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Overview

The energy industry is being impacted by rapid and disruptive changes faced in today’s environment. We are witnessing a wholesale shift away from fossil fuel generation to renewables, very low natural gas prices, changing environmental regulations, the growth of microgrids and distributed generation, and heightened interest in regional transmission and reliability. Combined, these changes are influencing state and federal energy policy and prompting regulatory action. This activity can create opportunities for entities that proactively plan.

At Calfee, we provide our clients with strategic support based on decades of experience, a track record of success at the state and federal levels, public policy advocacy, and deep transactional experience. Our lawyers include a former utility regulator and general counsel, a former Director of the Ohio EPA, and several other attorneys with decades of experience – both in-house and as outside counsel – handling the full range of issues confronting energy companies, utilities, and large consumers of energy.

Our clients have included a broad range of investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, regional transmission organizations, telecommunications entities, pipeline companies, coal companies, investors, lenders, renewable resource developers, and utility customers.

State Regulatory Matters. Our attorneys have successfully represented clients before state utility commissions throughout the Midwest, including the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, the Missouri Public Service Commission, and the Iowa Utilities Board. Our clients benefit from our experience counseling clients through complex regulatory issues, including rate cases, certifications for public convenience and necessity, rulemakings, and M&A and utility asset transfers.

Federal Regulatory Matters. Our attorneys have extensive experience representing clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in rulemaking, tariff and rate schedule filings, complaint proceedings, and enforcement actions. Our attorneys regularly assist clients in the development and implementation of strategies around wholesale electricity market design, new market entry, large-scale integrations, and complex, multi-jurisdictional matters involving both federal and state regulation. This experience also includes representation of clients in appeals of agency actions before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Renewables and Energy Transactions. We enable our business partners to capitalize on a variety of energy industry opportunities, including power purchase agreements, brokerage agreements, the creation of microgrids, electric power, and natural gas supply purchases, interconnection agreements, asset transfers, market entrance and integration analysis, and environmental permitting. These efforts have included the negotiation of contracts for the installation of onsite solar power production, including related lease agreements, power purchase agreements for the off-take of the power produced by onsite solar systems, as well as onsite microgrid projects.

In addition, we advise our clients on the implementation of on-bill and off-bill customer-facing service and product offerings. We also assist with navigating permitting, insurance, and other compliance considerations, and negotiating financing and underwriting arrangements, supplier agreements, and software and licensing contracts—all while helping clients control and mitigate their risk while diversifying offerings to ratepayers and customers.

Energy and Environment. Calfee provides energy clients with a full range of environmental counseling from the initial permitting stage through operational issues. Clients have included underground coal production, pipeline permitting and construction, natural gas and coal-fired electric generating units, and alternative fuel providers. These services include Clean Water Act NPDES and Section 401 and 404 permitting, Clean Air Act permitting, Power Siting Board permitting, compliance counseling, and defense of enforcement actions against these providers once the infrastructure has been completed.

Public Utility, Energy, and Telecommunications Litigation. Because of Calfee’s extensive knowledge of the utility business, our litigators bring a unique problem-solving perspective to litigation involving utilities and energy companies. We routinely represent our clients in litigated matters before state and federal regulatory agencies. Moreover, our lawyers are experienced state and federal trial and appellate litigators, handling a wide range of disputes that include personal injury and other tort claims, tax, real estate, environmental and securities claims related to the energy industry. We routinely represent entities seeking to challenge or support rules or orders issued by agencies, including state utility commissions, FERC, EPA, and others.

Noteworthy

Chambers USA Leading Law Firm Rankings 

Calfee has been recognized by Chambers USA as a Leading Law Firm in Energy & Natural Resources in Band 1 in both Indiana and Ohio (2023).

Clients interviewed by Chambers USA researchers stated, "Calfee always has someone available to provide solutions for complex and nuanced regulatory cases. Calfee has a good grasp of the industry and emergent issues."

The following Energy and Utilities attorneys are ranked by Chambers USA 2023:

  • Phillip A. Casey – Energy & Natural Resources, Band 1: Indiana
  • James C. Holsclaw – Energy & Natural Resources, Band 2: Indiana
  • James F. Lang – Energy & Natural Resources, Band 1: Ohio

Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” Rankings

Calfee was selected for inclusion in the 2024 "Best Law Firms" rankings in Energy Law (Regional Tier 2 Cleveland) and Energy Regulatory Law (Regional Tier 1 Cleveland).

