Andy has 33 years of experience in energy, environmental and utility law in both the private and public sectors. In his current practice, Andy represents a broad range of clients in these heavily-regulated fields, including developers of wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and battery storage electric projects; public utilities and electric transmission companies; telecommunications entities; and property owners.
Andy thrives on the details of large, complex proceedings that involve highly technical, scientific, and environmental considerations. He relies on his extensive experience working at and with state and federal regulatory agencies to help clients navigate permitting and government-oversight issues.
Andy takes a systematic and collaborative approach to meeting his clients’ needs. Starting with the initial fatal-flaw analysis, he works with clients to map out the legal framework, risks, needs, and costs of their projects, from pre-permitting studies through post-approval regulatory filings. At the same time, Andy assists clients with the myriad collateral issues that invariably arise, such as due diligence for financial closings, tax determinations, property interests, and power purchase agreements.
Andy has had the good fortune (and fortitude) to be on the leading edge of commercial-scale wind energy and solar energy development in Vermont, which gives him no small measure of personal satisfaction. He has remained a trend setter in the energy sector, leading the permitting of a large scale merchant electric transmission facility that will deliver low carbon energy, and working on utility-scale battery storage coupled with solar energy.
Whether working on a large-scale renewable energy project for a Vermont or out-of-state company, or resolving a property boundary dispute for an elderly Vermonter, a few common threads run through Andy’s practice: dealing with clients and other parties in a human and personal way, using the legal system efficiently and fairly, and helping to achieve clients’ objectives through a close understanding of regulatory systems and governmental decision-making at the local, state, and federal levels.
Before joining the firm, Andy served as General Counsel to the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and as a staff attorney for the Vermont Department of Public Service in the field of public-utility regulation, sat on the volunteer Board of the City of Burlington Electric Commission, and served as a New England regional attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency handling the negotiation and litigation of Superfund and other contaminated sites.
