With a history of successfully representing plaintiffs in commercial disputes, partner Joshua Margolin has been equally active in social justice causes. In recognition of his longstanding record, Margolin was recently named a "Plaintiffs' Lawyer Trailblazer" by The National Law Journal.
"If you go around the industry, there are billion-dollar enterprises that can bring in any lawyer they want," Margolin told The National Law Journal, "but public interest groups struggle to level the playing field, and I wanted to help them fight back."
Margolin recently represented Vote Solar, a nonprofit clean energy advocacy group, in a proceeding to determine the value of excess solar energy that is generated and exported to Utah's power grid by customers who use solar panels.
"The goal was to set a price that was fair and reasonable to allow customers to be properly compensated for selling their energy, and also to foster more adoption of clean energy in the state. On the other side was a power company with a virtual monopoly in the state that viewed solar energy as a competitor," he said.
Margolin then assembled a team of experts who determined that the customer-generated power was cost-effective, in turn convincing Utah's Public Service Commission to alter its rates.
Looking ahead, Margolin anticipates an increasing number of lawsuits involving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) geared towards large-scale solar installations. "Some of these cases will involve what an installer should be paid for energy," he said.
"With the turnover in the administration, it's an interesting time," he added. "After four years of being focused on fossil fuels, the new administration will try to go in the other direction."
