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August 9, 2021John Dax and William McLaughlin to Join Hodgson Russ LLP’s Renewable Energy Practice in Albany, NY
Hodgson Russ LLP is pleased to announce that John W. Dax and William F. McLaughlin, attorneys with The Dax Law Firm, P.C., will be joining Hodgson Russ’s renewable energy practice as of September 7, 2021. They bring extensive experience in a wide array of practice areas, including all areas of energy project development and transmission matters, environmental law and permitting, administrative law, state and federal government procurement, compliance and regulatory matters, and appellate litigation. Their main offices will be located at Hodgson Russ’s Albany, NY location at 677 Broadway, Suite 301.
Founder of The Dax Law Firm, John Dax is active in licensing renewable energy, electric transmission, and electricity storage facilities. He counsels suppliers, facility owners, developers, large consumers, investors and lenders in the energy and utility industries on regulatory and commercial strategies and compliance issues. He is routinely involved in environmental permitting, contract negotiation, business and property acquisition, federal and state regulatory compliance, tariff analysis, lender due diligence, and public policy development. John has assisted in the siting of electric and gas transmission lines, represented major commercial and industrial building owners/operators in electric rate cases, and negotiated electricity sale and purchase agreements and gas supply and transportation contracts. He appears before federal, state and municipal government bodies with responsibility for energy regulation and environmental protection, local land use and zoning agencies, and New York State and federal courts. John holds a degree in economics from New York University and is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Law.
William McLaughlin counsels private and municipal clients with regard to energy generation and transmission development projects. He routinely represents clients in state and deferral environmental permitting and siting proceedings for electric generation and transmission projects, and coordinates with teams of interdisciplinary technical consultants and experts to evaluate environmental, land use, zoning and public relations issues in regard to project development and siting. Bill has represented energy service companies in regulatory proceedings before the Public Service Commission; developers in the negotiation of engineering, procurement and construction contracts and long-term power purchase agreements; and property owners in judicial proceedings under New York State’s Oil Spill Law. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts College of Engineering and The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law.
“John and Bill are great additions to the firm’s renewable energy practice,” said Daniel Spitzer, Hodgson Russ partner and renewable energy practice leader. “Their intricate knowledge of and experience in navigating the complex regulatory, compliance, permitting, procurement, and litigation issues related to energy add an extra level of depth to our highly successful team.”
Hodgson Russ’s renewable energy practice group has deep experience in the New York market and beyond, advising a broad spectrum of clients in the large-scale and distributed wind, solar, energy storage, clean transportation, energy efficiency, offshore and onshore wind areas. The team guides developers, lenders, land owners, permitting and development agencies, suppliers, project acquirers and investors through every aspect of project development, permitting, financing, regulatory, construction, implementation and operations. Hodgson Russ attorneys combine their deep knowledge in renewable energy and related markets with foremost expertise in regulatory, real estate, local and municipal zoning and land use, labor and employment, environmental, transactional, tax, cross-border matters and litigation. The firm has worked on the U.S. legal aspects of renewable energy projects from Quebec to Uruguay and from Maine to Hawaii, and has been involved in renewable energy from the earliest days of hydropower, including the first successful defense of a permit denial due to excess greenhouse gas emissions.
