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Phil is a member of the firm's Corporate & Securities Group in the Washington, D.C. office.

Phil represents parties involved in the transactional and regulatory aspects of the energy industry.  He has been practicing law in the energy sector for 29 years, starting in 1980 for a small boutique firm in Washington, DC, representing large interstate natural gas pipelines and two major natural gas producers in regulatory ratemaking, certificate and rulemaking proceedings under the Natural Gas Act before the FERC.

In 1985, he began representing cogeneration power plant developers (QFs) in FERC regulatory proceedings under PURPA and in negotiating natural gas supply agreements, gas transportation and storage agreements, steam sales agreements and power purchase agreements for various independent power developers.  Phil also represented several gas distribution companies at this time before various state public service commissions and as intervenors in pipeline regulatory proceedings at FERC.

Starting in 1990, Phil expanded his power project development skills by taking several projects from initial greenfield development through the closing of project financing, including obtaining all necessary FERC and State commission regulatory authorizations for such projects.  Also at this time, several energy clients pursued energy infrastructure projects in developing countries and Phil worked on energy infrastructure projects (power, natural gas and petrochemicals), including greenfield development, privatizations, joint ventures, advice to foreign governments, and rating agency work in 26 foreign countries.

He also represented several natural gas marketer clients in the mid to late 1990s, who quickly moved into power marketing, and Phil’s legal practice expanded again into energy trading, involving master agreements and bilateral agreements for physical commodity transactions as well as ISDA agreements for various financial (hedging) commodity transactions.

Today, Phil’s practice combines:

(i) regulatory matters before FERC involving the Federal Power Act and the Natural Gas Act for energy project developers, energy marketers (retail and wholesale), and traditional infrastructure clients;

(ii) regulatory/transactional matters with ISOs and RTOs (non-profit organizations that operate and administer regional electric transmission systems and regional power markets) and State public service commissions involving interconnection agreements, transmission services and complex market structures;

(iii) transactional work for renewable and traditional energy project developers and energy traders involving project development contracts, power purchase agreements, coal, natural gas , LNG and other fuel supply agreements, energy trading agreements, emissions trading agreements, and energy management services agreements;

(iv) strategic planning for clients using financial derivatives to manage various risks in developing infrastructure projects; and

(v) structured hedging arrangements involving lien-supported derivatives in the power sector and the oil and gas sector.

Phil has been included in Chambers for 2007, 2008 and 2009, and speaks frequently before trade groups and bar associations.  He has worked on transactions in the countries of Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Trinidad, Uganda, United Kingdom and Venezuela.

Publications

• “Use of Lien-Supported Financial Derivatives in Project Finance,” co-authored with Marco A DeSousa, to be published as Chapter 15 in Energy and Environmental Project Finance Law and Taxation: New Investment Techniques, by Oxford University Press (Spring, 2010)
• "Negotiation of a Master Agreement and a Structured Transaction" Energy Law Journal, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Fall 2008)
• Natural Gas Regulations Handbook (2nd Edition), published by Government Institutes (Oct. 1988)
• “What Happened in the Gas Industry Can Happen in the Electric Industry,” printed in Public Utilities Fortnightly (May 28, 1987)
• Fundamentals of Natural Gas Regulation, published by Government Institutes (Nov. 1986)
• "Municipal Preference and Private Hydropower Project Developer," co-authored with Lee M. Goodwin, Energy Law Journal; Vol. 7, No. 1 (Spring 1986)

Speeches / Presentations

• “Developing a Clean Energy Economy through Environmental Finance,” panelist discussing pending Climate Change Legislation and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, sponsored by the Connecticut Hedge Fund Association and the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale (November 2009).
• “Oil & Gas Price And Supply Volatility: Managing Risks For Credit Agreements, Physical Commodity Sales And Financial Derivatives” 10th Annual Caribbean Commercial Law And Oil & Gas Workshop sponsored by the University Of The West Indies: Faculty Of Law, Port of Spain, Trinidad (Aug 19, 2008);
• “Negotiation Of A Master Agreement And A Structured Transaction (Illustration Of How Deals Are Done And The Major Issues - Role Playing)” Energy Bar Association’s Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, (Apr. 30, 2008)
• “Financing New Energy Projects” 27th Annual Conference: U.S. – Turkish Relations, Washington, DC, (Apr. 14, 2008)
• "Developing And Financing Renewable Energy Projects," Energy & Mineral Law Foundation’s 2008 Winter Workshops on Energy Law, Sanibel Island, FL (Jan. 26, 2008)
• “Resource Options: Achieving a Good Match Between Regulatory Expectations and Private Sector Investment Processes for Efficiency and Demand Side Management,” 4th Annual Comprehensive Conference on Electric Energy Markets, Regulation and Investment (Mar. 4, 2008)
• "U.S. Developments In Electricity Trading Arrangements" presented to The 2003 Conference of the International Bar Association (Sep. 2003)
• "The California Energy Crisis: What Happened And How Are Industry And Government Responding" presented to Section Of Environment, Energy And Resources of the American Bar Association (Oct. 2001)
• "Forming Strategic Partnerships to Expedite Development," Merchant Powerplant Development & Finance, Infocast (Mar. 2000)
• "How Regulatory Policies Affect the Valuation of Generation and T&D Assets," Energy Asset and Corporate Valuation, Infocast (Jan. 2000)
• "Addressing Decommissioning Liability In Nuclear Plant Sales Agreements" presented to Buying And Selling Nuclear Power Plants, Infocast, (Oct. 1999)
• "Merchant Power Plant Opportunities" Utility Technology Expo & Conference (Oct. 1998)
• "Designing Mutually Beneficial Energy Alliances" Infocast (Jun. 1998)

Experience

Legal Education

Graduate Education

Undergraduate Education

Professional Admissions / Qualifications

• District of Columbia

Professional Affiliations

• District of Columbia Bar
• State Bar of Georgia
• Energy Bar Association
• American Bar Association

Honors, Awards & Recognitions

• Recognized in Chambers USA as one of America's leading lawyers in the area of Energy (2007, 2008 and 2009 editions)