Tyler O’Connor is an energy litigator and public policy leader in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office, where he represents clients in the courts, in arbitration forums, and before federal agencies.
Prior to joining Crowell, Tyler served as the Energy Counsel to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he played a leading role in drafting the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). He was the lead House lawyer responsible for the Federal Power Act and Natural Gas Act and worked extensively on transmission, energy cybersecurity, and energy supply chain issues. His work brought him into frequent contact with senior administration officials, including at the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), as well as congressional leadership. As the staffer responsible for emerging technologies, including hydrogen and offshore wind, as well as the Loan Programs Office, Tyler has been at the center of energy policy discussions.
In addition to helping clients navigate the IRA and IIJA, Tyler represents energy industry clients in civil litigation, enforcement matters, and in disputes against the government. He has successfully represented clients in bet-the-company litigation, including in multi-hundred-million-dollar contract disputes, in FERC and DOE enforcement actions, and in suits against the Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Army. In addition to his trial practice, Tyler has co-authored numerous U.S. Supreme Court and appellate briefs on energy, environmental, civil rights, torts, and other issues.
Tyler maintains a very active pro bono litigation practice. He has co-authored U.S. Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit amicus briefs on behalf of the American Bar Association and NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, respectively; served as co-counsel with the ACLU in securing a major First Amendment victory at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; first-chaired a criminal jury trial in Maryland state court on behalf of an indigent client; and counsels refugees seeking asylum in the United States.
Tyler clerked for the Honorable Catharina Haynes on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Tyler received his J.D. magna cum laude and Order of the Coif in 2014 from the Emory University School of Law, where he was a member of the school’s law review.
Education
- Emory University, B.B.A. (2011) with distinction
- Emory University School of Law, J.D. (2014) magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
Affiliations
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