Richard E. Wiley to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award from National Law Journal

August 31, 2023

Washington, DC – Wiley Rein LLP is pleased to announce that Richard E. Wiley, the firm’s founding partner and Chairman Emeritus, has been selected for The National Law Journal’s 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors an attorney’s “career-long accomplishments and impact on the national legal community,” according to NLJ.

Wiley co-founded his preeminent DC law firm in 1983, after previously serving as Chairman, Commissioner, and General Counsel at the Federal Communications Commission from 1970-1977. During his five-decade career as a top Washington lawyer, he has been called “the undisputed dean of the communications bar,” the FCC’s unofficial “Sixth Commissioner,” and the “Father of High-Definition” television.

Earlier this year, as the firm celebrated its 40th anniversary, Wiley was honored with the Broadcasters Foundation of America’s (BFOA) Lifetime Achievement Award. His numerous other accolades include BFOA’s Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award (2014), the Library of American Broadcasting’s Giants of Broadcasting Award (2013), and the American Lawyer’s Lifetime Achiever Award (2012).

In 1997, Wiley received an Emmy Award in recognition of his pivotal role in the development of HDTV. As Chair of the FCC’s Advisory Committee on “advanced television” (1987-1995), Wiley facilitated an ambitious compromise among content-providers and manufacturers, resulting in a “Grand Alliance” that combined the best digital innovations into a single system. 

Wiley will receive The National Law Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award during an October 26 ceremony in Washington. To view NLJ’s full list of 2023 Legal Awards honorees, please click here.