Michael J. Zimmer
Mr. Zimmer is an international partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Baker & McKenzie. He is a member in their North American Major Projects and Banking Group, and has served on the Global Steering Committee for the Major Projects practice of the worldwide Firm, and as Deputy Head of their North American Banking and Finance practice in 2001-02. Mr. Zimmer has represented energy and industrial concerns for almost thirty years in matters before the Department of Energy, the FERC, SEC and Congress. He has represented domestic and international industrial and manufacturing companies, electric utilities and their unregulated subsidiaries, energy project developers, natural gas pipeline and distribution companies, trade associations, financial institutions, universities and embassies in over 30 states and 15 foreign countries. He also has served as an invited witness on various energy, renewable energy, natural gas, and energy tax proposals before congressional committees, various Federal departments and agencies, and state commissions and agencies.
Legal Experience
Mr. Zimmer has been currently involved in electric and gas regulatory matters before DOE, the Department of Homeland Security and the FERC on issues related to electric generation, transmission, gas pipelines, interconnections, storage and liquefied natural gas (LNG). He has also provided services on mergers, acquisitions, construction, debt restructuring and project financing assignments in the non-utility generation, gas and electric, renewables, rural cooperatives and related industries since 1988. Some of these transactions involve acquisitions, debt restructurings or project financings for some of the largest undertakings in the United States involving these industries, with a composite value in excess of $10 billion. He also has been responsible for major regulatory precedents under the Federal Power Act, PURPA, the Natural Gas Policy Act, the Public Utility Holding Company Act, the DOE Organization Act, the Homeland Security Act, and the Energy Policy Act as administered by the FERC, DOE and the SEC.
Mr. Zimmer is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and Virginia. He is a member of the Federal Energy Bar Association (FEBA) and the American Bar Association (ABA). He also served as Chairman of the FEBA Cogeneration and Small Power Production Committee nationwide, and currently serves on several FEBA Committees on Natural Gas, Electricity Regulation and Alternative Dispute Resolution. In 1990, he was named to the Who’s Who in Energy Directory, ranked as one of the top seventy-five lawyers of the more than 10,000 energy and public utility lawyers nationwide. In 1993, he was chosen by his industry peers as an Industry All-Star by Independent Energy magazine, and in 1996 he was recognized again as one of the top leaders of the independent power industry at its 25th anniversary by Independent Energy magazine. In 1997, he was recognized by Euromoney in its World’s Leading Energy and Natural Resource Lawyers Directory. This past year he was again named as one of the leading Project Finance Counsel in the world by Law Business Research, recognized in Who’s Who Legal – 2002 Edition; and named in Who’s Who in America – 2002, 2003 Editions.
He has served on the Board of Directors of Caterpillar Capital, Inc., Federal Strategies, Inc., the Cogeneration and Independent Power Coalition of America, Inc. and Power Generating, Inc. Mr. Zimmer served as either President or General Counsel of the Cogeneration and Independent Power Coalition of America, Inc. (CIPCA) from 1980 to 1990, where he led seminal efforts to establish the cogeneration, renewables and independent power generation industry in the United States. CIPCA was ultimately merged into what is known as the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) today. He has previously been engaged in various capacities during his career with the American Council for Capital Formation, the America Cogeneration Association, the Clean Coal Coalition, the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, the USECRE, ACORE, the National Academy of Sciences, Energy Michigan, the American Gas Association, the Mid-Atlantic Independent Power Producers, the Independent Power Producers of New York, and the Midwest Gas Association on energy, renewable energy, electricity and environmental regulatory and public policy issues.
He was employed at the American Gas Association (AGA) in various legal capacities during 1977-80 representing the natural gas transmission and distribution industries on Federal legislative, tax and regulatory matters related to natural gas production, LNG, gas pricing, interstate pipeline development and curtailments. He left in 1980 as Staff Vice President, Government Relations and Assistant General Counsel to enter the private practice of law. He ultimately served as the youngest member of the AGA Senior Management Group at the age of 29, which managed one of the five largest trade associations in the world. He previously served from 1985 to 2002 on the Management Committees, and as Department and Practice Group chairs for Energy and Project Finance for several prominent national law firms. This has provided substantial business and management experience on issues related to industry strategic planning, client service and development, marketing, compensation, business development and services industry management.
Publications and Presentations
Mr. Zimmer has made numerous presentations on domestic and international energy issues, and has been a noted national lecturer on these topics over the past twenty-five years. He was also named to the National Academy of Sciences Committee on District Heating in 1984. He has served as a guest lecturer at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, University of Wisconsin and Georgetown University as well as an invited speaker before the New York Society of Security Analysts (2), AGA and the Edison Electric Institute. In the past, he has been chosen to address the Harvard University Kennedy School Energy Policy Center, the National Association of Regulated Utility Commissioners (NARUC), the NARUC Biennial Regulatory Conference (2), the Southeastern Electric Exchange, the Conference Board of Canada, the IBM Utility Executives Conference, the IPP Forum and the Williamsburg Public Utilities Conference (3). He has authored numerous articles and served as the editor of various publications in his career.
Education
Mr. Zimmer is a cum laude graduate of the University of Baltimore/Maryland School of Law in 1975 and a cum laude graduate of Providence College, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1971. He recently completed in 2001 additional executive management training at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Mr. Zimmer also serves on the President’s Council of Providence College.
Mr. Zimmer is married with three children and resides in Alexandria, Virginia.