William B. Baker

William Baker is a partner with more than 35 years in postal, privacy, and consumer marketing law. 

He represents the leading trade associations for First Class business mailers and for newspaper and magazine publishers, as well as individual businesses, in rate cases, litigation, rulemaking, counseling, and legislative matters involving the rates and classifications of the United States Postal Service (USPS) before the Postal Regulatory Commission, the courts, and the Congress. He also advises clients on mailing issues, negotiated service agreements, the Private Express Statutes, and logistics/delivery matters. 

Mr. Baker also handles a wide range of marketing, privacy, compliance, and data security issues arising under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the CAN-SPAM Act, the Do Not Call Act, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), state data privacy laws, and international privacy and data transfer laws. 

Representative Experience

• Participated in every major proceeding before the Postal Regulatory Commission since 1987, including rate cases, rulemakings, changes in the nature of service cases, and annual compliance reviews.
• Persuaded the Postal Regulatory Commission to prevent the Postal Service from offering an address correction service in direct competition with its private sector licensees.
• Spearheaded successful effort to persuade Postal Regulatory Commission to accept, growth incentives in First-Class and Marketing Mail.
• Successfully opposed efforts by the Postal Service to change the methodology used to set mail preparation discounts that would have significantly reduced mailer incentives to presort efficiently, and how to measure.
• Successfully opposed an effort by the Postal Service to favor its own postage payment system over private payment systems for a new service.
• Defended the flat editorial pound charge in Periodicals mail rate design.
• Represented publishers in challenging Postal Service proposal to reduce service standards.
• Successfully urged the Postal Regulatory Commission to limit the frequency of rate increases for monopoly mail products.
• Advises publishers and others regarding the scope, restrictions, and exceptions to the Private Express Statutes.
• Counseled clients regarding proposed and enacted Congressional legislation.
• Extensive experience in counseling marketing and information professionals regarding compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the CAN-SPAM Act, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and other privacy laws when providing information and advertising via telephone, mobile apps, email, text messaging, websites, social media or direct mail.
• Assists clients in developing and revising privacy policies and website terms of use and on data security matters.
• Served as outside general counsel to leading online industry self-regulatory privacy organization.