Biography
Peter Lacouture is a retired partner of the firm who represented clients in the siting and permitting of large infrastructure projects. He also assisted clients with other public utility, zoning, environmental, and land use cases in Rhode Island.
Pete assisted utility clients with obtaining the necessary permits and approvals for electricity and gas-related energy projects, such as high voltage transmission lines and substations. He regularly appeared before state and local agencies, including the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board, the Public Utilities Commission, the Department of Environmental Management, Coastal Resources Management Council, and municipal zoning and planning boards. He argued numerous cases before the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Pete also assisted clients in other industries with securing all required zoning and environmental approvals for their developments in Rhode Island. He negotiated cultural resource agreements between energy project developers and Native American tribes.
Pro Bono and Public Service
Pete served as editor of Recent Developments (formerly the Annual Report) of the American Bar Association's Infrastructure and Regulated Industries Section for 12 years. He served as chair of the Section from August 2017 through August 2018.
He was involved in many pro bono activities, which often intertwined with his public service and charitable endeavors. Pete serves on the Board of Trustees of the Rhode Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and he also has done pro bono work for TNC. He helped incorporate and obtain tax-exempt status for a number of non-profit corporations, including the Rhode Island Wild Plant Society, the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association, and the Exeter Historical Association. He represented a group of parents and students in an action against their local school district over funding. Pete - an active volunteer firefighter, deputy chief, and President of Exeter Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 - provided pro bono legal assistance by drafting the charter for the Exeter Fire District, serving for eight years as chair of the District.
He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© in the area of Energy Law since 2007, and was selected to the Rhode Island Super Lawyers list from 2010 to 2012.