Laura Smith Morton

Practice Areas

Infrastructure Development

Environment, Energy & Resources

Climate Law

Data Centers and Digital Infrastructure

Energy Infrastructure & Clean Technology

Career

Laura Morton counsels energy companies and utilities pursuing the development of major infrastructure projects, with a focus on federal environmental review, permitting, oceans, and natural resources. Laura’s clients seek her advice based on her deep regulatory knowledge and understanding of the intricacies of federal agency policy following her almost decade of government service. She also leverages her federal agency experience to counsel utilities and innovative clean energy technology and manufacturing companies on compliance requirements for multi-million-dollar funding awards from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and financing from the DOE’s Loan Programs Office under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Laura previously served as the senior director for offshore wind at American Clean Power (ACP), the leading renewable energy industry trade association in the United States. Her portfolio covered the leasing and permitting process and multiple-use compatibility in the ocean environment. Prior to joining ACP, Laura served as acting deputy chief of staff and senior advisor to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where she worked on a range of issues spanning water resources and data, fisheries, and offshore energy.

Laura’s prior experience also includes serving as senior advisor in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Energy and deputy associate director for energy and climate change at the White House Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ). Her work at DOE and CEQ included leading interagency task forces to improve federal permitting and review of large infrastructure projects, with a particular focus on complex multistate electric transmission lines, and serving on offshore energy interagency task forces and the National Ocean Council. Laura co-authored the 2015 Quadrennial Energy Review and conducted merit reviews of applications for DOE funding of renewable energy projects.

Laura serves as an adjunct professorial lecturer in law at George Washington University School of Law, teaching a seminar on offshore wind development, and frequently speaks on offshore wind topics at leading industry conferences. Based on her breadth of knowledge of the oceans and energy development and commitment to science, Laura was appointed in 2024 to be a member of the National Academy of Sciences Ocean Studies Board.