Leading Energy Regulatory Attorney Joins Kilpatrick Townsend

Firm’s Raleigh Office Welcomes Benjamin Smith 

RALEIGH (JUNE 23) -- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton announced today that Benjamin Smith is joining the firm in Raleigh as Counsel. Mr. Smith was formerly the Associate General Counsel in charge of regulatory matters at the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA), North Carolina’s leading non-profit for sustainable energy. Mr. Smith will be a member of Kilpatrick Townsend’s Environment & Product Regulation Team and work with the firm’s Energy Industry Team.

Mr. Smith brings over a decade of extensive litigation and regulatory experience from the private and public sectors. He spent the last five years as Regulatory Counsel and then Associate General Counsel for NCSEA where he developed policy goals and positions implementing initiatives, campaign plans, and strategies to achieve desired outcomes related to the future of energy in North Carolina. Mr. Smith managed regulatory work for NCSEA, including matters before the North Carolina Utilities Commission, FERC, and other venues, seeking to achieve NCSEA’s policy goals of promoting sustainable energy development in North Carolina. He managed dozens of litigated dockets at the North Carolina Utilities Commission and other venues and was the head of appellate work for NCSEA. 

“We welcome Ben to the firm,” said Steve Berlin, Chair of Kilpatrick Townsend’s Environment & Product Regulation Team. “Ben offers deep experience on issues impacting a wide range of areas important to our clients – from energy to environmental to governmental affairs. Importantly, he brings an impressive record of success to the firm.”

“We are excited to add Ben to our team,” said John Livingston, Co-Chair of Kilpatrick Townsend’s Energy Initiative. “Ben adds critical regulatory experience that will add to the services and expertise to the transactional, litigation, permitting, and environmental services already offered to our numerous energy clients in North Carolina and the Southeast more broadly.”

Mr. Smith assisted the General Counsel and Director of Policy in government affairs leadership work for the NCSEA, including research, drafting legislative language, and completing compliance work related to lobbying. He led the NCSEA’s Confrontation Team, which polices NCSEA members regarding their ability to follow the NCSEA Code of Conduct related to the sale of distributed solar and related materials and co-drafted the North Carolina Consumer Guide to Solar which educates North Carolina residents seeking to adopt solar for their home or business. Mr. Smith communicated and advocated policy and legal positions to partners, members, and other stakeholders in North Carolina, the Southeast, and across the country.

Mr. Smith earned his J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in English from Indiana University.

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