Lawrence Acker has extensive experience representing participants in the natural gas and electric power industries in commercial matters, proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and related appeals. The subject matter encompassed by his practice has included securing FERC authorizations for major projects, FERC enforcement investigations of gas and electric matters, compliance planning, contract formation and disputes, and rate, tariff and refund-related matters.
Mr. Acker's clients have included large natural-gas project developers, interstate natural-gas pipelines and other pipelines providing interstate service, local distribution companies and other users of pipeline capacity, bidders in pipeline open seasons, natural gas and electric power trading companies and utilities.
He has been lead FERC counsel for a number of major energy development projects, including LNG projects, successfully assisting clients to secure authorizations, sometimes in contested cases. Mr. Acker works closely with company counsel and executives, as well as experts in related fields of law and other disciplines. His work on new projects frequently involves advice regarding the conduct of open seasons, participation in the negotiation of precedent and other commercial and operating agreements, compliance with standards of conduct, consideration of non-conforming contracts, FERC rules and the development of tariffs.
He was lead counsel for more than four years for the power marketers in the FERC's California refund proceedings and related appeals. He continues as a member of the Steering Committee of Marketers in the FERC's Pacific Northwest refund proceedings. In both sets of cases, he helped guide the course of litigation in the inflammatory environment surrounding Western market disorders. In the California refund cases, he presented oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth and D.C. Circuits.
He frequently manages the work of groups of lawyers in complex matters. He has conducted seminars within the United States and abroad on sources of regulatory exposure, compliance matters, LNG matters, cost-based rates, and opportunities and costs associated with open access services.
Mr. Acker assists clients in every phase of investigations and compliance activity as well as regulatory litigation and project approvals. This typically involves consulting with senior corporate officials during all planning stages; assisting clients in formulating their positions; preparing tariffs and contracts; supervising other lawyers, expert witnesses and consultants; examining key witnesses in evidentiary hearings; presenting argument and developing briefs, formulating and negotiating settlements; presenting company positions to decisional officers, counterparties and adversaries; and conducting appellate litigation. He is an advisor and counselor to senior company officials.
Selected Activities
· Energy Bar Association
Awards and Recognition
· Chambers USA, 2003-2011 (Energy: Electric: Regulatory & Litigation -- Band 1; and Energy: Oil & Gas: Regulatory & Litigation -- Band 1)
· Chambers Global, 2001-2010 (Energy: Electricity: Regulatory & Litigation--Band 1; Oil & Gas: Regulatory & Litigation--Band 1)
· Chambers Global, 2001-2011 (Energy: Electricity: Regulatory & Litigation--Bands 1 and 2)
· Best Lawyers in America, 2005-2012 (Energy and Natural Resources Law)
· Euromoney Expert Guide to the World's Leading Energy & Natural Resource Lawyers, 2010 Edition
· Euromoney Expert Guide to the Best of the Best Leading Energy & Natural Resource Lawyers USA, 2010 Edition
Lecturer
· How to Prepare for a FERC Audit, AGA Federal Regulatory Committee, Fort Worth, Texas September 2011
· Seminars on FERC's Capacity Release Rules, Standards of Conduct, Omaha, Nebraska July 2011
· DVD Seminars: Capacity Release; Enforcement; Compliance Planning The AGA FERC Manual, DVD Series 2010 and 2011 Editions
· "How to Evaluate an Existing Compliance Plan," AGA Legal Forum, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (July 2010).
· Seminars on Compliance Planning; Enforcement; The AGA FERC Manual Users' Forum, American Gas Association, Washington (March 2010).
· Compliance Planning; American Gas Association, FERC Regulatory Committee, 2009 FERC Compliance Conference, Philadelphia, (October 2009).
· Responding to A FERC Investigation, Houston (June 2008).
· Strategies for Developing an Effective FERC Compliance Program, Houston (June 2008).
· Selected Federal Regulatory Issues Related to Importation of LNG and Siting of LNG Facilities, Washington, DC (April 2006).
· Sources of Regulatory Exposure, Houston (December 2005).
· An Introduction to Cost-Based Ratemaking, Washington, DC (February 2005).
· The LNG Supply Chain: Legal Issues (with T. Moore), Houston (November 2004).
· Electric Market Litigation Exposure, "Electric Market Exposure in the Northeast: A Washington Perspective," New York (May 2001).
· Seminar of Natural Gas Pipeline Open Access in Europe, "Arriving at the Price of Access," Brussels (January 1995).
Industries
Utilities, Power and Pipelines
Oil and Gas