Verizon Appoints Milch Top Lawyer

Telecommunications giant Verizon Communications named Randal S. Milch general counsel, replacing William P. Barr who will retire at the end of the year.

Milch is a Verizon insider, who joined the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based firm in 1993. His new role as the company's top attorney will begin Oct. 15 and he will report directly to Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg. Milch was most recently the deputy general counsel for Verizon, in charge of Verizon's legal staff that oversees U.S. business and state regulatory affairs.

The 50-year-old assumes his role at a time when Verizon has vastly expanded its role as a traditional phone company. With its pending merger with Alltel, Verizon Wireless would become the biggest wireless carrier with around 80 million subscribers. AT&T has about 71 million wirelses subscribers and Sprint has about 53 million subscribers. Verizon's big push into homes through its costly fiber network Fios, has brought more competition to cable companies who are providing video and Internet service.

At the Federal Communications Commission, Verizon and other telecommunications firms have been under scrutiny for their early termination fees and approach to broadband network management.

Immediately prior to joining Bell Atlantic, Milch was a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine. Milch holds a J.D. from New York University Law School and a B.A. from Yale University.

By Cecilia Kang  |  October 2, 2008; 11:20 AM ET  | Category:  Cecilia Kang
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