This high-profile case exemplifies
many involving energy regulations
of the electric, hydropower, gas, liquefied
natural gas and oil industries
that come before the Commission
and, more specifically, before the bench of Deputy
Chief Judge Bobbie (LaFond) McCartney ’76.
As deputy chief and one of 14 U.S. administrative
law judges (ALJs) appointed to decide
cases arising under the Federal Power Act, the
Natural Gas Act, the Interstate Commerce Act
and the Energy Policy Act under the commission’s
jurisdiction, McCartney has heard some of
the most highly visible and complex cases.
Litigants won’t find a more impartial ear than
that of McCartney, who diligently assesses the
record to make a fair decision, striving for a result
consistent with statute, regulations, applicable
case law and commission policy.
Her skills have evolved over the years, first
with the Department of Labor, then the Social
Security Administration and now with FERC.
Cases that come before the commission are usually
multi-party, involve millions—sometimes billions—
of dollars and are of national import. One
electric power case before her required six weeks
of hearing, had more than 22 expert witnesses
and culminated in an initial decision almost 300
pages long. “It requires strong analytical skills,”
she said. “I think it takes patience and the ability
to maintain focus so you can work through
the issues and make sure you’ve got a good,
solid record for the commission to support
your decision.”
McCartney knew at 13 that she wanted
to be a lawyer. She saw her brother, a construction
worker, being unfairly treated. “If
we had had a lawyer, it might have gone a
different way. And it really motivated me to
try to do something for my family and to
dedicate my career objectives to public service,”
she said. She joined the U.S.
Department of Labor’s Office of the
Solicitor as a trial attorney right after completing
her law degree at the University of
Houston to pursue those public service interests.
She has found her strong background in
litigation extremely valuable. “I found it very
useful in mastering multi-party presentations
dealing with voluminous and complex
exhibits, evaluating and weighing
expert opinion testimony, and
running an orderly hearing room,”
she said.
Her family came from the
Lake Charles area, and she grew up
in New Orleans. When it came
time to choose a college, she was
careful to consider her goals. She
found that Lamar suited her needs
perfectly. She recalls how supportive
Boyd Lanier, associate professor
of political science, was in making
certain she took the right courses to
stay on track. “I felt very well prepared
when I went into the law program at
the University of Houston,” she said. “I
think I have come a long way, and Lamar
was the beginning. The vision I created for
myself with the help of mentors such as Dr.
Lanier in the pre-law program was a very
important aspect of my career.”
Administrative law judges are an elite
breed. They must be certified for eligibility
of appointment through an extensive selection
process by the Office of Personnel
Management. McCartney recalls that when
she applied for certification and inclusion on
the ALJ register, fewer than 500 lawyers of
more than 7,000 nationwide applicants were
accepted for placement. The positions are
competitive, selective positions for life tenure.
In her first appointment, she served as
the chief judge of the Billings, Mont., Office
of Hearings and Appeals with the Social
Security Administration. From Billings, she
returned to New Orleans, and, as that hearing
office’s chief judge, she reenergized and
revolutionized the office’s outlook and output.
On her arrival in October 1996, she
faced a huge backlog. Claimants were waiting
for more than two years for disability
hearings. “I was able to initiate some very
innovative programs that involved a large
degree of cooperation from the other judges
and the private bar to get that backlog
reduced significantly,” she said. By the time
McCartney left to accept her new appointment
as the deputy chief judge of the Office
of Hearings and Appeals for SSA in 1997,
the case load had been reduced by half and
the waiting time for a hearing reduced from
more than two years to an average of six
months. As the deputy chief judge for SSA,
she shared full responsibilities with the chief
administrative law judge for managing its
nationwide operation of more than 1,100
judges in 140 hearing offices.
As FERC’s deputy chief judge,
McCartney resolves contested cases, either
through impartial hearing and decision or
through negotiated settlement, ensuring that
the rights of all parties are preserved. She
conducts fair and impartial investigations and
also performs various alternative dispute resolution
(ADR) procedures, including mediation,
arbitration, facilitation and acting as settlement
judge. In addition, when acting on
behalf of the chief judge in his absence, her
responsibilities expand to include the administrative
and oversight functions associated
with running the office.
McCartney enjoys unraveling the
Gordian knots of an intricate case. It is the
cutting-edge nature of cases before the commission
that continues to capture her interest
and challenge her skills.
As an example, one of her cases went to
the U.S. Supreme Court this past February.
It involved the legal standard of review to be
applied to long-term contracts between the
state of California and electric power suppliers
and producers that had been negotiated
during that State’s energy crisis in 2001-
2002. After a prolonged evidentiary hearing,
McCartney found that the contracts should
only be set aside by the commission if the
terms and conditions of the contracts when
considered as a whole were found not to be
“in the public interest.” In the companion
case before the Supreme Court this past
February, the Court affirmed these findings,
a ruling and legal precedent in which she
takes great pride.
The intricacies of such cases
keep her on her toes. “Then I have
some cases that are a little more
fun, like wind power cases,” she
said. “One settlement involved
wind power and how you integrate
renewable wind energy onto the
electric power grid. Another interesting
area is liquefied natural gas
and how sources outside the country
pose quality control issues in
terms of integrating that gas into
our domestic gas supply lines.”
Not yet 55, McCartney recently
received her 30-year service pin. “I have
been fortunate in my career,” she said, “in
that I have been able to do all the things I
dreamed of doing in terms of public service.”
Although she says you never know what
the future may hold, McCartney reports she
is happy at the commission. She and her husband
live in Vienna, Va., just outside D.C.,
and together enjoy its many great restaurants,
museums, art galleries, jazz venues and
other cultural opportunities. With all of her
professional accomplishments, she is most
proud of her children: son, Chris, 25, is
employed with Gartner Inc., an information
technology research firm, and daughter,
Denver, 16, attends The Field School in D.C.
Off the bench, McCartney likes to travel.
She and her husband sojourn in Paris each
October and would like to extend their time
there, but she’s not slowing down. Even after
a vigorous 30-year career, she said, “I feel I’m
only halfway there.”