Professionals

Experience

Experience

  • Served as lead regulatory litigation counsel for an independent electric transmission holding company. Calfee represented the client in contested matters regarding a Petition for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to operate an electric transmission system and a complaint case associated with the CPCN.
  • Serving as regulatory relations counsel for one of the largest home repair services plan providers in the United States. Calfee is currently working with the client to build relationships in the Midwest and South, including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
  • Serving as Lead Regulatory Counsel for a national utility infrastructure services provider. We currently advise the client on Underground Protection matters before state regulators, and we are assisting with the development of open and transparent hearing procedures, resolution of thousands of potential causes of action, relationship development with regulators, and client customers, and we are participating in the development of corrective legislation. States have been assessing penalties for “late-locates” occurring during the pandemic. The ability to perform timely locates was impeded by absenteeism and the lack of an available workforce. This problem was experienced across the client’s national platform.
  • Serving as regulatory counsel for an investor-owned utility company. Calfee obtained approvals for the 2023 transfer of assets and service territory to a broad-based utility services company, and we provide guidance with local municipality service agreements.
  • Serving as co-counsel to public utility companies providing natural gas distribution services in relation to its request for a rate increase. We also provided guidance with Intervenor Compensation rulemaking and Thermal Energy Network policy development.
  • Serving as regulatory counsel for a municipal government located in the Midwest. We are helping the client develop and prosecute approval for an underground pedestrian passageway. Presently, the matter is being contested by a publicly traded, Fortune 500 transportation company.
  • Serving as co-counsel and local due diligence counsel to a Canadian pension investment manager, helping to provide economic and environmental regulatory due diligence for the possible acquisition of a stake in a public utility.
  • Providing legal and regulatory strategy, managing the development of the filing and expert testimony, and drafted tariff language, a transmittal letter, and pre-filed testimony for an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America.
  • Providing legal strategy and defense of a complaint filed against an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America. Specifically, Calfee is assisting the client in the defense of a complaint brought by a national solar energy trade association, alleging that the client's Tariff is unjust and unreasonable.
  • Providing direction on legal and regulatory strategy, draft filing, and pre-filed testimony and assisting in regulatory compliance and discovery processes for an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America. Specifically, Calfee manages the stakeholder processes and presentations and assists with the client’s compliance with FERC Order No. 2222 directing RTOs to allow distributed energy resources (DER) to participate in wholesale electricity markets. This matter is of high importance to the client and involves FERC’s direction in Order No. 2222 and removes barriers to allow DERs to participate in wholesale markets, therefore expanding the grid to previously precluded resources. The rules developed through the stakeholder engagement and filings related to this FERC’s mandate will allow the expansion of wholesale market participation to aggregations of smart residential devices like thermostats and electric vehicle chargers.
  • Provided legal and compliance strategy, witness training and preparation, mock audit preparation, review, and advice on audit responses for an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America. Specifically in this matter, Calfee represented the client in a North America Electric Reliability Council’s (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) audit. This matter was of high importance to the client and involved the preparation of witnesses and responses for audit assessing cyber security of critical energy infrastructure systems and assets.
  • Assisting a nationwide energy management company, with third-party discovery responses, witness preparation, and witness defense in third-party 30(b)(6) depositions. The client was involved in discovery and deposed as a third-party service provider to a named party in litigation involving the operation and potential retirement of a generator.
  • Represented a large Midwestern U.S. municipality in a base electric distribution rate case filed by a large energy holding company at the Public Utility Commission of Ohio.
  • Represented a large university client before the Ohio Power Siting Board to obtain approval for a facility to provide power to campus buildings. Since the approval by the PUCO, Calfee has successfully opposed applications for rehearing filed by an environmental organization and continued to work with Commission Staff on construction progress and satisfaction of Commission conditions. Calfee attorneys also have advised the client concerning the Long-Term Lease and Concession Agreement with a joint venture organization and related construction issues involving this energy facility.
  • Served as lead regulatory counsel in Ohio for a global utility company client that supplied retail customers of a governmental energy aggregator under an agreement that was put at risk by complaints initiated by an electricity supplier and other entities. Calfee worked with the client and legal counsel for the governmental energy aggregator to ensure that the aggregator's certificate to provide governmental aggregation service was renewed and that all complaints were denied by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. PUCO renewed the certificate in 2023.
  • Serving as Ohio regulatory counsel for a clean-energy subsidiary of a Fortune 500 corporation in a PUCO Staff investigation.

