Akin Gump Attorneys Pen Article on Need for Separate Counsel in FERC Enforcement Proceedings
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Bloomberg BNA’s Daily Report for Executives has published the article “New Perils of Joint Representation of Corporations, Individuals in FERC Enforcement Proceedings,” written by Akin Gump litigation partners Steven Reich and James Benjamin and energy regulation, markets and enforcement senior attorney Porter Wiseman.
The article addresses the growing need for companies to retain separate counsel for their employees when confronted with enforcement proceedings by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). It notes that FERC enforcement has become “increasingly aggressive and sophisticated” over the past several years since the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which “vested the agency with authority to investigate and prosecute manipulation of the electricity and natural gas markets.”
The authors discuss the risks and perceived advantages of joint representation. In the end, however, they suggest that targets of “FERC’s Office of Enforcement and their counsel would be well-advised to consider—early in the investigative process—whether company personnel caught up in the review should be provided with separate counsel.”
To read the full article, please click here.