Energy, Regulation and Litigation

LEADERS

Overview

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Energy, Regulation and Litigation Practice Group has deep experience working both for and against the United States government on regulatory, enforcement and investigation matters, granting clients a unique insight into U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) policies and regulations.

Our group provides a full range of services to clients in all energy industry segments – including complex litigation, government enforcement and investigation defense, mergers and acquisitions, energy infrastructure development and operation, and compliance with government rules and regulations.

Gibson Dunn’s energy lawyers have diverse backgrounds, including in economics, science, technology, energy marketing and trading, energy policy legislation and reform.  We combine that practical and experiential knowledge and talent with that of other Gibson Dunn practitioners in a wide range of disciplines, including our world-class Litigation and Appellate practices and our best-in-class Energy and Infrastructure dealmakers to address the issues from all angles.  This holistic and multidisciplinary approach allows us to creatively and efficiently provide integrated solutions to the most complex energy-related issues, including:

  • Defending corporate and individual clients in complex government investigations, audits and enforcement matters, including before FERC, the CFTC and in the federal courts
  • Guiding clients through complex administrative litigation and rate proceedings before FERC, and in the federal courts
  • Challenging and defending agency orders and rulemakings in the federal courts of appeals
  • Conducting comprehensive internal investigations and audits to ensure compliance with rules and regulations of the FERC, CFTC, other federal and state agencies, public service commissions, and non-governmental organizations including the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)
  • Advising clients on participation in organized U.S. commodities markets and in navigating market rules for participating in the California ISO, PJM, MISO, ISO New England, NYISO, ERCOT, and Southwest Power Pool electricity markets
  • Helping clients conceptualize, develop and finance some of the largest renewable energy projects in the world
  • Working with clients on electric transmission development and operation, including both negotiated-rate and cost-based projects
  • Assisting clients throughout every stage of the development process and providing ongoing regulatory and compliance advice once these projects begin commercial operation
  • Drawing on our deep understanding of the regulatory approvals needed from federal and state agencies to effectuate energy transactions and complete mergers and acquisitions

The Gibson Dunn Energy, Regulation and Litigation Group has successfully tried many high-profile matters, including market power and market manipulation enforcement cases, natural gas pipeline and electric utility rate cases, and affiliate transactions disputes.  We have represented clients in many of the largest, most complex mergers and acquisitions that have occurred in the energy industry in recent history.  And our team has broad capabilities working with the nuclear power industry and representing clients on nuclear power licensing applications and amendments before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

With our team’s breadth and experience, we develop innovative strategies to solve clients’ problems quickly and efficiently while minimizing regulatory risk.  We rarely confront client issues that we have not dealt with before.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Gibson Dunn Adds Energy Regulatory Partner Victoria “Tory” Lauterbach in Washington, D.C.

-June 17, 2024

U.S. Department of Treasury Releases Joint Policy Statement and Principles on Voluntary Carbon Markets

-June 17, 2024

Gibson Dunn Ranked in 2024 U.S. Legal 500

-June 12, 2024

Law.com International Names Samuel Ogunlaja Among 2024 Black Rising Stars

-June 10, 2024

Carbon Markets Update – Q3 2023

-October 24, 2023

Carbon Markets Update – Q2 2023

-July 28, 2023

Carbon Markets Update – Q1 2023

-April 4, 2023

Gibson Dunn Promotes 37 Lawyers to Partnership

-November 15, 2022

Expert Guides Best of the Best United States 2022 Recognizes Ten Gibson Dunn Partners

-October 7, 2022

Supreme Court Upholds Limits On Environmental Protection Agency’s Authority To Shift Sources Of Energy Production

-June 30, 2022

Who’s Who Legal 2022 Recognizes Gibson Dunn Partners in Energy

-June 16, 2022

Who’s Who Legal 2021 Recognizes Gibson Dunn Partners in Energy

-August 10, 2021

Webcast: Carbon Markets: What We Know and What to Expect

-May 5, 2021

Who’s Who Legal 2020 Asset Recovery, Energy, and Product Liability Defence Guides Recognize Eight Gibson Dunn Partners

-August 12, 2020

En Banc D.C. Circuit Overturns Long-Standing FERC Practice of Issuing Tolling Orders for Rehearing Requests

-June 30, 2020

Who’s Who Legal Recognizes Ten Gibson Dunn Partners in Project Finance, Product Liability, Energy, and Asset Recovery in 2019

-November 6, 2019

Gibson Dunn Ranked in 2019 U.S. Legal 500

-July 11, 2019

Webcast: Impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Electric Utilities

-June 24, 2019

FERC Resolves Key Aspects of Generator Option to Build Interconnection Upgrades; Ignores 60-Day Clock Under Section 205 Where No Specific Effective Date Requested

-May 22, 2019

President Trump Issues Two Executive Orders on Energy Infrastructure

-April 11, 2019

Gibson Dunn Named a 2018 Law Firm of the Year

-January 13, 2019

FERC Issues Proposed Rule on Return of Excess ADITs by Electric Utilities

-November 26, 2018

Amendments to Section 205 of the Federal Power Act May Not Have Intended Result

-October 31, 2018

IRS Provides Much Needed Guidance on Opportunity Zones through Issuance of Proposed Regulations

-October 22, 2018

FERC Issues Long-Awaited Order on Return on Equity for New England Electric Utilities

-October 18, 2018

Gibson Dunn Receives Chambers USA Excellence Award

-May 25, 2018

FERC Takes Aim at Income Tax Over Recovery in Pipelines’ Regulated Rates

-March 19, 2018

Joint Venture Traps to Avoid

-March 1, 2018

EPA In The Trump Era: The DOJ’s 3rd-Party Payment Policy

-February 23, 2018

2017 Year-End Environmental Update for the Oil & Gas Industry

-January 22, 2018

The Gross-Split Production Sharing Contract: The End of an Era for Indonesia’s Upstream Oil and Gas Industry and Traditional PSC Model

