Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce the winner of the second annual Blank Rome Energy Scholarship, which awards excellence in energy and environmental law by a University of Houston Law Center (“UHLC”) student. The $10,000 scholarship, courtesy of Blank Rome, the EENR Center of UHLC, UHLC Professor Gina Warren, and Blank Rome Partner Susan L. Bickley, was awarded on April 17 at UHLC’s Ninth Annual North American Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Conference, which Blank Rome has sponsored since its inception. Law student George Buckley won for his winning paper, “Comment, America the Sustainable: FERC’s Ability to Support Clean Energy Questioned in the Wake of Shifting Agency Authority, 63 Hous. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2026).”
“We are delighted to continue collaborating with the University of Houston Law Center to host this premier event. It also brings us great joy to award the second annual Blank Rome Energy Scholarship, which aids law students for their scholarship in the fields of energy and environmental law,” said Susan L. Bickley, partner and co-chair of firm’s Houston Office and Energy Industry Team.“ Mr. Buckley is a second-year law student at the University of Houston Law Center, where his interest in federal regulation came about after his 1L course in Statutory Interpretation and Regulation taught by Professor Andrew Michals. Mr. Buckley was then inspired to write on regulation and renewable energy while taking Renewable Energy Law with Professor Gina Warren. Blank Rome is proud to support the next generation of lawyers through scholarship programs.
The 2025 conference brought together energy-industry leaders, energy law lawyers, and University of Houston energy law experts to examine how the energy industry and public policy makers plan to meet the increasing demand for electricity. Panelists examined issues pertaining to grid capacity, how artificial intelligence and data centers are revolutionizing energy systems, the increasing need for electricity and how to meet it, as well as the current regulatory and legal environment for transactions that may impact this area. Blank Rome attorneys Susan L. Bickley and Ryan T. Purpura were joined by Prof. Gina Warren and knowledgeable panelists from the energy industry, while Richard L. Scheel, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Risk Officer at Electric Reliability Council of Texas (“ERCOT”) and Jeffrey Dennis, former Department of Energy Director of Grid Transmission and current Executive Director of the Electricity Customer Alliance, delivered the keynote addresses. Dean Leonard Baynes moderated a panel of general counsel and senior executives in the energy industry.