Former Illinois Commerce Commissioner Joins Quarles & Brady
The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP announced that Sherina Maye Edwards has joined the firm’s Chicago office as a partner in its Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Practice Group.
“The combination of Quarles & Brady’s national, full-service platform and flexible, collaborative approach to servicing its clients makes it a great platform from which to service the energy community’s legal needs,” said Edwards. “I am excited to take the next step in my career with such a phenomenal firm to develop a dynamic and robust energy regulatory practice.”
In a release, the firm said Edwards focuses her practice on electric reliability, water, natural gas and critical infrastructure issues. “An energy professional with solid regulatory experience including analyzing, formulating, and implementing public policy at the state level, she brings a wealth of knowledge on issues affecting the energy and public utility industry including grid modernization, natural gas infrastructure, cybersecurity, reliability and supplier and workforce diversity,” the firm said.
Prior to joining the firm, Edwards served a five-year term on the Illinois Commerce Commission, making her the youngest commissioner ever appointed in the state of Illinois. In 2016, Edwards was appointed by President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx as Co-Chair of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Voluntary Information-Sharing System Working Group, which was created in accordance with the Pipelines Hazardous and Materials Safety Administration guidelines, where she provided recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation on information-sharing matters and best practices for the protection of proprietary and security-sensitive information.
“Sherina’s knowledge and experience in the energy industry is are second to none,” said national practice group chair Thomas McElligott. “We are extremely pleased to have her join the Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Practice Group.”
Edwards founded both the Women’s Energy Summit and the Women’s Energy Network of Chicago and is nationally recognized for being a champion for diversity and inclusion within the utility and energy space. In addition to serving on a number of civic boards, she was recently appointed to the board of directors for Intren LLC, a national construction company that primarily services the electric and gas industries. She received her law degree from Howard University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Spelman College.
