Megan L. Brown

Megan represents corporations in complex proceedings concerning technological innovation and regulation. She helps clients respond to agency and Congressional inquiries and develop compliance strategies under a variety of statutes, including the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Federal Communications Act, and state consumer protection and cybersecurity laws. She has deep expertise in cybersecurity and data privacy issues, working for national and global companies on cutting edge compliance and risk management, including global standards work. 

As a former senior Department of Justice official, Megan helps clients navigate the Executive Branch. She also serves on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Cybersecurity Leadership Council and is Associate Director for Cybersecurity at George Mason law school’s National Security Institute.

Megan is a contributing author and an industry source in several publications, including the “Cybersecurity Risk Management Is a Corporate Responsibility” chapter in the American Bar Association’s 2019 publication, The Lawyer’s Corporate Social Responsibility Deskbook.

Representative Matters

• Develops strategies to address complex security and privacy issues, including in cybersecurity.
• Counsels players in the wireless, Internet and technology, transportation, health care, critical infrastructure, and government contracts sectors, including entrants into the Internet of Things (IoT), on a full range of regulatory and compliance issues, from security updates and patching to vulnerability disclosures and corporate risk management.
• Advises boards and senior management about data governance and emerging technologies.
• Addresses geopolitical risk to business operations.
• Negotiates and drafts contract language for vendor, service and other agreements impacting security.
• Counsels global clients on the U.S. regulatory impacts of business models and services.
• Counsels clients on their CFIUS and Team Telecom obligations and compliance with national security agreements.
• Represents clients before numerous agencies involved in supply chain and cybersecurity, including the Department of Homeland Security’s National Risk Management Center and its new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
• Represents clients in enforcement and regulatory proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). 
• Litigates from the trial level through the Supreme Court of the United States, including preliminary relief, fact and expert discovery, motions for summary judgment, and appellate briefing.
• Seeks judicial review of agency decisions and lower court actions in the federal Courts of Appeals and in the Supreme Court of the United States. Recent successes include securing the invalidation of a major FCC order preempting state regulation of municipal broadband (State of Tennessee v. FCC (6th Cir.)) and the affirmance of an FCC order removing local barriers (Montgomery County, Md. v. FCC (4th Cir.)).
• Maintains a pro bono practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and the Courts of Appeals on issues including national security, federal jurisdiction, climate change, and the core First Amendment rights of individuals, associations, and businesses.

Professional Experience

• Appellate Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for Montgomery County, Maryland (2020-present)

• Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission for Montgomery County, Maryland (2015-2019)
• Counsel to the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice (2007-2008)
• Legal Intern, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General (2002) 
• Legal Intern, Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Greenbelt Division (2000)
• Provides commentary on a wide range of legal issues to radio and print media, including Bloomberg Legal, the National Law Journal, and CNN and Fox News radio affiliates

Affiliations

• Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA)
  • Co-Chair, FCBA Foundation Board of Trustees (2020) 
  • Member, FCBA Foundation Board of Trustees (2018-Present)
• Retail Litigation Center
• American Bar Association (ABA)
• Board Member, Women's High Tech Coalition (WHTC)
• Senior Fellow and Program Director, National Security Institute’s Cybersecurity Law & Policy Program, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Recognitions

• Listed by Chambers USA as a "Recognized Practitioner" (2019) in Privacy & Data Security
• Named to Law360's Cybersecurity & Privacy Editorial Advisory Board (2018, 2019)
• Named a "DC Rising Star" by The National Law Journal (2017)
• Recognized by Law360 as a "Rising Star" in Technology (2014) and Telecommunications (2017)
• Recognized as one of the nation's top Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Trailblazers by The National Law Journal (2016)
• Named a "Legal Lion" by Law360’s Weekly Verdict Column (2016)
• Named by The Legal 500 US as a "recommended lawyer" in Telecom and Broadcast Regulatory Law (2012-2013) and Supreme Court and Appellate Law (2015)
• Named one of DC's "Super Lawyers" (2014-2016, 2020) and "Rising Stars" (2013) for Appellate by Super Lawyers magazine
• Included in The Best Lawyers in America directory for Appellate Law (2023-2025), Privacy and Data Security Law (2022-2025), and Communications Law (2025)