Dykema has extensive experience representing energy industry clients on state and federal issues. With our team of lawyers in the Midwest and Washington, D.C., the firm helps energy clients achieve their legal, policy, and strategic business goals. In addition, for over twenty years, we have maintained a substantial state level telecommunications practice. Our Michigan lawyers have rich experience in advising and representing telecommunications providers.

Energy
Our energy lawyers represent all cooperative utilities in Michigan, investor owned utilities, other cooperatives throughout the Midwest, and a generation and transmission cooperative in the southeast United States. We also represent federally regulated electric transmission companies, natural gas utilities, pipelines, energy marketers, and large users of energy. In representing clients, we regularly appear before state regulatory commissions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and state and federal courts. Our energy team also has extensive experience helping clients achieve policy goals through lobbying and legislative efforts, and we maintain close relationships with the Federal Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, state legislatures, state public service commissions, and local governments.

In addition to assisting with regulatory and administrative issues, as a large full-service law firm we utilize the expertise of our lawyers in other practice areas to assist our energy clients with complex litigation, appeals, corporate governance, transactional, employment and tax issues. A representative sampling of our energy lawyers' engagements includes: advising clients and representation before regulatory agencies on issues related to rates, tariffs, industry restructuring, licensing, code of conduct, franchises, and other issues; negotiating and obtaining municipal franchises for utilities; representation before state and federal courts; advising clients on transactional issues; and legislation drafting and lobbying.

Telecommunications
The firm serves as primary counsel in Michigan and regional regulatory counsel for MCI. The firm regularly represents competitive local exchange carriers in regulatory proceedings and complaint cases before the Michigan Public Service Commission. We also regularly assist telephone carriers in obtaining licenses to operate in Michigan.

In addition to administrative law matters, the firm frequently represents the interests of competitive telecommunications carriers in commercial litigation and appellate litigation matters. The firm also regularly advises telecommunications companies on corporate governance and transactional issues, and also advises corporations on compliance with recently promulgated �do-not-call� telemarketing regulations. 

Finally, Dykema has extensive experience assisting telecommunications companies on state public policy issues. The firm has been directly involved with legislative drafting and lobbying related to rewrites of the Michigan Telecommunications Act, and regularly is involved in lobbying efforts on other telecommunications issues.

If you have questions, please contact one of the following Dykema Energy lawyers:
Sandra M. Cotter, Leader 517-374-9129
Joseph J. Baumann 517-374-9151
Albert Ernst 517-374-9155
Shaun M. Johnson 517-374-9151
William J. Perrone 517-374-9174