Practice Areas & Industries: Winston & Strawn LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Our nuclear energy attorneys have significant experience in NRC civil investigation and enforcement matters. First, we have been directly involved in hundreds of enforcement matters over many years on many different regulatory issues. By helping clients prepare for inspections and enforcement conferences, assisting with developing responses to notices of violations/nonconformances and any proposed civil penalties, and even—in three cases—requesting administrative hearings on enforcement matters, we have assisted our clients in avoiding major blemishes on their nuclear performance records and maintaining a healthy regulatory margin with the NRC. We also help clients proactively address regulations from a compliance perspective. In addition, we have assisted a number of clients in developing successful performance improvement and corrective action plans.

We have also represented our clients in connection with NRC investigations of allegations of deliberate misconduct and employee discrimination by licensed or unlicensed individuals and vendors. In this area, we have also assisted clients in conducting internal investigations of similar issues, in developing responses to allegations sent to licensees by the NRC, and in developing investigation protocols and notices.

Our energy group has tracked NRC enforcement actions and trends for more than a decade on behalf of a group of NRC licensees. We analyze every case of an NRC civil penalty and report to our clients. We maintain a database of NRC enforcement actions and provide an annual report on trends and developments. This effort has been of major benefit to our clients, and the experience has given our attorneys a unique perspective on NRC enforcement perspectives and policies.