Energy LawOverviewOur multidisciplinary Energy team has the legal, business, and technical knowledge to help clients meet the challenges of — and find new opportunities in — a highly demanding and regulated marketplace. From energy project financing; land acquisition, and sales; through production, transmission, distribution, and market matters; and at your side in all necessary and resultant state and federal regulatory proceedings, Michael Best will be your full service energy partner. We have extensive experience helping energy industry clients navigate complex situations, guided not only by our attorneys’ legal skills, but also by our keen understanding of how to balance the disparate perspectives and demands of different stakeholders. We work with diverse entities in the electricity, natural gas, and renewable energy sectors, including utilities, regional transmission organizations, independent power producers, distributors, marketers, investors, lenders, trade organizations, and large customers. Our team’s experience in energy regulation, transactions, and litigation, which includes leadership positions in state and federal government agencies, gives us a 360 degree view of the industry. This enables us to take a “big picture” approach that has proven invaluable where regulatory uncertainty, community relations, and government investigations are concerned in particular. We offer creative, workable solutions in demanding regulatory environments, all while helping to advance clients’ short and long-term interests.
Service Areas
We advise clients in the traditional and renewable energy sectors on a broad range of matters related to the following areas:
Federal Energy Regulation Compliance & Advocacy
All aspects of energy-related regulatory compliance, including rules and standards of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB), regional transmission organizations (RTOs), and independent system operators (ISOs); as well as advocacy in ratemaking, government relations, and rulemaking.
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State Public Utility Commissions
All proceedings before state and local regulators, including state public utility commissions. Full representation and litigation (if necessary) on rate cases, large project certification, and complaint filings. Related representation for site acquisition, zoning/land use and environmental permits, energy entity mergers, and service area issues.
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Renewable Energy & Project Development
Advising investor-owned gas and electric utilities and electric transmission companies; wind, solar, biofuels, and biomass developers, generators, and manufacturers; and investors and trading parties on the development, interconnection, and operation of renewable energy projects and technologies, as well as on renewable energy credits (RECs) and other energy/environmental commodities.
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Energy Enforcement Investigations & Disputes
Defense of investigations and litigation by FERC, state public utility commissions, CFTC, and other government agencies; utility tariff and rate disputes; commodities and price protection litigation; and challenges to agency proceedings, rules, and decisions, including petitions for review before the federal circuit courts of appeal.
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In addition, we counsel energy clients on other legal and business matters, such as:
- Environmental matters, including air, water, and manufactured gas plant cleanups
- Engineering, procurement, and construction contract negotiations, administration, and dispute resolution
- Tax analysis and structuring
- Complex financing, including equity, debt, recapitalizations, and multistep transactions, as well as commercial credit arrangements
- Corporate governance, including business organization and structure, CTFC and SEC compliance, fiduciary duties, and succession planning
- Technology licensing
- Patent prosecution and protection
- Immigration
- Product liability defense
- Labor and employment matters
Experience
- Selected as first chair counsel for multiple utilities in multiple jurisdictions on rate case filings, certificates of public convenience and necessity, and tariff filings.
- Advised a U.S. transmission company with regard to the construction of a new transmission line to be co-owned with another utility, including negotiating and drafting the joint development, construction, and ownership and operating agreements, and negotiating, drafting, and filing with FERC new interconnection agreements.
- Assisted a biodiesel producer in raising capital and securing project permits to construct and operate a full-scale renewable fuel production facility. Our services included entity formation; raising seed capital; raising construction financing; negotiating off-take, supply, and other agreements; and securing the real estate and obtaining regulatory approvals.
- Represented a tribal sovereign nation as project developer and owner of a 3.5MW commercial-scale solar project. Our work included a presentation to tribal leaders regarding background, structural, and business issues relating to energy projects; negotiation of all agreements including power purchase agreements; and representation in New Markets Tax Credit and other tax-related financing.
Related People Preview Attorney's BiographyBill, who leads the firm’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) practice, has 25 years’ experience counseling a wide range of clients in the energy sector, including Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), retail regulators, investor-owned utilities and their affiliates, public power entities, transmission-dependent utilities, independent transmission developers, and cooperatives and municipals.  Preview Attorney's BiographyEric is known for his extensive experience in energy, water, wastewater, and environmental matters, particularly the regulation of utilities at both the state and federal levels. He helps clients with regulatory filings and issues before state public utility commissions and environmental regulators, local utility districts, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs).  Preview Attorney's BiographyRenee has over 20 years of experience as a paralegal in both the environmental and real estate practice areas. She assists attorneys in all aspects of management and closing of residential and commercial real estate transactions. Renee has experience with drafting real estate documents, analyzing surveys and title documents and land use planning. Renee V. Exum* *Names that appear with an asterisk indicate a Michael Best professional not admitted to practice law.  Preview Attorney's BiographyTaylor leverages his skill as a strategic communicator to help clients in the agribusiness, energy, and food and beverage industries find solutions to complex regulatory challenges.  Preview Attorney's BiographyJordan helps energy companies and other sophisticated businesses structure and contract for large scale capital expansion and procurement, including representation in siting and certification cases for large power generation facilities, electric transmission lines, private energy facilities, and large agricultural projects. Preview Attorney's BiographyChris focuses his practice on the intersection of business and government, particularly in the renewable energy and traditional energy sectors, where he represents clients in regulatory advocacy and compliance, legislative and policy matters, and contested cases before regulatory bodies including the Public Utility Commission of Texas and matters before the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Chris’s experience spans a wide range of energy industry clients, including advising a ...  Preview Attorney's BiographyPorter has established a strong track record based on his strategic, results-driven representation of clients involved in complex corporate transactions. A diverse group of clients look to him for sound guidance on general corporate counsel, commercial contracting, including inbound and outbound supply and distributor agreements, corporate restructuring, acquisitions of companies and company assets, divestitures of companies and company assets, joint ventures, and general contracts.  Preview Attorney's BiographyFor more than 30 years, Todd has helped numerous clients remain in compliance with all aspects of the complex and dynamic suite of environmental laws, with a particular focus on Clean Air Act regulation. His extensive knowledge of and experience includes obtaining environmental permits, planning future activities to minimize the expense of regulation, litigation involving all manner of environmental regulation, and the defense of allegations that a company may have violated environmental laws.  Preview Attorney's BiographyAlex assists clients with a variety of regulatory issues, including those before state public utility commissions, environmental regulators, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), He also helps clients on transactional and other business matters.
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