J. Joseph (Max) Curran, III

Government Experience

• Commissioner, Maryland Public Service Commission, 1999 – 2005

Representative Matters

• Represented the U.S. arm of a Danish energy company before the Maryland Public Service Commission to secure necessary regulatory approvals related to the development of the company's 120-MW wind energy project off the coast of Delaware 
• Represented a Canadian natural gas company in a contested application to obtain regulatory approval in Maryland and the District of Columbia for its $9 billion acquisition of a local natural gas distribution company. Obtained approval for the transaction in both Maryland and the District of Columbia, creating a $17 billion North American energy company
• Represented, as lead Maryland regulatory counsel, one of the nation's largest electric and gas distribution utility holding companies in its 2016 merger, securing approval by the Maryland PSC for the approximately $6.8 billion merger to proceed
• Represented, as lead Maryland regulatory counsel, two of the nation's largest energy companies in their successful merger, securing approval by the Maryland PSC for the approximately $8 billion merger to proceed. Among the conditions of merger approval was the required development of renewable generation in the state
• Joint representation of two major energy companies in their merger, which allowed the companies to exercise substantial control over the policies and actions of a western Maryland utility and created one of the largest energy companies in the country, now serving six million companies in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions
• Counseled a large national energy company in its billion-dollar+ acquisition of mid-Atlantic electricity-generating facilities; led the team in identifying, analyzing, and addressing state and local environmental, tax, real estate, and regulatory matters
• Served as lead regulatory counsel for a joint venture of major utilities to obtain licensing and permitting necessary for the development of the Maryland portion of a 267-mile, 765-kW high-voltage transmission line
• Represented a nuclear development company in siting, licensing, and developing a new-generation nuclear plant, including representing the company in complex and extensive regulatory reviews in the state of Maryland 

Education

• J.D. University of Maryland School of Law 1991
• B.A. Johns Hopkins University 1988

Bar Admissions

• Maryland

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
• Maryland Court of Appeals

Professional Memberships and Activities

• National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
  • Former co-vice chairman, Washington Action Committee
  • Former member, Telecommunications Committee
  • Former member, Ad Hoc Committee on Critical Infrastructure
• Former member, Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissioners

• The Best Lawyers in America, 2022 - 2025
  • Lawyer of the Year, 2024
• Super Lawyers, Maryland, 2014 – 2015
• Center Maryland, 50 Very Influential People in Politics, 2012