Law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has added three attorneys to its energy regulatory practice at its Washington, D.C., office.
Suedeen G. Kelly, George D. Cannon Jr. and Cynthia A. Marlette have joined the firm's energy regulatory practice as co-chairwoman, partner and senior counsel, respectively.
Kelly previously served as commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for three terms. During her tenure at FERC, she resolved thousands of disputes and is credited with orchestrating change in several key regulatory policies, including the integration of renewables into the transmission grid, deployment of smart grid technology to the grid, and the development of natural-gas quality standards.
Cannon maintains a broad practice handling regulatory matters before FERC, the U.S. Department of Energy, federal courts and state regulatory commissions on behalf of electric utilities, independent power producers, project developers, energy traders, financial institutions and manufacturers of renewable energy technologies.
Marlette served for six years as FERC's general counsel and was responsible for providing legal and policy advice in all areas of the agency's regulation. She oversaw the drafting of Order No. 888, a 1996 rulemaking that opened up the nation's electric transmission grid to nondiscriminatory access and laid the foundation for competitive wholesale power markets.
