Press Release
Press Release
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Taina Rosa, Olivia Meyer
10.21.26
As part of the continued strategic expansion of its energy, nuclear projects, environmental and regulatory capabilities, Pillsbury is welcoming Aaron Szabo, former Senate-confirmed Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation, to its Washington, DC office as a partner in the Regulatory Business Unit and Environmental Practice Group. As Assistant Administrator, Szabo was the U.S. government’s top air regulator.
Szabo brings extensive experience at the intersection of environmental law, federal regulation, and public policy. As head of EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, he oversaw some of the agency’s most significant air-quality, climate, and energy regulatory programs, including the Clean Air Act, the Renewable Fuel Standard, implementing programs governing air pollution, data center and advanced technology permitting, vehicle emissions and renewable-fuel requirements.
Before that, he spent more than a decade in federal regulatory work, including serving as a senior counsel at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), where his work involved nuclear-reactor rulemakings, including the agency’s filtering-strategies rulemaking for severe reactor accidents.
“Aaron has operated at the highest levels of energy and environmental regulation and understands not only the substance of these rules, but also how federal agencies develop, defend, implement, and reconsider them,” said Firm Chair and CEO David Dekker. “His firsthand experience leading one of EPA’s largest regulatory offices will provide tremendous value to clients confronting an increasingly complex and rapidly changing environmental and energy landscape.”
At Pillsbury, Szabo will advise clients on environmental and administrative law, federal regulatory matters, energy and infrastructure projects, and interactions with federal agencies, with a particular focus on matters involving the EPA, the Clean Air Act, the Renewable Fuel Standard, transportation fuel regulation and nuclear energy regulations.
“We are thrilled to welcome Aaron,” said Nancy Fischer, global head of Pillsbury’s Regulatory practice. “His knowledge and experience in energy and environmental rules will be instrumental to advising clients across these regulated industries.”
“I am excited to join Pillsbury and work with the firm’s sophisticated environmental, energy, and regulatory practices,” said Szabo. “I look forward to helping clients navigate the evolving federal regulatory environment and the legal and practical challenges presented by environmental policy.”
Szabo is the 51stlateral partner to join Pillsbury since the beginning of 2025 and follows that of other prominent environmental and energy lawyers, including DC-based Litigation partner Todd Kim, former Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD); and New York-based Stephen Humes, who has more than two decades of deep legal and strategic experience in the energy, environmental, utility and infrastructure sectors.
Pillsbury has been highly recognized for its work at the intersection of energy and the environment. It is at the forefront of emerging issues, winning precedent-setting cases and providing innovative solutions to environmental challenges. The firm also has the oldest and largest nuclear energy practice, which is top ranked by Chambers Global, working continuously through six decades on large-scale nuclear energy projects and their financing around the world.