Watson, who will reside in the firm’s Washington office, moves to Steptoe from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), where she spent 15 years in senior legal positions with a particular focus on oil and gas pipeline matters.
She most recently served as the deputy director of the Office of Energy Market Regulation’s division of pipeline regulation, where she supervised a group of energy analysts, economists, engineers, and attorneys to ensure execution of the division’s technical gas and oil pipeline rate and tariff review in conformance with directives and policies of the commission.
Previously, she spent 3 years as attorney advisor to the division director and served as acting division director as requested. From August 2006 to October 2011, Watson was legal advisor to then-FERC Commissioner Marc Spitzer, now a Steptoe partner. In this position, she served as the principal legal and policy advisor on decisions relating to gas, hydroelectricity, and oil pipeline matters.