Alert 04.19.24
Tim Walsh is outside counsel for the nuclear power industry. He handles a variety of matters, including complex technical litigation, internal investigations, whistleblower claims, and appellate matters for the industry.
Tim works on a variety of nuclear energy issues, involving litigation, regulatory, and transactional matters. Those matters have included litigation and other legal matters under the Atomic Energy Act and implementing regulations; the Nuclear Waste Policy Act; the National Environmental Policy Act; and whistleblower litigation under the Energy Reorganization Act before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Department of Energy. Tim routinely advises clients on NRC regulatory matters, including Access Authorization/Fitness for Duty, Part 21, Safety Culture and Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE), and licensing issues. Tim also presents frequently to nuclear energy companies on SCWE issues.
Representative Experience
- Defending a large nuclear utility and multiple utility employees in a discrimination case before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
- Conducted a safety conscious work environment evaluation of, and an investigation into allegations arising from, the entire security force of a nuclear power plant.
- Developed and provided safety conscious work environment training for all supervisory and managerial personnel at a nuclear power plant.
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- On behalf of the Nuclear Energy Institute and utilities, secured a favorable ruling from the D.C. Circuit ordering DOE to suspend collecting over $750 million per year in fees for the nuclear waste disposal program DOE abandoned in 2009.
- Conducted a 2016 investigation into anonymous allegations raised at Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station concerning senior management’s transparency and performance, and to conduct a work environment assessment at the plant to identify and remediate and safety culture and safety conscious work environment concerns.
- Tim has participated in numerous licensing proceedings before the NRC for the renewal of existing plant licenses, and for obtaining new licenses for new construction plants.
- Routinely conducts internal investigations for his clients, whether the matter arose internally through an Employee Concerns Program, or externally through (for example) a request for information from the NRC.
- Regularly defends companies and their employees in investigations conducted by the NRC Office of Investigations.
Professional Highlights
- Elected to the Board of Directors for the National Association of Employee Concerns Professionals (NAECP). Tim presently serves on the Executive Team of NAECP as its Treasurer.
- Received the Making Justice Real Pro Bono Award from the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, June, 2018.
- Served as city-wide Co-Chair of the D.C. Legal Aid Society’s Generous Associates Campaign, which raises money from the D.C. legal community to provide legal services to city residents who cannot afford them.
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- Honors & Awards
- Recognized by Best Lawyers (published by BL Rankings LLC), Energy Law (2023 – 2024)
- Recognized in Chambers USA, Energy: Nuclear Nationwide (2022, 2023, 2024)
- Capital Pro Bono High Honor Roll (2018)
- Speaking Engagements
- Panelist, Energy Bar Association Midwest Chapter Energizer on the Role of Nuclear Power in the Clean Energy Transition, April 2023.
- Instructor, NAECP Certificate Training Course on Investigator Training. April 2019 (live program); September 2020 (virtual program); March 2023 (virtual program)
- “Social Media and Its Impact on Investigations,” NAECP's ECP Foundations: Managing Employee Concerns Begins with Management Conference, September 24, 2019. San Antonio, Texas.
Education
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J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 2004
cum laude, International Environmental Law ReviewB.A., The George Washington University, 1998
magna cum laude
Admissions
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Virginia
District of Columbia
Courts
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Supreme Court of Virginia
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia