Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Laura Morton will be joining the firm’s growing Environment, Energy & Resources practice as a partner in the Washington, D.C., office.
Laura joins from American Clean Power, the leading renewable energy industry trade association in the United States, where she served as the senior director of policy and regulatory affairs for offshore wind. With over 20 years of high-level government and private sector experience, Laura served as a senior advisor to leadership at the U.S. Department of Energy, the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Council on Environmental Quality, and as Acting Deputy Chief of Staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Climate change is rapidly reshaping the global energy market, and offshore wind generation is on track to become a significant domestic and international power source,” said Karen McGaffey, firmwide chair of Perkins Coie’s Environment, Energy & Resources practice. “Laura has been at the forefront of renewable energy investment and policy-making and will be able to offer insightful and effective legal counsel to our clients. We are thrilled to add an attorney of Laura’s rank to our expanding renewable energy and infrastructure practice.”
Laura’s addition to the practice follows the additions of Edward (Ted) Boling, the country’s top National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) lawyer, and Stacey Bosshardt, a former assistant chief of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, to the Washington, D.C., office in late 2020.
Her practice will focus on the development of major offshore wind projects. Laura will counsel clients at all stages of these complex projects, including environmental review and permitting required for ocean wind generation, transmission, and related infrastructure. She offers an unusual depth of experience bridging diverse perspectives on marine renewable energy development, a key asset in avoiding and resolving intergovernmental, interagency, and stakeholder conflicts. Laura will also help clients navigate government regulatory review and permitting of other infrastructure projects, including onshore wind, solar, electric transmission, and water resource projects.
“Laura brings a deep understanding of private sector decision-making and government oversight that will be highly beneficial to our clients across the country,” said Bruce Spiva, Washington, D.C., office managing partner. “Her regulatory background and experience will greatly contribute to our Environment, Energy & Resources practice and the breadth of counsel we can provide to our clients.”
Laura began her legal career in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, rising to senior litigation and appellate counsel, after her clerkship for the Honorable Susan H. Black on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Laura earned her J.D., cum laude, from The George Washington University Law School, an M.S.C. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and her B.A. in international studies with highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
