Emily C. Deans represents clients such as telecommunications companies and commercial businesses before state regulatory agencies, including the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) and the Connecticut Siting Council, and local land use boards. Emily also monitors and reports on regulatory developments in the energy and utilities field throughout New England. She represents clients in the areas of environmental law, telecommunications law, and retail energy supply and utility regulatory law.
Energy
Emily assists a range of clients, including electric suppliers, by providing guidance on energy regulation, energy transactions, and regulatory compliance. She monitors and reports on regulatory developments in the energy and utilities field throughout New England. She assists with the representation of retail competitive electricity suppliers in proceedings before regulatory authorities, including the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA).
Telecommunications
Emily represents clients in the area of telecommunications facility siting. She appears regularly before the Connecticut PURA and the Connecticut Siting Council in addition to other state administrative agencies and local land use boards related to telecommunications facility siting matters.
Enforcement Defense
Emily represents clients who are facing government enforcement actions under federal and state environmental laws. She represents companies before various state administrative agencies, such as the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. She recently counseled a metal fabrication client in defense of a state enforcement action over alleged violations of hazardous waste and used oil requirements.
Environmental Remediation
Emily counsels clients involved in multi-party Superfund sites. She recently assisted a client in the preparation of a position statement regarding the methodology that should be used to determine the allocation of costs among Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) at a Superfund site.
Land Use
Emily handles planning and zoning permits and applications, helping clients secure the necessary approvals for their projects from local land use boards. She recently helped a Connecticut-based manufacturer successfully secure a variance from a local zoning board of appeals.
Pro Bono
Poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking in Africa have threatened endangered species such as elephants and rhinos. Emily is part of a team of firm lawyers involved in a pro bono project aimed at helping Namibia's Legal Assistance Centre improve the country’s wildlife conservation laws and strengthen their enforcement. Emily researched United States federal laws concerning the protection of endangered and threatened species, including the Endangered Species Act, and prohibitions on international trade in endangered and threatened species, such as the Lacey Act, to assist in developing a proposal for legislative reforms to change Namibia’s current legislative framework.
Emily was selected among the 30 members of the 2022 Leadership Fairfield County class, hosted by the Stamford Partnership. While in law school, Emily was the symposium editor of the Connecticut Insurance Law Journal and president of the Energy and Environmental Law Society. She was awarded the UConn Law Alumni Association’s Thomas F. Gallivan, Jr. Memorial Prize for outstanding scholastic achievement in property law. She also received CALI awards in Land Use and Land Use Practicum.
