Adam Margolin

Highly motivated and level-headed energy and infrastructure lawyer

Adam Margolin is an energy and infrastructure lawyer. A former deputy counsel to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and senior corporation counsel with the City of Chicago, Adam has extensive experience in both the private and public sectors working on cutting-edge energy matters and infrastructure projects.  He also has represented clients on other high-profile legislative items and governmental issues. Adam focuses on:

• Energy regulatory proceedings and transactions
• Infrastructure projects

Clients appreciate Adam’s dedication and motivation to helping them achieve positive outcomes in regulatory and transactional matters. They know they can count on him to see the big picture, to identify and address key risks, and to offer practical solutions to the complex issues that inevitably arise on significant projects and in regulatory settings.

Energy Counsel

• Representing energy companies in transactional, litigation, regulatory and legislative matters. Clients include investor-owned public utilities, renewables developers, transmission companies, municipal utilities, retail electric and gas suppliers, generation companies, and electric and gas cooperatives.
• Representing energy companies before state public utility commissions in rate cases, merger cases, special investigations, enforcement proceedings, tariff approvals and reconciliations, complaint cases, transmission line siting cases, rulemakings, and license and certificate requests.
• Representing renewables owners and developers in the acquisition and disposition of wind and solar projects.
• Working with public utilities and retail electric and gas suppliers on formal and informal inquiries from regulators, compliance matters and reporting obligations.
• Defending retail electric and gas suppliers in enforcement cases before state public utility commissions in connection with alleged violations of legal and regulatory standards and requirements.

Infrastructure Counsel

• Representing clients in the development, financing, construction, ownership, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects, including with negotiating various project agreements and securing federal, state and local approvals and permits.
• Drafting and negotiating initial and definitive project agreements for infrastructure and P3 transactions, including memoranda of understanding; revenue sharing arrangements; engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts; design-build contracts; operation and maintenance agreements; ground leases; easements; and tolling agreements.
• Obtaining the necessary federal, state and local approvals and permits for infrastructure projects, including permits from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, overpass authorizations from the Illinois Commerce Commission, property tax exemption certificates from the Illinois Department of Revenue and county boards of review, roadway jurisdictional transfers from state and local transportation agencies, and county-level tolling permissions.
• Advising clients on federal and state laws that impact infrastructure and P3 deals, including the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Illinois Public-Private Partnerships for Transportation Act, the Illinois Toll Bridge Act and the Illinois Procurement Code.

• Led a multidisciplinary team of Quarles lawyers representing a publicly traded infrastructure company in its acquisition of a district cooling system that serves downtown Chicago.
• Served as lead counsel to a real estate investment trust (REIT) in a public-private partnership (P3) for a transportation-related project in suburban Chicago.