Richard L. Roberts

Partner

• rroberts@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Richard L. Roberts is a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP and a member of the Regulatory & Industry Affairs Department. His practice focuses on the areas of energy law, antitrust, and litigation.

Electric Industry Restructuring
Mr. Roberts has been at the cutting edge of the restructuring of the electric power industry. He has represented electric power companies in matters ranging from corporate restructuring and the sale and purchase of power plants, to market power litigation, stranded cost recovery, performance-based ratemaking, and the formation of ISOs and other power pools. He has also assisted utilities and their non-regulated affiliates in antitrust, regulatory, and other legal matters arising from the non-regulated businesses.

Mr. Roberts has been an active participant in California’s restructuring, representing Southern California Edison Company, since California’s “Bluebook” launched the process in 1994, and continuing through the current California power crisis. He has also been active in the restructuring efforts in PJM and New York, representing major utilities and power producers in state and federal proceedings relating to the formation and operation of those markets.

Traditional Energy Matters
Mr. Roberts has represented electric utilities in a variety of regulatory and antitrust proceedings before the FERC, federal courts, and state regulatory commissions. These have included utility merger proceedings as well as disputes regarding transmission access and pricing, the design and operation of power pools, wholesale power rates and cogeneration, and small power production. He has also participated in the negotiation and drafting of contracts for the construction, coordination, and use of electric power facilities.

Antitrust & Trade Regulation
Mr. Roberts has provided antitrust advice and representation on a wide variety of issues to firms in both the electric power and natural gas industries. This includes assistance with mergers and acquisitions, diversification issues, joint ventures, and transmission and wholesale power issues.

Noteworthy

• Recommended in Legal 500 US 2011 for Energy: Litigation 
• Named in Chambers Global 2008, 2010, & 2011: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading attorney in Energy: Electricity, Regulatory & Litigation (US) 
• Listed in Band 1 for Chambers USA 2010 & 2011: America’s Leading Business Lawyers; Energy: Electricity, Regulatory & Litigation (Nationwide)  
• Listed in Washington, DC Super Lawyers 2008 - 2010
• Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2008-2012 for Energy Law
• Listed in Band 1 for Chambers USA 2009: America’s Leading Business Lawyers; Energy: Electricity (District of Columbia)
• Lawdragon 500 New Stars, New Worlds (2006): a “triple threat in antitrust, litigation, and energy, he has shaped supersized electricity-industry restructurings”
• Euromoney's Expert Guide to the World's Leading Energy and Natural Resource Lawyers (2010)

Select News & Events

• Steptoe Partners Named to BTI 2012 Client Service All-Stars
• Steptoe Receives 67 Individual Mentions from Best Lawyers
• The Energy Daily Covers Steptoe’s Analysis of FERC Transmission Rule
• Steptoe Receives 13 Practice, 45 Individual Mentions in Legal 500 United States 2011
• Steptoe Receives 10 Practice, 24 Individual Mentions in Chambers Global 2011
• Steptoe Receives 18 Practice, 56 Individual Mentions in Chambers USA 2011

Selected Publications

• Analysis of FERC Order No. 1000
  August 3, 2011

Professional Affiliations

• Energy Bar Association