Harvey L. Reiter

Partner

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202.785.9100
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WASHINGTON, D.C.
1775 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20006

Recognitions Articles/Presentations overview

Harvey represents clients in the natural gas, electric utility and communications industries, primarily before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and the federal appellate courts. His clients have included natural gas distributors, governmental agencies, the World Bank, electric utilities, cogenerators, gas and power marketers and Internet service providers. He has provided legal counseling, litigation, appellate, transactional and other legal services, including 20 oral arguments before various federal circuit courts of appeal.

Prior to entering private practice, Harvey was, for nine years, a staff attorney and then later Special Assistant to the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Among his responsibilities were the supervision of the trial staff in connection with electric, natural gas hydroelectric and oil pipeline proceedings.

Representative Experience

Known for his work and publications on competition in the electric and natural gas industries. His principal areas of concentration have been in proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the federal courts involving the competitive restructuring of the natural gas and electric utility industries.
He has represented coalitions of state public utility commissions in the Northeast and the Midwest in cases related to the formation of Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), represented a large principal utility in numerous cases related to the design of California electric markets, and has represented groups of local gas distribution companies in various pipeline rate proceedings before FERC.
Before the FCC he represented a broad group of state consumer advocates, local communities and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) advocating open access to cable systems by ISPs as a means to promote competition with cable-affiliated ISPs.

Education

Boston University, J.D., 1975

Michigan State University, B.A., Economics, graduated with high honors, 1972

Of Note

Harvey currently serves as Executive Editor of the Energy Law Journal. His 1983 law review article outlining his views on FERC's authority to compel open access transportation and transmission by natural gas pipelines and electric utilities, "Competition and Access to the Bottleneck: The Scope of Contract Carrier Regulation under the Natural Gas Act", was subsequently cited by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in upholding FERC's open access rules for natural gas pipelines. Associated Gas Distributors v. FERC, 824 F.2d 981, 999 (D.C. Cir. 1987). That article helped lay the legal groundwork for FERC's subsequent decisions to open these industries up to competition.

Community Involvement

Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, President, Member of Executive Committee, Recording Secretary
Commission for Law and Social Action of the American Jewish Congress National Capital Region, Chair (1987-2009)
Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association, Board Member, 2004-06
Recipient of the Community Service Award for Project Citizenship of the UJA Federation of Greater Washington, 1998

Bar Admissions

Michigan, 1975
District of Columbia, 1976
United States Supreme Court
D.C., 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th Circuit Courts of Appeal

Professional Affiliations

American Bar Association
D.C. Bar Association
Energy Bar Association (EBA), active in formation of the EBA Charitable Foundation
- Electric Power Regulation Committee of the EBA Association, Former Chair and Board Member

Articles

“Outlook for Increased Regulatory Scrutiny Shows Importance of Compliance Programs,” David D’Alessandro, Kelly Daly and Harvey Reiter, Natural Gas & Electricity (February 2009)
"Not Letting Facts Get in the Way of a Good Theory," Natural Gas & Electricity (March 2008)
“The Contrasting Policies of the FCC and FERC Regarding the Importance of Open Transmission Networks in Downstream Competitive Markets,” 57 Fed. Comm. L.J. (March 2005)
“Municipal Entry into Telecommunications and Cable Services: Benefits and Barriers,” Municipal Lawyer (Jan/Feb 2003)
“Implications of Mergers and Acquisitions in Gas and Electric Markets: The Role of Yardstick Competition in Merger Analysis,” National Regulatory Research Institute, Vol. 20, No. 2 193 (Summer 1999)
“Rate Design, Yardstick Regulation, and Franchise Competition: An Integrated Approach to Improving the Efficiency of 21st Century Electric Distribution,” Electricity Journal, Vol. 12, No. 7 (Aug./Sept. 1999)
“Competition between Public and Private Distributors in a Restructured Power Industry,” 19 Energy Law Journal 333 (1998)
“The Paradox of Order No. 888,” Public Power (March/April 1998)
“Discovery,” Energy Law and Transactions, Matthew Bender 1996
“The FERC’s New Rules of Discovery: A Welcomed Approach,” 8 Energy Law Journal 35 (1987)
“Is the Pipeline’s Certificate Obligation an Impediment to Competition in the Natural Gas Industry?” 5 Journal of Energy Law and Policy 217 (1984)
“Competition and Access to the Bottleneck: The Scope of Contract Carrier Regulation under the Federal Power and Natural Gas Acts,” 18 Land and Water Law Review 1 (1983)

Presentations

Harvey has spoken widely on a variety of energy regulation topics before trade associations, meetings of state regulators, and the Energy Bar Association. Harvey also serves as an adjunct professor of law at the Vermont Law School and as a member of the faculty at the Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University.