Stephen F. Morris

Title: Of Counsel

Steve has practiced before the Texas Public Utility Commission since 1987. He has also represented telecommunications carriers and other entities before commissions in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma for over 10 years. His clients have included incumbent local exchange carriers, competitive local exchange carriers, and interexchange carriers. While at the Texas Public Utility Commission, he served as the Executive Assistant to Chairman Paul Meek and as Assistant General Counsel. He has handled a wide range of state regulatory matters in the public sector and in private practice. In the telecommunications area, he has participated in rate cases (traditional rate-of-return, incentive regulation, and TELRIC), interconnection agreement negotiations and arbitrations, formal and informal complaint cases and other dispute resolution proceedings, Section 271 investigations, certificate applications, universal service fund proceedings, transaction approvals, and numerous rulemakings. He has also represented utilities before regulators involving asset sales and merger and acquisition approvals. He has represented electric utilities in rate cases and rulemakings, as well as landowners and utilities in transmission line certification proceedings. While serving as an Assistant Attorney General he represented Texas state agencies before state and federal courts (trial and appellate) in a variety of matters involving financial and insurance law regulations and enforcement actions. Steve has also testified as an expert witness on behalf of utilities before the Public Utility Commission of Texas, as well as testifying before agencies in other states and the FCC. Finally, he has represented and testified on behalf of clients before state legislative bodies.