Michael Best: Welcomes former Public Service Commission chairperson to Madison office

Contact:

Jennifer R. Rupkey

Director, Marketing & Business Development

Direct Dial: 414.225.8262

E-Mail:
jrrupkey@michaelbest.com

MICHAEL BEST WELCOMES FORMER PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION CHAIRPERSON TO MADISON OFFICE

Madison, WI (April 16, 2015) – Michael Best & Friedrich LLP is pleased to announce Eric J. Callisto, former Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (Commission), has joined the firm’s Madison office as a partner on the firm’s Energy and Environmental teams. Callisto has extensive experience with state, regional, and national energy and utility issues, and will assist clients in these areas as well as with environmental law matters.

David Krutz, Managing Partner of Michael Best, stated “Eric Callisto bolsters our already strong national energy practice centered in Washington, D.C.” He added that Callisto will work closely with Michael Best Strategies, the firm’s government relations and lobbying arm, in representing Michael Best’s energy clients’ interests when Congress takes up energy-related legislation.

“Eric Callisto is an excellent addition to the firm’s energy practice,” says Dan Sanford, Managing Partner of Michael Best’s Washington, D.C. office. “His extensive background in regional and national energy matters and his recognition as a thoughtful regulator provide him with unique experience and perspective that will benefit the firm’s present and future energy clients. I am personally delighted that he elected to join our growing energy practice.”

Callisto spent nine years at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, where he was Chairperson, Commissioner, and Chief of Staff. While at the Commission, Callisto regulated Wisconsin’s public utilities, including the energy, telecommunications, and water utilities. His duties included acting on rate applications, approving major infrastructure requests, and deciding disputes between regulated stakeholders. He was lead commissioner for regional energy market and national electric transmission policy, and held leadership positions in the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC).

During his time at the Commission, Callisto was also the President of the Organization of MISO States, a committee of Midwestern utility regulators that provides policy guidance and input to the regional transmission organization, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). His other leadership roles include acting as the Co-director of the Upper Midwest Transmission Development Initiative and Vice-Chair of the FERC/NARUC Sunday Morning Collaborative, both efforts focused on expanding collaboration between regulators, state and federal officials, and energy companies.

Prior to serving on the Commission, Callisto served as Assistant Legal Counsel for Governor Jim Doyle, as well as Administrator of the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing’s Division of Enforcement. He was also an Assistant Attorney General at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, where he focused on environmental cases. His previous environmental work includes time at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and with an environmental consulting firm.

Callisto received his J.D., cum laude, from University of Wisconsin Law School in 1994, where he was Senior Editor of the Wisconsin Environmental Law Journal, Articles Editor for the Wisconsin International Law Journal, and a member of the Moot Court Board. He received his B.A. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia in 1986. He is a member of the Wisconsin, New York, and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.

About Michael Best Strategies

Michael Best Strategies LLC (Strategies) is led by former Wisconsin State Senator, Ted Kanavas. The Group provides a full range of services, including: public policy strategy, lobbying and public relations support of businesses navigating their relationship with federal, state and local governments. It is located at 1 South Pinckney Street, Suite 700, Madison, Wisconsin.

About Michael Best & Friedrich LLP

For more than 167 years, Michael Best has earned its reputation as a leading Midwestern law firm, providing a full range of legal services to clients on a local, regional, national and global basis. The firm has more than 220 attorneys in Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Madison, Waukesha and Manitowoc, Wisconsin; Washington, D.C.; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Austin, Texas. Michael Best’s main areas of practice include: corporate, intellectual property, labor and employment, land and resources (environmental and real estate), litigation, tax and wealth planning.