-May 31, 2017

Regulatory Reform Agenda Opens Door For Public Input

-May 4, 2017

D.C. Circuit Overturns FERC’s ROE Methodology for Electric Utilities

-April 20, 2017

Fourth Circuit Uranium Mining Ruling Narrows Federal Preemption

-March 8, 2017

Canadian Court Upholds Chevron’s Corporate Separateness and Its Right to Defend Against Judgment Obtained by Fraud

-January 27, 2017

Claims Involving a Limited Partnership Deal Are Derivative Under ‘Tooley’ Test

-January 18, 2017

FERC Anti-Market Manipulation Update

-November 22, 2016

The Trump Presidency: Selected Initial Observations and Considerations

-November 15, 2016

Chevron Earns Decisive Victory in Second Circuit Civil RICO Appeal Concerning Corrupt Scheme to Obtain $9.5 Billion Ecuadorian Judgment Through Bribery and Fraud

-August 9, 2016

Disintermediation of Private Equity

-June 1, 2016

CFTC Proposal Sparks Controversy by Permitting Private Lawsuits in FERC-regulated Electricity Markets

-May 17, 2016

A Smarter Approach To Renewable Energy Reliance In Calif.

-May 2, 2016

Recent Developments in CFTC Enforcement

-April 13, 2016

The CPUC’s Realistic Approach Toward Energy Security

-January 29, 2016

The EPA and the Clean Power Plan: A Paradigm Shift in Energy Regulation Away From Energy Regulators

-November 16, 2015

“Adoption Day” Marks Next Step for Iran Nuclear Deal

-October 19, 2015

Inside EPA’s Plan For Reducing Methane Emissions

-August 20, 2015

Do CERCLA Cost Recovery And Contribution Rights Overlap?

-August 7, 2015

U.S. Supreme Court Issues Important Decision Regarding Agencies’ Duty to Consider Costs in Rulemaking

-June 29, 2015

Divided FERC Approves PJM’s Capacity Performance Proposal

-June 15, 2015

Tracking The DC Circ.’s Trend On Article III Standing

-May 13, 2015

Competitive Transmission Is Good And It Is Here To Stay

-April 16, 2015

Webcast: Competitive Transmission: The Next Big Thing

-April 1, 2015

U.S. Department of the Interior Releases Final Rule Updating Regulations Governing Hydraulic Fracturing Operations on Federal Land

-March 24, 2015

Time to modernize federal and state ex parte rules

-March 6, 2015

Looking At The Legal Deficiencies Of Local Fracking Bans

-March 6, 2015

RTO/ISO Competitive Transmission Programs

-February 19, 2015

CFTC Actions The Energy Industry Should Look For In 2015

-February 5, 2015

FERC Proposes Changes to Its Merger Review Process — Will They Take Regulation “Back to the Future”?

-January 22, 2015

EPA Announces Program Addressing Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Production

-January 15, 2015

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Issues Final Regulations Addressing Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities Under Subtitle D of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

-December 29, 2014

M&A Report – Delaware Supreme Court Issues Important Guidance on Revlon Duties

-December 22, 2014

2014 FERC Enforcement Year In Review

-December 22, 2014

‘2ab’ FERC Merger Analysis Easy as 1, 2, 3

-December 1, 2014

Webcast – Energy Derivatives: Effectively Navigating Dodd-Frank Compliance and Implementation Challenges

-November 13, 2014

Counties jumped the gun on fracking bans

-November 10, 2014

Science refutes fracking opposition

-September 30, 2014

When Supply Contracts are Considered Swaps: The Effects of the CFTC’s Interpretation of Embedded Volumetric Optionality on Derivatives End-Users

-July 29, 2014

The creeping scope of State aid in relation to energy taxes and charges

-July 15, 2014

Fracking Fights Are Increasingly Becoming Local

-July 2, 2014

U.S. Supreme Court Limits EPA’s Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Stationary Source Permitting Requirements under Clean Air Act

-June 24, 2014

Legal risks of fracking bans are real

-June 24, 2014

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Proposes Regulations to Limit Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Existing Electric Utility Generating Units

-June 4, 2014

Webcast – FERC Enforcement Reforms

-June 3, 2014

Environmental Protection Agency Proposes Revisions to MACT Standards Applicable to Petroleum Refinery Operations

-May 19, 2014

The FERC Enforcement Process: Time for Structural Due Process and Substantive Reforms

-May 13, 2014

The Commodities Activities of Banks: Comments on the Federal Reserve’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

-April 28, 2014

6th Circ.’s Impact On EPA Review Of Source Modifications

-April 8, 2014

Pressure Mounts to Disclose Fracking Chemicals

-April 7, 2014

Fracking Ban Will Have Consequences

-March 19, 2014

The Winds of Investigation Are Blowing in D.C. – Are You Prepared??

-March 7, 2014

Building New Transmission: The Changing Regulatory Landscape

-February 27, 2014

2014 Should Be Pivotal For Fracking Regulation

-February 10, 2014

Oil and Gas Industry Briefing: Recent Fifth Circuit Ruling Limits Ability of Pipeline Owners in Bankruptcy to Sell Assets “Free and Clear” of, or Reject, Certain Covenants Associated with the Pipelines

-February 3, 2014

Clean Air Act’s PSD Program Under Scrutiny In Courts

-November 13, 2013

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Suspension and Debarment Program

-November 1, 2013

Responsible Energy Policies Are Not a Zero-Sum Game

-September 18, 2013

Investments in renewable energy under the State Aid Guidelines on environmental protection

-September 2, 2013