Samantha N. Zurcher

Samantha Zurcher is an associate in the Energy, Land Use & Environmental Practice Group in the firm’s San Francisco office. 

Areas of Practice

Samantha focuses her practice on energy law, particularly with assisting renewable electric generators and storage providers in transactional and interconnection matters, regulatory compliance, and matters before the California Public Utilities Commission and California Supreme Court.

Prior to joining Sheppard Mullin, Samantha was an energy attorney at a multinational law firm, where she represented independent generators, multi-jurisdictional utilities, and electric service providers in matters before the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Energy Commission. Samantha has experience preparing non-consolidation opinions to manage wildfire liability and other regulatory matters, as well as advising clients on matters involving interconnection and the wholesale market before the California Independent System Operator and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Samantha’s pro-bono experience focused on asylum matters before the Ninth Circuit.

Samantha specialized in environmental law at UCLA School of Law, where she served as a Managing Editor for the Journal of Environmental Law and Policy. She worked as a law clerk for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, where she contributed to legal efforts to decarbonize the electric grid, bolster wildfire resilience, and implement direct potable reuse water systems. She also clerked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where she assisted in the prosecution of federal crimes and argued a criminal bench trial.

Prior to law school, Samantha was a consultant for a multinational public accounting firm, where she helped companies utilize tax incentives for engaging in novel research and development across a variety of technical fields. Samantha has laboratory experience with renewable energy systems development and applies her scientific background to develop a deep understanding of her clients’ projects.

Articles

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog Posts

• "Recent Updates to State and Federal Climate Disclosure Laws," March 14, 2024