Law Office Management
Jun. 2, 2008
Sunny Forecast for Solar Lawyers
The future looks bright for solar lawyers.
Jerry Bloom, 55, has been waiting a quarter century for the world to embrace the potential of solar power. But only now are people finally beginning to see the light, as business booms for the partner in the Los Angeles office of Winston & Strawn. Bloom and other "solar attorneys" working in California's power industry are taking advantage of surging interest in renewable energy.
Previously a niche field, the solar-power market is expanding as some governments around the world provide generous financial incentives for using alternative energy sources. Here in California, the state energy commission's goal is for renewable fuel sources to account for 20 percent of all energy production by 2010.
Although a solar lawyer's legal work involves challenges similar to those in any other subset of energy practice-such as working on contracts and navigating the regulatory maze-Bloom says solar also throws up its own "unique set of issues." Advising clients on the development, financing, construction, and launching of huge solar farms needed to produce enough energy to meet state goals, for example, is complicated, Bloom says. It calls for an in-depth understanding of the energy industry and the regulations that govern it.
Solar lawyers also serve a diverse range of clients, such as energy companies that produce power wholesale, manufacturers of solar panels, and individual homeowners. Michael S. Hindus, 61, a San Francisco based partner with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, points out that the growing legal needs of solar-industry clients are diverse, stretching from intellectual property to mergers and acquisitions. Solar work already accounts for a third of Hindus's time. "I've probably done three times as many deals in the last twelve months [as] I did before," he says.
And not only is solar law lucrative, but it also carries the feel-good glow of the eco-revolution.
Eric Reifschneider, 40, a partner at the Palo Alto office of Cooley Godward Kronish, bristles at the "solar attorney" tag, dismissing it as a marketing gimmick. But he does acknowledge a sense of professional fulfillment from spending an increasing amount of his time-around 40 percent last year, up from zero just a few years ago-on solar deals.
"There are really interesting, complicated deals that will end up changing the world," he says, with no hint of exaggeration.
Bloom is currently negotiating with utilities on behalf of several solar developers, including Palo Altobased Ausra, which is setting up large-scale thermal-solar facilities throughout California and the rest of the United States. Bloom, who joined Winston & Strawn from White & Case less than two years ago, has been working in the energy field since he started practicing law in Washington, D.C., in 1980. He recalls that even though renewable sources seemed ready to take off after the 1970s energy crisis, the moment was lost. Now, finally, the wait is over.
"It's a sweet reward," Bloom says.
Alexandra Brown
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