Miss Honorable and Speed-Bost join Reed Smith as partners resident in the firm's Washington, DC office  spearheading the firm's FERC offering. Additionally, Debra Ann Palmer, a colleague of Speed-Bost's who joins as counsel from Schiff Hardin will also join the team.

Impressive energy background

Miss Honorable was nominated to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by President Barack Obama in August 2014 and unanimously confirmed by the US Senate in December 2014. Prior to her arrival at the FERC, she served as Chair and Commissioner at the Arkansas Public Service Commission where she oversaw an agency with jurisdiction over 450 utilities and approximate annual revenues of $5 billion.  She is also Past President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, where she focused on pipeline safety, reliability, resilience, fuel diversity, and workforce succession and diversity. She has testified before Congress on multiple occasions on a range of energy issues. 

Ambassador

In addition, Miss Honorable is an ambassador for the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment Initiative, an effort co-led by the US Department of Energy and the MIT Energy Initiative, formed under the auspices of the International Clean Energy Ministerial. She has also held previous appointments to the National Petroleum Council, and served as chair of the Department of Transportation's Joint Technical Advisory Committee for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. 

Speed-Bost

Miss Speed-Bost was the c-oordinating partner of her firm's Washington, DC office and Chair of its firmwide Diversity Committee.  She began her legal career at the FERC, first as a trial attorney, then served as an advisor attorney, and ultimately as senior advisor to a former FERC Commissioner.  She was a former co-chair of the Energy Bar Association President's Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and chaired Diversity Committees at previous law firms.

'Key elements in the business success'

‘Energy and energy regulation remain key elements in the business success of many Reed Smithclients in the United States and around the world,’ said Sandy Thomas, Reed Smith's Global Managing Partner.

'Ramping up in the Americas'

Kyri Evagora a US-based vice chair of the firm's Business & Finance Department concluded: ‘We are ramping up in the Americas to be sure we have the depth and strength of experience in all areas of our energy practice to help our clients succeed.’