Austin Bonner

Biography

Austin Bonner was appointed in November 2019 by FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks as his legal adviser covering wireline and public safety issues. She is now Commissioner Starks’s Acting Chief of Staff and legal advisor on media and consumer protection issues. Before joining the FCC, Bonner was an associate with the law firm of Harris, Wiltshire, & Grannis LLP (HWG), where she practiced with the communications and appellate litigation groups. At HWG, Bonner’s practice covered a wide range of matters involving regulatory challenges, constitutional law and statutory interpretation, with a focus on complex technologies and telecommunications. She has served as a co-chair of the Federal Communications Bar Association’s Judicial Practice Committee and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Bonner also regularly teaches courses for attorneys on issues in administrative law and appellate advocacy. Before entering private practice, Bonner clerked for Judge D. Michael Fisher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.