T. Michael Payne

T. Michael Payne is a Senior Strategist for Hawksbill Group, diversified business and communications consulting firm based in Washington, DC. He brings more than 40 years of corporate counsel experience in the areas of high stakes bet-the-company litigation and international law.

Michael previously served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for AT&T Corporation and was responsible for all general corporate and subsidiary legal matters. Over the course of his career at AT&T, Payne served as General Counsel for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, Pacific Telesis Group, Ameritech, SBC International and Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems.

Payne is a member of the American Bar Association, for which he served as chair of the Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law Section. Payne is licensed in Texas and is also a member of the Arkansas, California, Illinois and Missouri Bar Associations. He is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

In addition, Payne has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Legal Aid Society. He also served on the Board of Directors for Magyar Telekom – the largest telecommunications and first publicly traded company in Hungary.

Payne holds a J.D., M.A. and B.A. from St. Louis University. He and his wife, Cindy, reside in St. Louis, Mo., where Payne is a private practice attorney for select corporate clients.