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Catherine P. McCarthy
Partner
Assistant
Sandra Liboro202.828.1726
Catherine McCarthy has represented clients on energy regulation and policy matters for almost two decades. She has experience with obtaining Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and state authorizations for major projects and transactions; FERC compliance matters; FERC transmission and centralized markets issues; and rate, tariff and refund matters. She also represents energy clients before the Department of Energy, the Federal Communications Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Cathy joined the firm from Dewey & LeBoeuf where she was a partner and co-head of its 25 lawyer Energy Regulatory group.
Cathy has been recognized as one America's Leading Lawyers for Energy Law by Chambers USA (2010-2012); selected as one of The American Lawyer's "45 Under 45" (2011); and included in The Legal 500 United States, Energy: Regulatory (2011-2012).
Representative Matters
Represented an international energy company with U.S. regulatory approvals for its combination with another energy player, creating the world's largest independent power producer
Represented a company with respect to its $450 million acquisition of a waste-to-energy business
Represented an energy company in its (now-terminated) $9.1 billion acquisition of another key energy player
Represented an energy company in a $300 million acquisition
Represented an energy company in its $7.4 billion sale to a consortium of infrastructure funds
Represented an energy company in a $8.1 billion merger
Represented an energy company in a $9.4 billion acquisition
Publications and Speeches
"Rolling Off Long-Term Power Sales Agreements? Plan Ahead to Avoid Regulatory Speed Bumps," 21stAnnual North American Waste-to-Energy Conference, April, 2013.
"Takeaways from FERC’s Recent Due Diligence Order," Law360, February 2013.
Energy & Utilities Sector Roundtable, Financier Worldwide, December 2012.
Lecturer, "Uncharted Territory: Lessons Learned and Next Steps in Light of Recent FERC Enforcement Orders," Houston, TX, December 2012.
"New FERC Guidance Signals More Developer Hurdles," Law360, November 2012.
"FERC Order 1000 gives transmission planning an update," Windpower Engineering & Development, April 2012.
Lecturer, "Transmission Incentives and Order 1000," Yale Alumni in Energy Annual Conference, New Haven, CT, March 2012.
Lecturer, "Current Issues in FERC Compliance and Enforcement," Houston, TX, March 2012.
Lecturer, "Due Diligence Workshop - SNL EXNET Power & Utilities M&A Symposium," New York, NY , January 2012.
Lecturer, "FERC Order 1000: Road Map and Speed Bumps," SNL Energy Webinar, January 2012.
Lecturer, "Strategies for Developing Effective FERC and CFTC Compliance Programs," Houston, TX, November 2011.
"Discussing FERC and EPA Interplay," Law360, November 2011.
"A New Era of Natural Gas in North America," Law360, November 2011.
"Fueling Fresh Analysis of Horizontal Market Power," Law 360, March 2011.
Moderator, "Infrastructure of the Future," Amelia Island, FL, October 2010.
"FERC and DOJ/FTC Market Power Issues In Energy M&A," Washington, D.C., June 2010.
"Sharyland - An REIT Pioneer," Law360, May 2010.
"The Facilitation of Nonincumbent Transmission Projects," Law360, May 2010.
"IP Concerns and Smart Grid Development," Law360, September 2009.
"FCC Approvals for Utility Transactions Can Become Unexpected Pitfall," Natural Gas & Electricity Journal, June 2006.
"FERC Strongly Enforcing Compliance Regulations about Interlocking Directorates," Natural Gas & Electricity Journal, May 2006.
Education
J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1993
B.A., Yale University, 1989
Bar Admissions
District of Columbia
New York
Noteworthy
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation), 2010-2012
The American Lawyer, "45 Under 45," January 2011
US Legal 500, Energy: Regulatory, 2012; Energy: Transaction and Regulatory, 2011
Administrative Editor, Georgetown Immigration Law Journal
Adjunct professor, The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law (1996-1998)
Council member, Public Utilities, Communications, and Transportation Law Section, American Bar Association
Expert Guides to the World's Leading Energy and Natural Resource Lawyers, 2012-2013; Project Finance Lawyers, 2013; and Guide to the World's Leading Women in Business Law - Energy and Natural Resources, 2012
Washington D.C. Super Lawyers, 2013
