The Firm

About CBL Energy Law PLLC

CBL attorneys have a long history in the liquids and natural gas pipeline industries and in helping our pipeline clients navigate a challenging and evolving energy regulatory environment, at the federal and state levels. We bring an unrivaled breadth of experience to each regulatory issue, transaction, and development project, providing our clients with up-to-date understandings of regulatory developments that affect them. The hallmarks of CBL’s practice are continuity, innovation, and value. Our team has roots that go deep – tracing back as far as the early days of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) in the 1970s. Our experience is broad, with our team working with crude, refined products, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and biofuels, handling projects across all the major production areas.

LIQUIDS PIPELINE PRACTICE

Charles Caldwell has handled complex, challenging litigation for many years, including numerous FERC and state pipeline rate hearings and key federal appellate cases upholding favorable FERC rulings on the income tax allowance for tax-pass-through pipelines and on the rate indexing regime. Dean Lefler represents liquids pipeline clients in matters before the FERC and state agencies regarding a wide variety of matters, including cost-of-service rate filings and protests challenging the prudency of pipeline expenditures. Dean also advises clients on project documents for domestic and international energy projects and transactions. With wide transactional and administrative litigation experience, Deborah Repman has assisted clients in developing frontier liquids pipeline development projects in the Bakken, Eagle Ford, Niobrara, Permian Basin, DJ Basin, Marcellus, and Utica shale plays, and also has extensive experience in tariff-related matters, including developing tariff structures and defending protested tariff filings. Amy Hoff has extensive experience representing pipelines in complex state and federal regulatory litigation, as well as an expertise in compliance, contracting and operational issues stemming from her background as in-house counsel. Elizabeth Kohlhausen has counseled numerous clients regarding regulatory issues related to the development of new liquids pipeline projects, including the drafting and modification of tariffs related thereto, and also has significant experience in complex state and federal regulatory litigation. Sabina Walia has a wide range of liquids pipeline experience, including assisting clients with transactions related to new projects, analyzing complex jurisdictional questions, creating compliance plans to address communications with marketing affiliates, and advising on complex federal regulatory litigation and rulemaking proceedings.

NATURAL GAS PIPELINE PRACTICE

CBL also brings extensive experience in natural gas transactions and regulatory proceedings. Sabina Walia has extensive experience representing natural gas pipelines in certificate and abandonment proceedings and rate and tariff proceedings, negotiating complex midstream transactions, advising clients on jurisdictional questions, and creating comprehensive compliance plans, including Standards of Conduct compliance. Charles Caldwell has represented natural gas pipelines in rate proceedings, Order 636 restructuring, and in production area gathering classification matters.

After many satisfying years practicing with Vinson & Elkins, we established our own firm and now can combine the nimbleness of a small firm with our extensive regulatory experience to the benefit of our pipeline clients.

Our practice is closely focused on the needs of the liquids and natural gas pipeline industries, and, within that area, we cover the waterfront. Energy infrastructure development often involves both liquids and natural gas, and CBL is able to deal effectively with the complex issues often encountered in multi-product projects.