Robert J. Munnelly, Jr.

Rob is a regulatory and business lawyer with extensive experience dealing with legal issues faced by clients in highly regulated industries. He represents competitive energy and communications companies nationally and routinely represents clients in a wide range of regulatory issues. Rob has covered every aspect of New England regulations for electricity, communications, natural gas and water clients, from obtaining utility commission and local licenses to ensuring ongoing compliance with state, local and federal laws. His experience in these closely regulated industries led Rob to his pioneering efforts representing existing businesses and those seeking to do business in the emerging Massachusetts cannabis market. Rob has also broadened his long experience with advising businesses about a variety of matters into helping business clients with raising capital funds and advising on a wide variety of business contracts.

In addition to his expertise in working with clients in state commission and general business environments, Rob has maintained a longstanding practice focused on data security and information privacy. His work in this area involves assisting clients with developing written information security and privacy programs, supporting compliance training, developing and enhancing terms of use, privacy policies and other security-related policies, updating policies and programs to comply with evolving international and domestic requirements, and responding to potential security breaches. Rob also is an experienced appellate advocate handling matters and presenting argument before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Massachusetts Appeals Court, the First Circuit Court of Appeals and the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

In his previous roles as Assistant Attorney General in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and as Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs for the New England Cable and Telecommunications Association, Rob learned that responsiveness is key to providing high-quality legal service.

Recent Matters Include:

• Served as lead counsel for several national retail electric suppliers in new and ongoing industry-wide dockets to reform and update electric supplier rules in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island utility commissions.
• Secured regulatory approvals and provided regulatory advice for cable broadband, fiber-based carriers and traditional competitive local exchange carriers in all New England states.
• Served as counsel to developer in conducting party negotiations and Massachusetts commission arbitration to accelerate by a year-plus the electric utility’s efforts to interconnect the client’s large solar project to the New England electric grid.
• Advised numerous clients in preparing and revising written information security plans, responding to information breaches, and crafting or revising related policy provisions that fully comply with stringent new Massachusetts, Connecticut, federal and international data protection requirements.
• Served as co-counsel and advisor for Series A fundraising round for technology-focused software startup and contract drafter and reviewer for health care and data technology startups.
• As cannabis practice group co-chair, prepared adult-use initial and renewal license applications and provided regulatory advice on strategy and compliance issues at regulatory commission and municipal levels under evolving Massachusetts and Connecticut adult-use and medical regulatory schemes.
• Advised numerous clients seeking investments in, purchases of and sales of licensed entities, securing regulatory approvals for changes in ownership and control, and responding to potential non-compliance issues raised by cannabis, energy and telecommunications regulators.