Andrew Averbach advises clients on nuclear regulatory, administrative, and appellate matters, including complex litigation and regulatory challenges under the Atomic Energy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. He represents clients on reactor and materials licenses, consolidated spent fuel storage facilities, license renewals, environmental impact statements, and federal preemption, helping them navigate high-stakes federal litigation and regulatory review.
He regularly represents clients in the U.S. Courts of Appeals and provides guidance on regulatory strategy, issue selection, and the interaction between federal and state authority over nuclear facilities. His work draws on a deep understanding of how regulatory decisions are developed, defended, and reviewed.
Before joining the firm, Andrew served as Solicitor of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where he was the agency’s highest-ranking appellate litigator and led its nationwide appellate docket. In that role, he oversaw the defense of the NRC’s licensing and rulemaking authority, personally briefed and argued cases in the federal courts of appeals, and coordinated with the U.S. Department of Justice, including the Office of the Solicitor General, in matters before the U.S. Supreme Court, including Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas.
Earlier in his career, Andrew was Senior Trial Counsel in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he led trial teams in complex government contract disputes and served as a senior member of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Litigation Team. He also practiced complex commercial litigation in private firms and clerked for Chief Judge Joseph A. DiClerico of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.
Andrew has also taught legal writing and government lawyering as an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University Law School.
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