Administrative & Public Utilities

Woods Rogers attorneys represent both public and private clients in a variety of regulated industries such as water, wastewater, electric, gas and cellular telephone public utilities, commercial and residential developers and land-use planners, contractors and other professionals.

Our environmental attorneys help businesses comply with state and federal environmental laws and regulations and to deal permitting and enforcement actions and appeals whether before the administrative agency or in state or federal trial or appellate courts. The firm’s litigation team offers dispute resolution counseling and antitrust experience for clients involved in complex commercial issues.

Public Utilities and Energy

Within the municipal, cooperative, or investor-owned public utility sectors, our attorneys conduct proceedings before the State Corporation Commission, including traditional regulation and deregulation of utility rates, provision of service, construction, acquisition and sale of facilities, transactions with affiliates and certification and adjustment of service territories.

The firm also assists clients with mergers and acquisitions involving regulated companies, as well as enforcement proceedings impacting those businesses whether initiated by the Commission or by related state and federal environmental, health or other regulatory agencies.

Environmental

Woods Rogers's Environmental team helps companies, municipalities, and individuals understand, apply, and comply with the evolving array of state and federal environmental laws and regulations. We provide comprehensive compliance counseling, including guiding clients through environmental audits, performing due diligence, conducting targeted assessments, and developing and implementing environmental compliance assurance plans. Environmental attorneys also litigate all manner of state and federal permitting and enforcement proceedings at the agency, trial and appellate levels.

Antitrust and Trade Regulation Counseling

Our antitrust and trade regulation attorneys offer counseling and litigation experience to guide our clients through the intricacies of state and federal antitrust, fair trade practices, and related administrative laws, rules, and regulations. These requirements can affect sales, marketing, and other aspects of business operations.

Decisions and failure to comply can result in not only crippling monetary damages and injunctions but criminal liability as well. Our experienced attorneys can provide assistance in marketing, distribution, sales, pricing, and trade association contexts as well as in mergers, acquisitions, and other combinations that may have antitrust risk. The process of assessing when regulatory notice is necessary, such as pre-merger notifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, can be complex. We provide advice, training, and overall assistance in all areas in this regard, including administrative and court litigation, as well as civil and criminal investigations.

• Assist water/wastewater utility to obtain first SCC-authorized infrastructure improvement rate rider to accelerate replacement and modernization of aging Virginia water/wastewater systems. 
• Represent consumer finance companies in successfully challenging regulation unfairly restricting ancillary services to customers.
• Guide restauranteur to settlement of Health Department action resulting in negotiated permit to be first Virginia entity to offer traditional kava tea.
• Counsel waste management clients through zoning and environmental permitting of municipal solid waste disposal facilities, recycling centers and biochar facilities.
• Advocate for healthcare providers, banks, savings and loans, accountants, engineers, contractors, and other professionals in licensing actions as well as civil litigation.
• Fight to establish Virginia’s first dual wetlands mitigation and nutrient credit bank.