2021 CORPORATE COUNSEL Q&A

Carlos M. Brown

Dominion Energy Inc., Richmond

Title: Senior vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer

Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Virginia; law degree, U.Va. School of Law

Spouse: Dr. Tamara A. Charity-Brown

Children: Carlos Jr., 20; Charity, 17; Chelsea, 13; Cari, 11

First job as a lawyer: Corporate finance and M&A associate at McGuireWoods LLP

Fan of: All things Virginia Cavaliers and the Dallas Cowboys

Recently read book: “Energy: A Human History,” by Richard Rhodes

Hobbies or pastimes: Mentoring aspiring lawyers and working to improve diversity in the legal profession; coaching and watching football; watching historical and sci-fi dramas; researching family history; community service

Favorite vacation spot: Bavon beach in Mathews County and Hilton Head, South Carolina

Career mentors: Bernard Goodwin; Sharon S. Goodwyn; George Martin; Jackie Stone; Jane Whitt Sellers; Thomas F. Farrell II; James Leftwich; and Robert Kinser

What are the legal challenges in working in alternative energy as the industry is developing, especially with the offshore wind turbines? To transition to the clean energy economy, we are literally creating … new legal and regulatory frameworks for the energy industry in real time. In many cases, the technologies that we are deploying have never been deployed at scale in the United States. … We are creating the contractual, financial and regulatory infrastructure to incentivize investment in these technologies. Likewise, the ability to build our offshore wind farm safely and affordably has required legal innovation and sometimes the creation of entirely new ways of contracting for what will be the company’s largest construction project in its history.