Find Lawyers in America for Utilities Law
Practice Area Overview
Practitioners typically represent utilities, utility customers, or consumer advocacy groups. The practice includes litigation before regulatory agencies where utilities seek licenses, permits or approvals related to various activities and also includes appeals of final regulatory orders to appellate courts. The litigation includes utility rate cases in which the utility is requesting approval of an increase in its rates; and Certificate of Public Convenience & Necessity (CPCN) cases in which the utility is requesting approval to build new utility infrastructure.
The cases follow several different formats: a traditional civil trial initiated by a formal Petition or Application; a formal investigation of improper conduct initiated by the regulatory agency; or legislative type rulemaking proceedings to adopt new rules by the agency. The practice also involves transactional work typically involving the purchase and sale of utility services, utility assets or the utility itself; or the financing of new utility infrastructure. Finally the practice involves proactive counseling of utilities and other interested parties regarding compliance with federal, state, and local utility laws and regulations.
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Mr. Alford represents public utilities and other clients in a variety of matters, including commercial and tort litigation, regulatory proceedings, and contract and property issues. Representative cases include construction disputes, securities actions, antitrust and unfair trade practice claims, medical licensing, and consumer litigation. Mr. Alford also counsels clients concerning regulatory compliance, employment, and general business issues. Mr. Alford graduated from Louisiana State Unive...
Katie Baynes, a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Public Finance group, focuses her practice on project finance, infrastructure finance and public finance. She represents government authorities, issuers and underwriters in connection with project financings including stadiums and arenas as well as industrial development revenue bonds; college and university bonds; hospital, health care, and senior living bonds; and other exempt facility bonds. What do you focus on? Project Finance I have been ...
Dewey Branstetter has represented a broad range of individuals and entities, but his practice concentrates on utility and municipal issues; employment matters, including employee benefits issues; and complex litigation. Mr. Branstetter has extensive experience advising and representing utility districts, municipalities, and utility related entities such as Tennessee 811. He recently appeared before the Utility Management Review Board and successfully defended against the first ratepayer petit...
Tim is a partner of Rembolt Ludtke and his practice includes estate and business planning, estate administration, entity formation, and telecommunications. Tim uses his business and legal experience in working with individuals for their individual estate planning needs, along with families and closely held businesses with business and succession planning. Both SuperLawyers® and Best Lawyers® have recognized Tim in the areas of Trusts, Estates, and Business Planning. Tim and his wife A...
Jennifer Cranston (formerly Ratcliff) focuses her practice in three primary areas: real estate disputes involving condemnation and valuation issues; insurance coverage analysis and bad faith litigation; and public utility regulation. Jennifer’s objective is to provide sound legal advice, exceptional service, and cost-effective resolution for all her clients. She has successfully negotiated favorable settlements, as well as prevailed for clients at hearings, in arbitrations, at trial, an...
Dennis is a partner in the 100+-year-old law firm of Naman, Howell, Smith and Lee, PLLC. Dennis is chair of the firm’s Regulatory/Infrastructure and Government Relations Sections. His practice has primarily focused on work for telecommunications, utilities, litigation, and government relations. Dennis has successfully led multibillion dollar matters as well as represented clients and litigated cases across numerous jurisdictions. Additionally, Dennis was appointed to serve as Convention...
Frank's practice is focused on utility-related regulation and litigation, with an emphasis on matters involving the electricity and telecommunications industries. He also has significant experience in a range of environmental law issues. His work in the utilities industry has included issues involving electricity, telephone, gas and water regulation before the South Carolina Public Service Commission, where he has appeared for 30 years. In the environmental field his experience includes resol...
William K. Fahey is a Michigan lawyer serving public utilities and municipalities for more than 32 years. He represents electric and natural gas utilities in administrative, regulatory, commercial and appellate matters, and has been involved in nearly every major matter affecting Michigan public utilities over the last three decades. Mr. Fahey has represented more than 100 Michigan municipalities throughout Michigan, both as municipal attorney and as special counsel, principally handling muni...
George R. Fair was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1973. He has a general civil practice of both business and litigated matters, primarily in the banking, commercial lending and finance, corporate, public utilities, construction, fidelity and surety areas. George is a former President of the Mississippi Bar and an active member in several professional organizations.
Paul Guarisco practices in the areas of administrative law, business and finance, telecommunications, energy and utilities, and regulatory and governmental matters. He practices primarily before the Louisiana Public Service Commission, representing telecommunications and pipeline carriers, and electric, gas, sewer and water public utilities in all aspects of regulation, including certification, compliance, tariffs, litigation, hearings, audits, rate cases, rulemakings, dispute resolution/medi...
