The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP announced the addition of Christopher J. Townsend and Christopher N. Skey to the Firm’s Chicago office who will be bringing their national energy and environmental practice to the firm. Both partners were previously with DLA Piper.
“Quarles & Brady has been carefully augmenting its practice groups with highly strategic lateral recruitment, seeking the lawyers we specifically need to serve our clients at a higher level,” John W. Daniels, Jr., Chairman of Quarles & Brady. “Chris Townsend and Chris Skey are key talent acquisitions, both of whom we worked hard to attract and feel very fortunate to have on board.”
“I am excited to join the world-class Energy and Environmental Law team at Quarles,” said Chris Townsend. “I know that I will be surrounded by partners whose talents and experience will enhance my practice, and that I will play a similar role in leveraging an already formidable practice group.”
“It was clear to me from the start that Quarles has a collegial culture and commitment to client service that will allow me to help my clients achieve their legal objectives in an environment of trust and collaboration,” said Chris Skey. “It’s a setting that will allow me to practice law at the top of my capabilities.”
“The firm is thrilled to welcome these remarkable attorneys,” said Ted Yi, Co-Managing partner of the Firm’s Chicago Office. “Their addition strengthens our growing Chicago presence and adds to our energy, environmental and natural resources practice.”
About the Attorneys:
Christopher Townsend joins as a partner with more than twenty years of experience in all aspects of energy, public utility and environmental law and regulation. On a local, state, national and international level, he represents developers of cutting-edge energy projects as well as commercial and industrial energy users, governments, and competitive natural gas and electric providers in addressing risks and opportunities associated with the restructuring of the gas and electricity industries. He has been involved in a wide variety of regulatory proceedings before the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois General Assembly and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with an emphasis on matters related to the re-regulation of the energy industries. He also has served as counsel to several consortia comprised of retail energy suppliers and large industrial, commercial and institutional electricity consumers; telecommunications companies; a public water district; and a small privately owned water company. He received his law degree, with honors, from the University of Iowa College of Law and his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Augustana College.
Christopher Skey also joins as a partner and brings over a decade of experience handling complex regulatory, litigation and transactional energy matters on behalf of competitive energy suppliers, large energy users, energy cooperatives, municipalities, trade groups and other energy market participants. In addition to energy-related matters, he has broad experience with environmental, natural resource, constitutional and commercial matters, including construction, antitrust, securities, insurance, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, employment, fraud, product liability, copyright, contracts and other business-related matters. In addition to his representation of energy-related clients of all sorts, Mr. Skey has represented lenders, accounting firms, large and small municipalities and groups of municipalities, financial services firms, pharmaceutical firms, food and beverage firms, engineering firms, industrial manufacturers, construction firms, real estate developers, consultants, marketing firms, insurance companies, small businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals. Mr. Skey also maintains an active pro bono practice and serves on the board of directors and as vice president of development for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. He earned both his law degree, cum laude, and undergraduate degree from Northwestern University.
