Press Release
Press Release
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Taina Rosa, Olivia Thomas
05.05.25
In a move that further bolsters Pillsbury’s renowned Energy Regulatory practice as well as its market-leading Nuclear Energy team, the firm is welcoming Meghan Claire “M.C.” Hammond to its Washington, DC office as counsel. Hammond joins from the Department of Energy’s Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Civilian Nuclear Programs, where she advised on over $2.9 billion in nuclear loans and awards over the past three years.
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome M.C. back to Pillsbury,” said Jeffrey Merrifield, leader of Pillsbury’s Nuclear Energy Team and co-Leader of the firm’s Energy Transition practice. “With her stellar federal government and private practice background, she will be key in helping clients invest in, develop and deploy new types of advanced reactors and nascent nuclear technologies while navigating complex regulations.”
Hammond began her legal career at Pillsbury as an associate in the Energy Regulatory practice, later becoming a judicial law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where she spent a year. She returned to Pillsbury as an associate, again in the Energy Regulatory practice before joining the Department of Energy. At the DoE, Hammond notably co-led the development of a groundbreaking $300 million Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program award for Kairos Power.
In private practice, Hammond has advised clients on complex licensing and enforcement proceedings before the Nuclear regulatory Commission (NRC), including license renewals, license transfers, and the first below-ground-interim-storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. A leading practitioner in nuclear liability law, she has—by invitation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—taught workshops on nuclear liability law and regulation to nuclear newcomer countries, including in the Baltics, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
Hammond is the latest Pillsbury arrival with high-level government experience. In recent months, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe returned to Pillsbury’s Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice in Miami as partner; former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen began a strategic consultancy relationship with Pillsbury to support the Government Law & Strategies, and Technology, Defense and National Security practices in Washington, DC; former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Chris Caffarone, joined the Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice in New York as partner; former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Izant joined the Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense practice as counsel in the Washington, DC, office; and former U.S. Department of Commerce senior advisers Sahar Hafeez and Julian Beach joined the Regulatory business unit and International Trade practice in Washington, D.C., as senior counsel and special counsel, respectively.
Pillsbury is a leading law firm in nuclear energy, recognized as the Most Innovative Law Firm in North America in the Energy Transition by the Financial Times in 2023 and 2024 and ranked among the elite by Chambers USA and Chambers Global. With over 50 years of experience, the firm has worked on large-scale nuclear projects and financings in more than 30 countries across six continents. As one of the world’s most distinguished nuclear energy practices, Pillsbury provides expert counsel on policy, regulation, transactions, litigation, intellectual property and real estate. Representing nuclear power plant operators, investors, financial institutions, governments and reactor suppliers, Pillsbury has extensive experience in nuclear procurements, transboundary investments and international regulatory frameworks, making it a key player in the global nuclear energy sector.