George Foote

George Foote serves as lawyer and counsellor to unique public and private organizations. He has served as outside general counsel to the United States Institute of Peace for more than three decades, helping the Institute fulfill its statutory goals of prevention and mitigation of violent international conflict. He helped the Institute create the PeaceTech Lab, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to using technology, data, and media for peacebuilding, and he was a founding member of the Lab’s board of directors. He advises the Lab on ways to support start-up businesses in peacebuilding and helps the Lab organize new entities to commercialize the Lab’s software and data products. He also advised the Institute of Peace on use of nonprofit corporations to help prevent violent extremism.

George advises international non-governmental organizations on U.S. Treasury sanctions regulations, and he provides counsel for clients dealing with entities designated by the State Department as foreign terrorist organizations. He has advised clients and lectured on use of congressional appropriations in foreign operations by humanitarian and peacebuilding organizations.

As counsel to the wireless industry trade association, George helped create the first international financial settlement system for wireless carriers. He organized a special purpose company to research health effects of cellular telephones. George incorporated and serves as pro bono counsel to the Wireless History Foundation.

George advises some of the largest school districts in the country in disputes regarding millions of dollars in federal government technology support. He has represented clients that built long distance fiber optic cables, created local radio distribution networks, developed community broadband systems, and created new telecom technologies. His clients have deployed the most advanced telecom technology in the world. He has represented public companies in disputes under consumer protection laws for telephone customers, and he has represented private utilities and Indian tribes in disputes over use of poles and other telecom infrastructure. He has provided advice to countries planning to upgrade telecommunications networks. George helped organize international consortia to build new cities and power plants in central Asia. He represented a major European defense manufacturer in its acquisition of manufacturing facilities across the United States, including compliance with Treasury, Department of Defense, Commerce Department and local regulations. He has also advised energy and natural resources companies on developing and commercializing new technologies.  George has served on numerous boards of directors, helping direct international educational foundations, advanced media companies, and domestic technology companies. He has written for numerous periodicals and has lectured on telecommunications policy and international law in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.

A resident of Alexandria, Virginia, George was on a task force that reviewed the city’s tax structure, and he was appointed to the task force that created the city’s master transportation plan. He served as chair of the commission that drafted ethics standards for Alexandria’s mayor and city council.