Allen (Sandy) Williams is a retired partner with Foley & Lardner LLP, where he was a member of the firm’s Transactional & Securities and Private Equity & Venture Capital Practices. Sandy was the founding chair of the Energy Industry Team and the Regulatory Department. He was substantially involved in energy industry matters beginning in 1972. Beginning in 1985, Sandy concentrated his practice in the developing area of energy industry (re)regulation and strategic transactions carried out in that evolving industry architecture.
Sandy was a member of the Legal Committee of the Edison Electric Institute, the association of investor‑owned utilities. He also lectured on utility law at the University of Wisconsin Law School and was involved throughout the development of the complex statutory and regulatory environments in various states that gave rise to the independent power industry and reshaped the architecture of the electric energy market.
He served as legal counsel to Wisconsin Governor Patrick J. Lucey from 1971 to 1973.
Sandy was Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale‑Hubbell’s peer review rating system, and was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers of America® in the field of energy and environmental law.
A frequently requested speaker on energy and financial market issues, Sandy appeared on MSNBC News, MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, FOX News’ Special Report with Brit Hume, Bloomberg News, and C‑SPAN, where he discussed issues related to the collapse of Enron and its potential implications for the energy industry and financial markets. Articles authored by Sandy included “The U.S. Utility Sector: What After California,” published in the June 2001 edition of The Electricity Journal; “The Double‑Edged Sword of Equating Supply and Demand,” published in Volume 2 of The Utilities Project in November 2001 by the Montgomery Research Institute; and “Calpine Ain’t Enron,” published in the April 2002 edition of The Electricity Journal.
Affiliations
Sandy served as chairman of the board of directors of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design from 2010-2012 (member, 2004-present), was chairman of the board of trustees of the Medical College of Wisconsin from 1984-1987 (member, 1977-1997), and was chairman of the Milwaukee County Zoological Society board of directors from 1984-1986 (member, 1977-1989). He currently serves on the board of directors of Growing Power, Inc. and has in the past served on the boards of Legal Action of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Skylight Opera, and Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.