2025 In-House Counsel Awards: Carlos Brown

Number of years with firm: 18

Law school: University of Virginia School of Law (1999)

Legal leadership: I guided Dominion Energy through transformational mergers and a $31 billion divestiture across six transactions. I secured a Supreme Court victory in the Cowpasture case, established the company’s first compliance program, and maintained flat or declining legal costs. I am a Virginia Law Foundation fellow, in the GC Power List and Virginia Legal Elite, and named by Savoy Magazine as one of the “Most Influential African American Attorneys in America.” I serve on the boards of the University of Virginia as vice-rector and the Virginia Museum of History and Culture as chair. I was named “Executive Sponsor” of the Year for my diversity advocacy.

Pro bono work/community or civil involvement: I founded the Medical Legal Partnership with VCU Health System and McGuireWoods and the Heirs Property Institute with Troutman Pepper. Dominion Energy’s law department received the Frankie Muse Freeman Organizational Pro Bono Award in 2023. I founded the Dominion Energy African American Resource Group, co-founded the Virginia Chapter of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, and serve on the Executive Leadership Council.

On my identity/background: Growing up as an African American child in the South, I witnessed loved ones facing challenges without advocates to access justice. This inspired me to become that advocate, particularly for individuals like my grandmother who fought to keep her family’s land but couldn’t afford legal help. This empathy shapes how I approach every matter —I ensure opponents feel seen and understood, which resolves issues more efficiently and fairly.

Evolution of the IHC position: The rapid changes required during COVID and the current instability of the federal government and federal regulatory agencies has required more confidence in operating in unknown or novel legal environments.