Cable Lifetime Achievement Award
Judge Daniel Brenner
Shortly after Brenner left NCTA we again were reminded that behind his sardonic wit was a tremendous legal resource. Hogan Lovells, arguably D.C.’s top law firm, quickly made Dan a partner, a testament to the tremendous reputation he had forged with cable operators, guiding them through the regulatory thicket of Washington, D.C. His latest iteration, though, puts Brenner on an even higher level: The Stanford Law grad is now a Superior Court Judge in Los Angeles, appointed by Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown (D).
We spotted Brenner years ago at one of those super-early industry breakfasts we’re all so fond of, especially after a long night. Despite the hour, Brenner, emceeing the breakfast, had the crowd in stitches. Later, we discovered Brenner was a ringer—he’d done stand-up for years.
Dan Trigiboff, a lawyer and comic who paid his bills writing for cable trade pubs. “I’d see him on stage at night at the Comedy Cafe or Crystal City Comedy Club, and sometimes call him in the daytime on a story,” Trigiboff says. “He was very frank and very funny in either situation.” Later, when Brenner directed the communications law program at UCLA, Trigiboff and he were part of a show composed entirely of lawyer-comics. Now a professor at Methodist University in North Carolina, Trigiboff, indeed everyone we spoke to about this profile, had the same question: Has Brenner been able to maintain his sense of humor on the bench?
This was more than a softball question. While this Lifetime Achievement award honors Brenner’s accomplishments, humor played a part. “Dan was the Ben Franklin of NCTA,” Stoddard says. “At one moment, brilliantly insightful and innovative, steeped in telecom history; then cutting tension with an impromptu quip or rapid-fire one liner. His humor was a great tool to put people at ease as they were working on intractable problems.”
It had to be our first question: Can you tell jokes in court? “Well, it is a different job,” Brenner said by phone without a trace of humor. We pressed ahead. Establishing that he had to don robes daily, we asked if L.A. picks up the dry cleaning bill. “No,” he responded seriously. This was becoming a disaster.
You must be ruling on an interesting point of communications law today, right? “No. I’m in traffic court, dealing with people who’ve run red lights.” A joke? “I’m serious,” Brenner said. “They don’t start you on the Supreme Court of the United States. You have to work your way up.” At last, a glimmer of levity; then, a larger crack in the armor. “Sometimes, when I think of something funny, I’ll turn to the court reporter and make a joke.” We had our answer.
Then the stories flowed. From getting to know Jane Fonda during Ted Turner’s cable days to working with Dr. John Malone to board meetings at Brian Roberts’ home in the Berkshires to leading important cases for NCTA—Gulf Power and Brand X—“they insured the long-term future of a highly deregulated, innovative product like residential broadband,” Brenner said.
“I miss cable, especially the people,” Brenner admitted. They miss you, too, Dan. And that’s not a joke.
– Seth Arenstein
