Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan

What Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan does

Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan LLP was a Sacramento-based boutique law firm founded in 1990 by Chris Ellison and Anne Schneider, specializing exclusively in energy, water, land use, and environmental law. The firm represented public agencies, municipal utilities, nonprofit coordination bodies, higher education institutions, and private renewable energy developers before the California Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission, California Air Resources Board, California Independent System Operator, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Practice areas spanned regulatory and policy representation, administrative litigation, transactional work (power purchase and sale agreements, interconnection and transmission agreements, energy services agreements), and compliance counseling under California's landmark greenhouse gas law (AB 32) and the California Environmental Quality Act.

The firm's competitive position rested on a deep bench of attorneys with prior California government experience (CPUC, CEC, California DOJ, CalEPA, Department of Fish and Wildlife) and on nearly three decades of accumulated credibility navigating California's energy regulatory landscape through electric restructuring, the 2000-2001 energy crisis, groundwater legislation, and multi-year drought responses. The firm supported thought leadership through an active blog covering CPUC, CEC, CARB, and FERC developments from 2015 onward, and was recognized with inclusion in the 22nd Edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2015).

The firm operated as a private California Limited Liability Partnership with 11-50 employees and a single Sacramento office, serving California-based clients. Revenue figures were not publicly disclosed. In early 2025, the firm ceased operations; all attorneys transitioned to three successor firms (Biering & Brown LLP; Wanger Jones Helsley PC; Climate Edge Law Group), and the firm website now communicates the closure and directs clients to those successor practices.

Name

Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan

Legal name

Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan LLP

Website

https://eslawfirm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan LLP was a Sacramento-based boutique law firm specializing in California energy, water, land use, and environmental law, serving public agencies, municipal utilities, and renewable energy developers before state and federal regulators until its closure in early 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental and Energy Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAAAO

Environmental & Energy Law

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Legal Services

SECONDARYEUAMANAH

Corporate & Voluntary Procurement Policy (PPAs, Green Tariffs, 24/7 CFE)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Renewable Energy (Solar, Wind, Hydro & Geothermal)/Policy & Regulatory Consulting for Renewables

SECONDARYEUAMANAD

Tariffs, Net Metering & Distributed Generation Regulation

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Renewable Energy (Solar, Wind, Hydro & Geothermal)/Policy & Regulatory Consulting for Renewables

Keywords

• Energy law services
• Environmental law counsel
• Water rights law
• Regulatory advocacy
• Power purchase agreements

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan LLP was a Sacramento-based law firm providing specialized legal services in energy, water, land use, and environmental law. The firm represented clients before California regulatory agencies including the CPUC, CEC, CARB, CAISO, and FERC, handled transactional energy work such as power purchase and sale agreements, interconnection and transmission agreements, and provided administrative litigation and legislative language development.

Product overview

Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan LLP was a Sacramento-based environmental law firm (now closed as of early 2025) that provided legal services rather than technology products. The firm specialized in energy law, water law, land use law, and environmental law, offering regulatory and policy representation, transactional work (power purchase and sale agreements, interconnection agreements, energy services agreements, leases), and administrative litigation. Key practice areas included representation before the California Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission, California Air Resources Board, California Independent System Operator, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. No distinct technology products, software platforms, or named digital offerings were identified in the source material.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Biering & Brown, LLPminorOthers · 1 January 2025Post-firm closure destination for attorneys Andy Brown, Brian Biering, Lynn Haug, and Ron Liebert. Former ESH&D attorneys continue energy law practice at this firm.
• Wanger Jones Helsley PCminorOthers · 1 January 2025Post-firm closure destination for attorneys Robert Donlan, Craig Carnes, Shawnda Grady, and Kevin Bursey.
• Climate Edge Law GroupminorOthers · 1 January 2025Post-firm closure destination for attorneys Jeffery Harris, Christopher Sanders, Samantha Neumyer, and Chase Maxwell.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Direct peers

• Biering & Brown LLP: Energy law firm in Sacramento that directly absorbed four ESH&D partners (Andy Brown, Brian Biering, Lynn Haug, Ron Liebert) following the 2025 closure. Operates in the same California CPUC/CEC/CARB regulatory niche with overlapping client work.
• Meyers Nave: California-based law firm with substantial energy, environmental, and water practice serving public agencies, utilities, and private developers. Comparable peer serving municipal and regulatory clients before California agencies.
• Climate Edge Law Group: Climate-focused law group that absorbed four ESH&D attorneys (Jeffery Harris, Christopher Sanders, Samantha Neumyer, Chase Maxwell) in 2025. Operates as an emerging specialist in California climate and energy regulatory practice.
• Wanger Jones Helsley PC: Sacramento-based law firm that took over four ESH&D attorneys (Robert Donlan, Craig Carnes, Shawnda Grady, Kevin Bursey) post-closure. Practices environmental and energy law before California agencies with comparable public-entity clients.
• Shute Mihaly & Weinberger LLP: San Francisco-based environmental and land use law firm representing public agencies, nonprofits, and developers on CEQA, water, and energy matters — directly comparable practice focus and California agency representation.
• Downey Brand LLP: Sacramento-founded firm with a dedicated Energy, Environment, and Utilities practice representing clients before CPUC, water boards, and regional agencies. Direct California-based peer in environmental/energy regulatory counseling.
• Nossaman LLP: California-headquartered firm with infrastructure, environmental, and energy regulatory groups practicing before CPUC, FERC, and water agencies. Comparable peer in California energy/water/environmental specialty practice.
• Braun Blaising Smith Wynne P.C. Sacramento-based firm specializing in energy, environmental, and public utility law before CPUC, CEC, FERC, and CAISO — a long-standing direct competitor serving renewable developers, IOUs, and public agencies across California.

Broad incumbents

• Hanson Bridgett LLP: Northern California full-service firm with energy, environmental, water, and public agency practices. Comparable in serving municipal utilities and public agencies on regulatory matters, though practice breadth is much wider than ESH&D's specialty.
• Latham & Watkins LLP: Global full-service law firm with sizable energy and environmental regulatory practice before FERC and California agencies. Overlaps with ESH&D's work for renewable developers and large energy clients but as part of a much broader corporate practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fragbuy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan