Stoel Rives Strengthens Presence in San Diego with New Office Space, Expanded Focus on Energy & Natural Resources, and Firm Leadership in California

SAN DIEGO – Stoel Rives LLP is pleased to announce that the law firm has moved its San Diego office to 501 West Broadway, Suite 2000, a centralized and convenient location in the Embarcadero. The firm’s new office will occupy 7,100 square feet in the LEED^® Gold building. Stoel Rives also has expanded its focus on Energy & Natural Resources, while enhancing its leadership team throughout California.

Among the largest energy law practices based in the United States, Stoel Rives is home to more than 100 attorneys, and nearly 80 core energy practitioners, who provide legal services to traditional and renewable energy clients. Nationally recognized by Chambers USA and U.S. News – Best Lawyers^® “Best Law Firms” as a top energy practice, Stoel Rives has been at the forefront of the energy services over the last 15 years.

Brian Nese, the new office managing partner for Stoel Rives’ California offices, said, “San Diego is a clean tech hub and a leading market for renewable energy. The city is at a crossroads for our energy future as it evaluates whether to launch the largest community choice aggregator in the state. This would drastically transform the energy landscape in Southern California – an industry to which Stoel Rives is deeply committed.” He said, “Our attorneys look forward to serving the needs of the energy and clean tech sectors from our new San Diego office.”

With San Diego as a driver for energy policy, technical innovation and venture capital, Stoel Rives’ San Diego office partners Nese, Anthony Girolami and Morten Lund, along with Alex Mertens, the new co-chair of the firm’s Energy & Natural Resources Industry Group, are committed to California’s energy, environmental and natural resources practices, including permitting, compliance, air quality, water quality, land use, regulatory, M&A and finance. The firm represents significant energy industry clients, and its attorneys are active in CleanTech San Diego, Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE), and California Energy Storage Alliance in addition to CleanStart Sacramento, Cleantech Open in the Bay Area, and Power Association of Northern California.

Energy and natural resources are significant industries in California. According to IBIS World’s most recent industry studies, California is home to 30.1 percent of the solar power businesses, 10.1 percent of the hydroelectric power businesses, and 8.7 percent of natural gas distribution businesses nationwide. Other significant sectors include 6.8 percent of the nation’s wind power, 6.2 percent of oil pipeline transportation, and 4.8 percent of coal and natural gas power. Of these businesses, 60 percent are located in Southern California (San Diego Area, Orange County, Los Angeles County and Inland Empire). 

Mertens said, “I will be spending time working from our California offices over the next year to be more available to and a better resource for our California clients. I look forward to helping my colleagues support our energy and natural resource clients with new and innovative solutions. Our clients benefit greatly from Stoel Rives’ industry-focused approach to client service, which allows us to best understand and help them to achieve their business goals.”  

With offices throughout the West, growing its presence in California is a core component of the Stoel Rives strategic plan. In January 2020, Sacramento-based attorney Melissa Jones will become Stoel Rives’ next firm managing partner and the first to be based in a California office. A trial attorney, Jones expects a sustained commitment to client value while continuing to improve the firm’s delivery of legal services in all industries.

Stoel Rives’ new office is located near San Diego’s main trolley station and provides easy access to Amtrak, Coaster and Interstate 5, State Route 163 and State Route 94 freeways. The building is just steps away from the waterfront and courts, within walking distance to the Financial District and Petco Park, and minutes from the historic Gaslamp Quarter and Horton Plaza.