William James Potts, Jr.

A longtime Washington communications attorney, passed away at his home in Glen Echo, Md., on July 10 after a short illness. He was 87.

Mr. Potts was a partner at Haley, Bader & Potts, a law firm that specialized in representing broadcasters and telecommunications companies, most notably MCI Communications Corp., in dealings with the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies. He was a pioneer and advocate in such areas as satellite communications, broadcast signal quality, computer law, intellectual copyright and international communications law.

Mr. Potts was also a passionate fan of opera, baseball--especially the Philadelphia Phillies--and what he called "strange cars," particularly antique and oddly engineered French and British automobiles. A great storyteller and wit, he was prone to break into beautifully sung baritone opera arias or to speak in Italian, another passion, and he was always ready to hold forth on the subjects of politics or history.

Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on January 16, 1930, to William and Sara (Watson) Potts, he attended schools in New York City and graduated with a B.A. from Queens College of the City University of New York. Mr. Potts served in Army intelligence and then worked briefly at the National Security Agency before entering Georgetown University Law Center, from which he received his law degree in 1958.

Mr. Potts clerked at Haley, Wollenberg & Kenehan, a pioneering communications law firm, and then joined the firm as an attorney. It became Haley, Bader & Potts in 1966. The firm eventually moved to Arlington, Va., and was acquired by a Seattle-based law firm, Garvey Schubert Barer, in 2000. Mr. Potts served as president of the Federal Communications Bar Association in 1988-89 and as longtime general counsel of the Association of Broadcast Engineering Standards.

Mr. Potts is survived by his wife of 66 years, Anne (King); his daughter Louise Potts, of Bethesda; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; his brother David Potts of Atlanta and sister Salli McMorrow of Chatham, N.J.; as well as several nieces and nephews. His son William predeceased him in 1987. In addition to the home in Glen Echo, the family had longtime summer homes in Southold, N.Y., and Leonardtown, Md.

Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Monday July 17, 2017 at noon at Church of the Little Flower , 5607 Massachusetts Ave. Bethesda, Md 20816

Interment Private

The family asks in lieu of flowers that donations be made to St. Ann's Center for Children, Youth and Families,  4901 Eastern Ave., N.E. Hyattsville Md. 20782