Rick Chessen

Rick Chessen is Senior Vice President, Law & Regulatory Policy, for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA). In that role, he manages the NCTA Legal Department and the Association’s relationship with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Chessen joined NCTA in 2009. He is a veteran regulatory attorney and previously had served with distinction in several roles at the FCC. He joined the Commission in 1994 as a senior attorney in the Cable Services Bureau. He rose to become Acting Chief of Staff of the Commission in early 2009 during the acting chairmanship of Commissioner Michael Copps. Following the confirmation of Julius Genachowski as FCC Chairman, Chessen remained on the staff of Commissioner Copps as Senior Legal Advisor.

During his time at the Commission, Chessen also served as Senior Legal Advisor to former Commissioner Gloria Tristani; Associate Bureau Chief for the Mass Media Bureau; Chair of the Digital Television Task Force; and Associate Bureau Chief for the Media Bureau.

Chessen also has worked in private enterprise and practiced law at several law firms. He served as Vice President – Policy at RespondTV; Partner in Sheppard Mullin Hampton & Richter, LLP; Associate at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal; and Associate at Isham, Lincoln & Beale.

Chessen holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.