Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: Claire Rauscher and Karen Popp on Duke Energy Team

Two of our own, Claire Rauscher of Womble Carlyle and Karen Popp of Sidley Austin were part of the team that represented Duke Energy in the recent corporate plea and sentence to criminal violations under the Clean Air Act. Claire Rauscher and her partner James Cooney of Womble Carlyle represented Duke Energy from the outset. A multi-jurisdictional investigation by both state and federal agencies began after a 2014 coal ash spill into the Dan River in North Carolina. That investigation finally resulted in criminal charges being filed earlier this year.

Karen Popp was added to the team of lawyers representing Duke, and when she entered a notice of appearance, it certainly caught the media’s attention. Just this month the company entered a guilty plea to nine misdemeanor counts for ash-related violations at five power plants. Some of the counts were directly related to the Dan River spill but others were related to ash violations at other plants. The company was sentenced to five years probation and was fined $68 million, reportedly the largest fine ever imposed under the Clean Water Act. In addition the company is required to spend $34 million toward environmental projects in North Carolina and Virginia.

Duke Energy made a wise choice to assure that at least half of their team of lawyers were women. So often, as was the case here, companies are dealing with women on the prosecution side of the table, and building a diverse defense team is important. And the company couldn’t have found more experienced women in the white-collar field then Claire Rauscher and Karen Popp. Anyone that knows federal court knows that a plea to misdemeanors, regardless of whether you are an individual or a big company, means there was some fine lawyering on the defense side.

I am excited to see that women are and will continue to be involved in the biggest white-collar cases around the country. Congrats to both Claire and Karen for a job well done!