Joseph E. Cosgrove Jr.

Mr. Cosgrove has 45 years of legislative, regulatory and legal experience. He found two firms, including The Joe Cosgrove Law Firm PLLC. Before starting these firms, Mr. Cosgrove was responsible for AT&T's legal counsel of state regulatory, legislative and external affairs matters in ten states, including Texas. In December, 2023, Mr. Cosgrove was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Broadband Development Office Board of Advisors. Mr. Cosgrove is the current Chair of the Communications Committee for the ABA's Infrastructure and Regulated Industries Section. Mr. Cosgrove recently accepted the invitation to become a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Mr. Cosgrove has previously focused on small cells/5G issues and is currently examining emerging Internet/Metaverse/AI issues such as Section 230 and virtual reality. Most recently, Mr. Cosgrove published the featured article, "Meta-Regulation: Regulatory Framework for a Virtual World" in the ABA's Spring 2023 edition of Infrastructure. Mr. Cosgrove previously published an article, "Section 230: Twenty-Six Words that Created Controversy" in the ABA's Winter 2022 edition of Infrastructure. Mr. Cosgrove also published the featured article entitled "Net Neutrality: Take 4!" in the ABA's Winter 2020 edition of Infrastructure. Mr. Cosgrove has been interviewed on the first and subsequent podcasts of the ABA's Infrastructure and Regulated Industries Section. Mr. Cosgrove was also interviewed on the podcast, Emphasis Added, regarding "The Regulation of Social Media and Privacy in the Internet Age." Mr. Cosgrove's paper, "Small cells: turf battles" is found in the book (published in Brazil), Direito, Tecnologia E Inovação.

Mr. Cosgrove's responsibilities with AT&T included acting as counsel in hearings to obtain state regulatory approvals in several SBC/AT&T mergers and managing an excellent team of attorneys/staff. Mr. Cosgrove was lead counsel for Southwestern Bell Telephone in the "Mega-Arbitration" in Texas after the Telecom Act of 1996. He has drafted, lobbied, and developed strategy for passage of numerous state legislative bills which achieved deregulatory relief in the telecom industry and promoted deployment of new services (e.g., DSL, video, broadband and wireless services). Mr. Cosgrove helped negotiate the transition of the Texas Universal Service Fund. Mr. Cosgrove provided advice on AT&T's local and state regulatory strategy on issues such as the deployment of ultra-high speed broadband service. 

Mr. Cosgrove's legal experience includes serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Johnson County, Kansas, trying numerous jury trials and presenting appellate arguments. These cases included crimes against children. Mr. Cosgrove also drafted/testified on bills to help fight against child abuse.

After graduation from Washburn University School of Law, Mr. Cosgrove served as an attorney with United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including working on the Three Mile Island I Restart hearing.