Merrill Kramer represents energy project developers, private equity companies, and institutional lenders on the development, financing, sale, acquisition, and investment in energy projects and portfolios. Merrill represents some of the most active and innovative players in the energy industry. He has represented Fortune 200 companies and other clients in the development and financing of over 80 energy infrastructure projects representing more than $30 billion in invested capital. Merrrill has...
Ken Lind is a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Project Finance and Public Finance group. He works with issuers, underwriters, financial advisors, banks and concession bidders on a range of public finance and project finance projects. He advises clients on public offerings and private placements serving as bond, underwriters’, disclosure, derivatives or bank counsel. What do you focus on? Infrastructure Much of my work involves financings related to infrastructure, primarily transportati...
D. Bruce May Jr. heads the firm’s Public Utility practice. For more than 28 years, he has been actively involved before the Florida Public Service Commission and other regulatory agencies on a variety of matters relating to electric, natural gas, water and wastewater utilities. He is also active in legislative matters involving public utility, energy and environmental law issues. Mr. May’s electric and natural gas utility experience includes: representation of utilities in contest...
Bill Moore represents numerous energy industry clients, counseling them on regulatory, business, litigation, and legislative matters. He has represented a variety of competitive and regulated electric interests, including Texas's largest power generation and mining company, its largest retail electricity providers, its largest municipal utility, several power generation facility owners and developers, and a large regulated electric utility. He handles clients' business-to-business interaction...
Dan Pancamo is counsel in the business group in the New Orleans office. He has an electric public utility regulatory practice, representing clients in matters primarily before the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Mr. Pancamo also has a business and commercial transactional practice, representing clients in: (i) commercial real estate matters, including property development, finance, leasing, and acquisitions and sales for a range of projects, including office, retail, commercial and indus...
Practicing law since 2009, John M. Parker, Jr. is a Partner at Taylor Porter, focusing on insurance coverage and defense litigation, public utilities, personal injury and commercial litigation. John is admitted to practice before all Louisiana federal and state courts. John’s representative practice area experience includes: Working with public utilities companies on litigation issues and contract negotiations concerning pole attachment agreements. Helping clients with representation be...
Paul Schudel has practiced law with Woods Aitken since 1975 with an emphasis in telecommunications and business and commercial law. Paul has represented and currently represents primarily telecommunications and other business clients in regulatory and administrative law matters before state and federal agencies; business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions; and contracting for sale or procurement of goods and services. In addition, Paul has been and is engaged in appellate practi...
With a practice focus on municipal finance, Kester So has served as bond counsel or underwriter’s counsel on a wide variety of bond issues, including bonds for health care, public power, higher education, student loan, transportation, unemployment insurance, tax increment financing, state revolving fund, environmental, school bond loan fund, State and local building authorities, airports, water and sewer, solid waste disposal and economic and industrial development bonds.
George Soneff is a partner in the Los Angeles office. He has over 30 years' experience in complex litigation in state and federal courts, and administrative tribunals. He has an extensive background handling real property litigation, including real estate development and valuation, land use restrictions and governmental regulation of property rights, eminent domain/inverse condemnation, ownership disputes, construction-related claims, water rights, and insurance. His clients have included maj...
Sarah Tracy advises energy generation facilities, large commercial energy users, and utilities with respect to state and federal energy regulatory issues throughout New England. Sarah assists owners of utility scale and distributed energy generation facilities and off-takers negotiate key energy agreements, including power purchase agreements, net energy billing agreements, renewable energy credit purchase and sale agreements, natural gas supply agreements and firm gas transportation agreemen...
A trusted advisor, Marcus Trathen focuses his practice in the fields of communications law, utilities regulation, mass media, the Internet, intellectual property, and legislative representation. Marcus counsels clients on a variety of issues, including telecommunications regulation, media and the First Amendment, Internet law and regulation, and broadcast licensing and regulation.
William Weir is experienced in tax-exempt bond financings, commercial real estate, secured lending, general corporate and tax practice. His principal areas of practice include bond counsel work in connection with industrial development revenue bonds, local development corporation bonds, civic facility revenue bonds, college and university bonds, solid waste resource recovery bonds, hospital and health care bonds, other exempt facility bonds, multi-family housing bonds, continuing care retirem...
Practicing in the area of energy law, Elizabeth Whittle counsels clients with respect to natural gas, hydroelectric and electric regulatory and transactional matters. What do you focus on? Federal Regulatory I am an active practitioner before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, representing clients in hearings, settlement conferences and adversary proceedings in the natural gas, electric and hydroelectric areas. I am active in proceedings involving regional transmission organizations an...
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