Mark focuses his practice on the regulation of energy companies and public utilities by state and federal regulatory agencies and on energy industry transactions, with a special focus on renewable power purchase agreements.
Mark has advised a wide range of clients in the electric, natural gas, water, and wastewater sectors, including companies engaged in the generation, sale, purchase, distribution, and transmission of energy or other utility service. He has represented investor-owned public utilities, municipalities, electric cooperatives, private property owners, retail gas and electric suppliers, and other publicly and privately held companies in the energy industry. Mark represents clients in administrative or regulatory proceedings, mediation and arbitration, and litigation in both state and federal courts.
Mark was named a “Rising Star” by Ohio Super Lawyers in 2020, an “Up and Coming Attorney” by Missouri Lawyers Weekly in 2015 and was awarded “Thirty Under Thirty” by the St. Louis Business Journal in 2014. He was Saint Louis University School of Law “Student of the Year” in 2012 and was also awarded Saint Louis University Law Community Service Award and other Academic Excellence awards.
*Matter completed prior to joining Benesch.
Representative Experience
- Represented publicly and privately held companies and other offtakers in the drafting and negotiation of renewable power purchase agreements and net metering arrangements.*
- Defended municipal utilities in court actions seeking to limit constitutional authority of municipal utilities over rates and use of funds.*
- Represented a municipality in connection with one of the largest municipal solar energy projects developed in the United States, which was uniquely structured to supply the electric load of municipal utility systems and to meet the energy needs of hundreds of thousands of residents participating in the municipality’s governmental aggregation program.*
- Represented a debtor in addressing energy-related issues in bankruptcy and restructuring transactions.*
- Represented municipalities, energy suppliers, and publicly and privately held companies in contested multi-million-dollar rate case and electric security plan proceedings.*
- Represented an electric distribution utility in a contested multi-billion-dollar electric security plan proceeding.*
- Defended a claim on an $86 million letter of credit in a contested contractual dispute between a competitive retail electric service provider and a governmental aggregator.*
