the city and attaching parties.

Admitted to Practice

Texas, 1999
District of Columbia, 2014
California, 2019
U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, 2017

Education

J.D., University of Texas School of Law
- Associate Editor, Texas Review of Law and Politics
- University of Sydney School of Law, Study Abroad Program
B.A., English Literature and Theater Arts, Saint Louis University
- Pi Delta Phi (French) and Sigma Tau Delta (English) Honor Society Member
- Honors Program Graduate
B.A., Media Communications, Webster University, magna cum laude

Memberships & Affiliations

- Federal Communications Bar Association

Professional Recognition

- Named to "Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll" by the D.C. Court of Appeals and the D.C. Superior Court, 2023
- Negotiation Champion, University of Texas Board of Advocates, 1999
- Shook, Hardy & Bacon Mock Trial Competition Quarter finalist, 1998
- Susman Godfrey Moot Court Competition Quarter finalist, 1997

Background

- Independent Contractor, Telecommunications Regulatory Attorney, 2017-2022, Austin, Texas
- Special Counsel, Trial Practice, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, 2013-2017, Washington, D.C.
- Senior Attorney, Oversight & Enforcement, Public Utility Commission of Texas, 2013, Austin, Texas
- Attorney III, Legal Division, Public Utility Commission of Texas, 2008-2013, Austin, Texas
- Attorney III, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, 2007-2008, Austin, Texas
- Independent Contractor, Attorney, 2004-2007, Austin, Texas
- Associate, Walsh, Anderson, Brown, Schulze & Aldridge, 2003-2004, Austin, Texas
- Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Texas, 2000-2003, Austin, Texas