Sean Lev, a former General Counsel of the FCC and acting General Counsel of the Department of Energy, advises and advocates in both courts and agencies for clients with complex regulatory problems in technology, energy, and other fields.

He serves as chair of HWG’s Energy Practice and co-chair of the Issues and Appeals Practice.

Sean has more than 30 years of experience helping clients in the public, private, and non-profit sector solve problems involving critical issues of administrative law. He has argued scores of cases in federal and state appellate and trial courts both supporting and challenging agency decisions and has advised Cabinet Secretaries, three FCC Chairs, sophisticated regulated companies, and numerous non-profits and individuals.

As General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, Sean was responsible for all legal advice provided to the FCC Chair and Commissioners and oversaw all FCC litigation. Sean was also heavily involved in the Commission’s review of major transactions and enforcement activity. Prior to being named General Counsel, Sean served as Deputy General Counsel and Senior Advisor to the Chairman.

Before joining the FCC, Sean was designated by President Obama to serve as the Acting General Counsel of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). In that role, he was the chief legal officer for the Department, and provided advice on the full range of issues relevant to its mission, including those involving energy efficiency standards, nuclear energy, oil and gas, environmental remediation, and national security. Sean also served as the Deputy General Counsel for Environment and Nuclear Programs at DOE. In that role, he led the agency’s litigation before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and served as the lead agency lawyer in resolving major environmental and other disputes.

Sean most recently served as Legal Director of Democracy Forward, a public interest nonprofit dedicated to furthering the rule of law and fighting unlawful agency decision making. In this role, he oversaw a team of more than a dozen litigators and supervised numerous successful legal challenges against federal agencies and state and local governments.

Sean has significant experience advising clients in private practice, having spent more than fifteen years as a partner of a major Washington, DC based law firm. During that time, Sean had leading roles in numerous key cases involving technology law and policy and in advocating on regulatory and litigation issues raised by major industry transactions.

He started his legal career as an Honors Program attorney on the Civil Division, Appellate Staff at the United States Department of Justice and as a clerk to the Honorable Patricia M. Wald of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

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In the News

12/2/24 —

Insights

How Global Data Center Regs May Influence U.S. Policies

9/9/24 —

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Data Centers: Artificial Intelligence Spurs Need for More Energy Efficiency

5/13/24 —

Insights

House Passes Bill to Curb DOE Energy Efficiency Powers

5/1/24 —

Insights

DOE Amends NEPA Categorical Exclusions

4/9/24 —

Insights

DOE Again Amends Energy Efficiency Process Rule

2/26/24 —

Insights

FTC Proposes Changes to Energy Labeling Rule; Adopts Amended Labeling Rule for Televisions

1/18/24 —

Insights

Court Vacates Energy Efficiency Standards for Failure To Consider Alternatives and Explain Choices

12/18/23 —

Insights

COP28 Agreement on Doubling Rate of Energy Efficiency Improvement by the End of this Decade; DOE Presses Forward on Efficiency Rules

11/13/23 —

Firm News

HWG Welcomes Sean Lev as Partner