Nossaman Expands Water Practice Group In San Francisco With Partner Lori Anne Dolqueist

San Francisco, CA  (October 19, 2015) – Nossaman LLP is pleased to announce that it has expanded its Water Practice Group and its Public Utilities Regulatory Practice Group with the addition of Lori Anne Dolqueist as a Partner in the Firm's San Francisco office. She joins from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

Ms. Dolqueist’s practice focuses on regulatory matters before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). She is experienced in representing clients in utility mergers and acquisitions, rate cases, contract negotiations and other aspects of state and federal regulation. Ms. Dolqueist is an expert in California utility regulatory matters, with particular focus on matters involving water utilities, as well as energy, telecommunications, and transportation companies.

"Lori’s deep market knowledge, her regulatory expertise, and her extensive network of contacts in the water industry will have an immediate positive impact for our clients, said Alfred Smith, Chair of Nossaman’s Water Practice Group. With recent historic legislation regarding California’s water supply and the prospect of a continued drought throughout the state, Lori’s skill set is highly valued and she is a tremendous addition to the Practice Group and the Firm.

Nossaman's Water Practice Group helps protect and secure long-term supplies of surface, ground, reclaimed, and desalinated water for members of the water industry and supports their efforts to achieve rates and regulatory rules that enable them to invest in needed infrastructure. For more than seventy years, the Practice has helped some of the nation’s largest municipalities and investor-owned utilities preserve water rights, promote legislative interests, develop and finance essential infrastructure, recover costs of service and respond to regulatory initiatives.

I’ve known and worked with Lori for many years, and she is one of the leading practitioners in the CPUC’s  regulation of public utilities and transportation agencies, said Martin Mattes, the leader of Nossaman’s  Public Utilities Regulatory  Practice Group.  As legislative and regulatory policies addressing water resources and regulatory institutions continue to evolve across the state, her experience and skills will become more and more critical for our clients.

In recent years, Ms. Dolqueist has been actively engaged by her utility clients in increasingly complex general rate cases before the CPUC and is able to deliver optimal results through both settlement negotiations and CPUC litigation. She has also represented clients in the accelerating number of mergers and acquisitions taking place in the water utility industry in California, and has obtained timely approval of such transactions with favorable terms. Ms. Dolqueist has also successfully obtained approval of controversial multimillion-dollar utility capital projects.

"Nossaman's outstanding water and public utilities practices, its deep roster of talented attorneys and its prominence in the California market make it a perfect fit for me, said Ms. Dolqueist. "The Firm’s platform allows me to better serve my clients. I am excited to join, and look forward to working with everyone at Nossaman.  

Ms. Dolqueist holds a J.D and LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center, and a B.A., cum laude, from the College of New Jersey.

The addition of Ms. Dolqueist continues Nossaman's momentum in the national market.  In May 2015, Steven P. Quarles joined the Firm's Environment and Land Use Practice Group in its Washington, D.C. office. In February 2015, the Honorable Jose Solorio joined the Firm's Public Policy Practice Group as Senior Policy Advisor in its Orange County and Sacramento offices. In January 2015, the Firm expanded its Public Pensions and Investments Practice Group with the additions of Ashley Dunning as a Partner and Practice Group Co-Chair in San Francisco.