November 6, 1997


       PAULA MICHELE ELLISON NAMED DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL

     
     Paula Michele Ellison has been named Deputy General Counsel in the FCC's Office of
General Counsel.  A former partner in the Washington, DC, law firm of Williams & Connolly,
she joined the Commission in 1995 as Deputy Associate General Counsel in the Litigation
Division.  During her tenure, Ellison represented the agency in a number of telecommunications
and enforcement matters, ranging from interconnection cases to indecency actions.  She
negotiated the resolution of indecency actions resulting in record breaking payments totalling
over $1.7 million.

     "Michele is a skilled, savvy, and accomplished lawyer, who brings a wealth of legal
talent and managerial experience with her to the position.  I have come to rely upon her in a
wide variety of matters, and I am pleased that I will be able to continue to do so," said Chairman
William E. Kennard.

     Before joining the Commission, Ellison was a partner with the law firm of Williams and
Connolly.  She became an associate at the firm in 1983 and was selected to become the first
African American female partner in 1989.  
 
     She began her career as a law clerk for the Honorable Damon J. Keith in the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Detroit, Michigan and for the Honorable Paul R. Webber III
in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.  She received a B.A. in Political Science from
Duke University and a J.D. cum laude from Howard University Law School, where she served
as an editor of the Howard Law Journal.  


                              - FCC -