Quarles & Brady has expanded the capabilities of its energy practice in Chicago with the hiring of two partners from DLA Piper.
Christopher J. Townsend and Christopher N. Skey represent developers and users of energy projects both in government and in the private sector. They also represent suppliers including IGS Energy, the biggest U.S retail supplier, and the unregulated division of Warren Buffett’s utility firm MidAmerican Energy. The two attorneys are fighting a battle on the regulatory front on behalf of IGS Energy to open up gas and electric markets in Illinois. Another client the two attorneys are currently working with is Chicago Clean Energy, which is developing a $3 billion facility on Chicago’s south side. Townsend has represented the government of Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity in its efforts to acquire power-generating equipment worth more than $6 billion, and he is closely involved in the energy infrastructural plans set forth in the International Compact for Iraq.
“We are the two go-to partners in Chicago for businesses that are consuming energy, selling energy, or developing energy projects,” Townsend said.
Townsend and Skey join a well-established energy practice at Quarles that represents an array of clients ranging from utilities companies in the Upper Midwest to developers of solar projects in the Southwest and a consortium of airlines purchasing fuel at airports throughout the nation. Lawyers from the firm have extensive experience in representing utility holding companies in proceedings leading to a merger, in assembling applications and supporting documents to submit to regulatory commissions at the state level, and in representing clients before commissions. Ave M. Bie, managing partner of the firm’s Madison office, is a former chair of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and a recognized authority on the public utilities markets.