Mark J. Prak Inducted Into North Carolina Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame
Mark J. Prak, a partner in the law firm Brooks Pierce, was inducted into the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters (NCAB) Hall of Fame at a dinner held as a part of the NCAB 2014 Annual Convention on June 23rd at the Washington Duke Inn and Conference Center in Durham, North Carolina.
Founded in 1947, the NCAB is recognized as one of the top state broadcast trade associations in the nation, based on legislative victories, education, services, and benefits provided to members. NCAB works to improve the state of the art in broadcasting and to advance the public policy interests of North Carolina broadcasters in Raleigh and Washington, D.C.
The NCAB Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the broadcasting industry in North Carolina. Upon receiving the award, Prak said: “I am honored to be included among the list of men and women who have contributed to the broadcasting industry’s service to the people of North Carolina. It is truly a privilege to work with folks whose business model is to do well by doing good in communities throughout our state.”
A graduate of Duke University and its Law School, Prak has practiced communications law for 34 years and serves as legal counsel to the NCAB. Based in the firm’s Raleigh office, he works with television stations, radio stations, and associated websites, as well as broadcasting trade organizations that represent them, including the North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio Associations of Broadcasters, the ABC Television Affiliates Association, and the National Association of Broadcasters.
Prak’s legal practice has included regulatory, competition, and corporate issues, as well as mergers and acquisitions, and a wide variety of litigation. He has served as lead counsel in the litigation of numerous cases in state and federal courts, representing clients on a wide range of issues, including First Amendment and intellectual property matters, open courts and access issues, and libel, invasion of privacy, wiretapping and public records and open meetings cases. He has also represented businesses and educational institutions before the Federal Communications Commission and the North Carolina Utilities Commission.
Prak is a frequent speaker on regulatory issues affecting the communications industry for both national and state bar associations and communications trade groups. For 19 years he taught a course on telecommunications law and public policy at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and at Duke Law School.
Prak’s career has yielded various professional awards and recognitions, including being listed for over 20 years in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White) in First Amendment Law, First Amendment Litigation, and Mergers and Acquisitions Law (1993-2014); being recognized as North Carolina Litigator of the Year by Benchmark Litigation in 2012; being listed among the “Legal Elite” in Litigation by Business North Carolina magazine (2014), as well as being named for many years a North Carolina “Super Lawyer” in First Amendment/Media/Advertising Law by Law & Politics magazine (2006-2014).