Balch’s Energy Practice Honored with Birmingham Business Journal’s Best of the Bar Award

Balch & Bingham is proud to announce that its globally recognized Energy Practice has been honored with the Best of the Bar award from the Birmingham Business Journal. This recognition underscores the firm’s longstanding dedication to the energy sector and its continued excellence in providing strategic legal counsel to industry leaders.

Birmingham Business Journal described its 2025 Best of the Bar honorees as practice groups that have helped shape their firms, the Birmingham economy, and businesses around the nation.

Attorneys in Balch’s Energy Practice are leading on novel, first-of-their-kind projects, supporting the development of advanced electricity generation projects and the nation’s power grid. Since its founding in 1922 to support Alabama’s emerging power industry, the practice has evolved into a nationally and globally respected leader in energy law. 

Balch’s Energy Practice successfully guides leading energy companies on power generation development, mergers and acquisitions, finance restructures, regulatory and environmental compliance, and national and international supply chain issues. The team also navigates complex regulatory landscapes, major transactions, and innovative energy initiatives, supporting companies driving progress in nuclear energy, renewable power, and critical infrastructure. 

Below is just a snapshot of the significant energy projects supported by Balch over the last year:

• Balch supported Southern Nuclear Operating Company and plant owners (Georgia Power, Ogelthorpe Power, MEAG, and the City of Dalton), serving as lead project counsel on the development of Vogtle 3 & 4, the first newly-constructed nuclear units in the U.S. in more than 30 years, with the capability to power an estimated one million homes and businesses.
• Balch is lead counsel supporting the recommissioning of the Palisades Nuclear Plant – the first restart of a retired nuclear power facility in U.S. history, with work underway now for the plant to be back online by the end of 2025. 
• Balch supported Vistra Corp. through its $3 billion acquisition of Energy Harbor Corp., creating a leading integrated retail electricity and zero-carbon generation company with the second largest competitive nuclear fleet in the county.
• Additionally, the firm has advised clients on the implementation of FERC’s Order No. 2023, introducing critical reforms to interconnection procedures for integrating new generating facilities into the nation’s high-voltage transmission system. 
• Beyond the U.S., Balch is assisting the governments of several European countries to plan for the development of new nuclear units, supporting the generation of clean energy across the globe.
• Balch supported Nth Cycle, as it started the production of its first commercial-scale nickel scrap refining system, supporting an effort to fast track the supply of critical metals for the United States that can be used in the production of rechargeable lithium batteries and other clean energy technologies.