Energy and Utilities
Energy and Utility companies regularly draw upon Howard & Howard's notable expertise in order to close their sales, foster new businesses, and solve their regulatory problems.
- Our Multifaceted Team: Howard & Howard's Energy and Utility practice is anchored by attorneys whose careers include nearly four decades of high-level, in-house experience. That experience means that our attorneys not only understand the law -- they also understand your business. Combine that unique industry insight with an expertise in intellectual property law, litigation, real property law, international operations, and even an active energy practice in Canada, and you'll soon discover that Howard & Howard's multi-faceted, expert counsel is well-equipped to help you succeed in all of your challenges.
- Our Multifaceted Clients: Our clients reflect the diversity of our Energy and Utilities practice. Whether simple or sophisticated -- and regardless of whether your issue involves energy, water, telecommunications or cable issues -- chances are that Howard & Howard has already helped others succeed in reaching similar goals.
Among our existing clients:
Electricity
Investors and Developers of Generating Facilities
- Natural gas
- Coal
- Cogeneration
- Wind
- Alternative energy (biodiesel, biodigester, ethanol, hydroelectric, and geothermal)
Howard & Howard offers expertise in all facets of the energy business, including:
- Project development and financing, both domestic and foreign
- Facility siting, land acquisition, licensing and permitting
- Joint ventures
- Acquisition and divestiture of infrastructure
- Regulatory advocacy before state and federal agencies
- Regulatory reform and restructuring before legislatures
- Environmental compliance and due diligence
- Fuel and feedstock purchase and transport
- Regional transmission organizations
- Pipeline and transportation agreements
- Interconnection agreements
- Restructuring and insolvency
- Owner-controlled insurance programs
- Patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property matters involving fuel cells, solar technology and nanotechnologies
- Litigation and advocacy before courts and agencies
Brokers and Unregulated Marketers
- Gas and Electricity marketing and trading
- Certification
Customers
- Advocacy before state agencies when utility rates and rules are made and enforced
- Unregulated bulk power purchases
- Advocacy for regulatory reform and restructuring
Communications and Cable
Private Cable Operators
- Preparation of right of entry agreements
- Preparation of supplier agreements
- Advocacy before state and federal agencies
Multiple Dwelling Unit owners; Single Family Developers; Manufactured Home Community Owners
- Negotiation of right of entry agreements with incumbent providers and with private cable operator competitors
- Advice related to transitioning service providers
- Removal of incumbent service providers where new provider relationships are established
Trade Associations
- Representation before state and federal agencies
- Preparation of policy whitepapers
- Litigation on behalf of membership
Franchising Authorities
- Right-of-way access for communications service providers
- Fee payment reviews and facilities audits
- Franchise and permit negotiation, renewals, and transfers
- Advocacy before state and federal courts and agencies
- Enforcement of customer service standards and franchise obligations
- Development of policy and legislative strategy
- Right-of-way use ordinances
Cable system overbuilders
- Development of competitive strategy
- Franchise negotiation, renewals and transfers
CLECs and VoIP providers
- Interconnection agreements
- Tariffs
- Pole attachment agreements
- Defense of SLAMMING and CRAMMING complaints
Wireless Carriers
- Negotiation of tower sites
Landowners
Private property owners
- Negotiation of leases and easements with wind farm developers
- Mineral leases
- Pipeline right-of-way agreements
- Cell phone tower leases
Local governments and school districts
- On and off-grid wind-power development
- Communications service access agreements
Howard & Howard's expertise and sophistication in Energy and Utility matters is usually found only in larger firms on either coast – but the lower overhead in the Midwest allows us to provide high-quality, on time work at a better price than most firms which offer comparable services.
We're proud of our clients, the range of work they regularly entrust to us, and our past achievements. Here's just a small sample:
- A major independent power producer has sought our assistance in its effort to construct a new baseload generation facility;
- One of the nation's largest wind developers regularly seeks our counsel in its development efforts throughout the Midwest and Plains states;
- A purchaser of a large, gas-fired plant has sought our assistance in the acquisition and regulatory-approval process;
- A developer of battery cells intended for the hybrid vehicle market has worked closely with our intellectual property practice;
- The nation's largest association of city and county managers engaged our attorneys to write a national whitepaper on then-pending federal legislation related to cable franchising;
- Pipeline companies and power producers have sought our attorneys' counsel on nearly $10 Billion in mergers, acquisitions and divestitures;
- A developer of solar system technologies has engaged our intellectual property attorneys to work on the protection of processes involving novel substrates which result in higher cell efficiency while maintaining excellent flexibility;
- A California community engaged us to defend its franchise-transfer rights in a cable operator bankruptcy proceeding;
- A large research university seeks our intellectual property attorneys' counsel to protect a variety of nanotechnology applications, including microfluidic devices that can be used to generate electricity;
- A municipality engaged our firm in a successful effort to defend that municipality's option to purchase a water works facility, as contained in an 1889 ordinance.
When you retain Howard & Howard's energy and utility attorneys, you'll benefit from counsel that has a keen understanding of your industry, developed through nearly four decades of in-house experience. You'll appreciate the fact that our attorneys balance their legal advice with the needs of your business, and you'll be pleasantly surprised that such sophistication can be offered at prices much lower than those charged on the coasts.