Services

Services

Calfee provides a broad range of legal services to the energy industry that includes regulatory, government relations, construction, transactional, environmental, intellectual property, real estate finance, and litigation counseling and representation.

Public Utilities, Energy, and Telecommunications Litigation

Calfee represents public utilities, municipalities, cooperatives, and other interested parties before regulatory agencies and in state and federal courts. We have represented electric utilities, municipal utilities, natural gas distribution companies, intrastate natural gas pipelines, local telephone and cellular telecommunications carriers, brokers, and industrial customers.

Environmental

Calfee has experience with all aspects of the environmental compliance requirements associated with the energy industry. From the permitting requirements associated with obtaining the raw materials for energy production to the compliance requirements associated with distribution, Calfee can provide a full range of environmental compliance counseling for the energy industry.

Transactional

Calfee’s Corporate and Finance attorneys have a broad spectrum of transactional experience with energy companies, including electric power, oil and gas producers, coal companies (both surface mining and deep hole), and ash reclamation. Members of the group have assisted energy industry clients with legal matters that include acquisitions, financings, leases, purchase agreements, tax planning, due diligence, and compliance.

Government Relations and Legislation

Calfee’s Government Relations and Legislation practice group provides a unique perspective into the highly regulated energy arena. Whether our clients require legislative lobbying, regulatory and technical experience, or execution of administrative matters, our experienced attorneys offer years of experience and knowledge-based relationships in the energy industry developed from years of legal representation and lobbying on energy issues.

Calfee clients benefit from our strengths when analyzing governmental issues, developing and executing successful strategies, and adding unique insight ranging from the General Assembly to the PUCO. We work together to resolve our clients’ issues involving the executive and legislative branches of government, as well as commissions, authorities, and other special-purpose entities.

Litigation

Calfee has successfully represented energy industry clients in a myriad of litigation matters involving complex contract and commercial disputes, government investigations, employment, and labor matters, real estate and environmental disputes, class action litigation, and ERISA claims. Calfee also has extensive experience representing energy industry clients in tort, accident, and product liability claims including asbestos and toxic tort defense. Calfee works closely with clients to aggressively prevent, resolve and defend litigation matters at all phases of a dispute to reach the best business resolution for our clients.

Intellectual Property

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will, on petition, accord "special" status to all patent applications for inventions that materially contribute to:

  • The discovery or development of energy resources (i.e., developments in fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, and petroleum; hydrogen fuel technologies; nuclear energy; solar energy, etc.); or
  • The more efficient utilization and conservation of energy resources (i.e., inventions relating to the reduction of energy consumption in combustion systems, industrial equipment, household appliances, etc.).

Calfee’s patent attorneys are skilled in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications for energy and energy-related inventions. The Group includes patent attorneys with degrees in physics, electrical engineering, chemistry and chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering. In addition to their technical education backgrounds, many of our patent attorneys have spent time working in their technical fields as engineers and scientists prior to becoming patent attorneys.

Real Estate

Calfee’s real estate attorneys represent developers, investors and syndicators, institutional lenders, individuals, and corporate clients in connection with matters related to the acquisition, disposition, construction, development, leasing, and financing of property assets, including the acquisition of mineral interests by fee or lease.

In addition to conventional transactions, our practice encompasses the formation of investment syndications, joint ventures, and tax-advantaged investment arrangements, the structuring of synthetic leases and tax-deferred exchanges, and the representation of clients in complex multisite and multistate transactions.

Construction

Calfee takes a multidisciplinary approach to energy construction projects tailoring its advice to the specific needs of the client. Calfee has been involved with advising and drafting contract documents, assisting in contract administration, and representing clients in contract disputes in all phases of energy-related construction.

Calfee has assisted clients with new construction, scheduled outages, transmission issues, alternate energy projects, including wind and gasification, and power generation systems and storage. Calfee attorneys are sensitive to assessing risk in all phases of a project and are additionally sensitive to cost issues. This broad range of experience on varied types of energy projects informs our decisions and protects our clients’ interests throughout the life of a project.

News & Events

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Practice Contacts

"Calfee, Halter & Griswold is my go-to law firm, in an emergency as well as for longer-term strategic planning. Their team always gets the job done quickly and efficiently and helps develop creative and effective strategies."

Calfee client, as reported by U.S. News - Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” report

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