Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Jenner & Block on Tuesday announced the arrival of a former Federal Energy Regulation Commission lawyer as its newest partner—with a firm leader promising two more hires soon.

Jennifer Amerkhail is joining Jenner's Washington, D.C., office as a partner in the firm's energy practice. She's making the jump from Entergy Corp., where she served as assistant general counsel for the company's FERC legal group. Her practice centers around electricity market regulation, including the laws FERC uses to exercise its authority, such as the Federal Power Act, the Interstate Commerce Act and the Natural Gas Act.

Randy Mehrberg, one of the co-managing partners of Jenner and a co-chairman of the firm's energy practice, said a client called him on Saturday to rave about Amerkhail's hiring, before Jenner had announced it publicly. That's the best kind of phone call a firm can get, he added.

"Our strategy has been to seek out and bring on talented people who can add value immediately," Mehrberg said.

Jennifer Amerkhail of Jenner & Block/courtesy photo

Part of Amerkhail's value is the relationships she has through out the industry, Mehrberg said. Amerkhail indicated that the firm hopes to bring on her former employer as a client as well.

"We have some strong relationships there and they're a really premier company," Amerkhail said. "We would love to have them as a client."

Jenner's energy practice caters mostly to electric and gas utilities and has been doing well despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Mehrberg said. He said that across the energy sector, oil companies "have been suffering the most" during this time.

Amerkhail knows the ins and outs of FERC, which oversees the sale and transportation of electricity and natural gas across state lines, said Suedeen Kelly, the co-chairwoman of Jenner's energy practice. FERC also regulates the interstate transportation of oil by pipeline.

Kelly served as a commissioner at FERC from 2003 to 2009, credited herself with bringing Amerkhail to Jenner. Kelly said Amerkhail taught her the intricacies of the U.S. electricity markets. When Kelly departed FERC to become the co-chairwoman of Patton Boggs' energy industry practice in 2010, she tried to bring Amerkhail along but she refused.

"The last 10 years of my life has been trying to get Jennifer to work with me again like we did at FERC," Kelly said.

Amerkhail held a number of roles during her 16-year stay at FERC, including serving as an appellate lawyer in the commission's solicitor's office. In a press release, Jenner touted that Amerkhail had an 84% win rate in arguing before the federal appeals courts, becoming the "go-to lawyer for transmission cost allocation appeals during that time."

In late April, Jenner announced the July 1 return of Andrew Weissmann, a former U.S. Justice Department official and a top member of Robert Mueller's special counsel team; Weissmann will become a co-chairman of the firm's investigations, compliance and defense practice.

Mehrberg said Tuesday that the firm planned to announce two more additions in "the very near future."

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