The Times They Are A-Changin’: Energy Policy in the Trump Administration

Tuesday, January 24, 2017, 6:30 – 8:00 pm *Wine and cheese reception to follow*

NYU School of Law
Lipton Hall, D’Agostino Hall
108 West 3rd Street
New York, NY 10012

US oil and gas policy may undergo substantial change in the next administration. Federal rules governing methane emissions, the leasing of government lands, exports, and much more could be revised in the coming years. Please join experts from government, academia and industry as they assess the changes that may be in store.

1.5 CLE credits offered in the areas of Professional Practice category. The credit is both transitional and non-transitional.

This event is being produced in collaboration with Vinson & Elkins

John Elwood, Partner, Appellate Practice Group, Vinson & Elkins

John, a partner in the firm’s Appellate practice group, has argued nine cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, and argued before most federal courts of appeals. He has briefed and argued cases in “a broad cross-section of areas” (Chambers USA, 2013), and has particular experience in the areas of environmental law, the False Claims Act, administrative law, government contracting, and federal criminal law.

John’s work has earned him recognition as one of Washington’s top Supreme Court lawyers (Washingtonian, 2013), as one of “a small group of lawyers” with an “outsized influence at the U.S. Supreme Court” (Reuters, 2014), as one of “the most successful petitioning attorneys” before the Supreme Court between 2012 and 2015 (Villanova Law Review, forthcoming 2016), and as one of the country’s most innovative lawyers (Financial Times, 2014). Chambers USA reports that “[t]he much-admired John Elwood is praised for his advocacy skills” (2013), and describes John as “phenomenal” (2014), a “brilliant writer” (2015), and “a much-loved and widely respected lawyer who is quick on his feet” (2010).

Before joining the firm, John served in senior-level positions in the U.S. Department of Justice. Beginning as an Assistant to the Solicitor General, and continuing with the firm, he has briefed more than 20 merits cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, and has briefed approximately 135 cases at the certiorari stage. As the senior Deputy in the Office of Legal Counsel, he advised the White House and federal agencies on a range of constitutional, statutory, and regulatory issues.

Jayni Foley Hein, Policy Director, Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law

Jayni Foley Hein is the policy director at the Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law. She has authored numerous reports and academic articles on natural resources and climate change topics. From 2011 to 2014, she served as Executive Director of UC Berkeley School of Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. Previously, she served as an attorney at Latham & Watkins LLP in San Francisco, where her practice focused on environmental and regulatory law. Her writing and commentary has appeared in diverse media outlets including The Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. She earned her J.D., Order of the Coif, from UC Berkeley School of Law, and her B.A., with highest distinction, from the University of Virginia.

Robert Seber (Moderator), Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity, Vinson & Elkins

Robert’s principal areas of practice are private equity and privately negotiated mergers and acquisitions. He has represented numerous investment funds and corporate clients in different sectors of the energy industry and a wide spectrum of other industries, including technology and financial services. Robert’s extensive private equity experience covers the full transactional cycle of investment funds, ranging from fund formation to acquisitions, recapitalizations, minority investments, complex equity arrangements, and exits. He teaches classes on “Oil and Gas Law and Governance” and “Energy Deals” at New York University.

Alexandra Teitz, formerly (as of 1/20/17) Counselor to the Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior; previously Senior Counsel, Environment and Energy/Chief Counsel for Energy and Environment, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives

Alexandra E. Teitz served as Counselor to the Director, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of Interior for the last two years of the Obama Administration, where she worked on climate and regulatory matters.  From 2009 through 2014, Alexandra was Senior Counsel and subsequently Chief Counsel for Energy and Environment at the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Chairman/Ranking Member Henry Waxman, where she co-led drafting of the Waxman-Markey climate bill.  She was Senior Environmental Counsel to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, also under Congressman Waxman’s leadership, from 2001 to 2008.  Before going to Congress, Alexandra worked as an air attorney in the EPA’s Office of General Counsel.  She is a graduate of Oberlin College, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and University of California Boalt Hall School of Law.