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Petroleum Institute Adviser Joins Bracewell In DC
By Adrian Cruz
Law360 ( May 1 , 2023 , 3:35 PM EDT ) -- Energy-focused Bracewell LLP said Monday that a policy adviser at the American Petroleum Institute has joined the firm ' s Washington , D . C ., office as a principal in the policy resolution group .
Kyle Spencer joined Bracewell in mid-April after spending nearly four years with API , a 600-plus member trade association of oil and gas companies . He told Law360 Pulse on Monday that he was drawn to the firm because of its strength in the energy field and the people , adding that he made the move back to private practice with a goal of diversifying his knowledge and client portfolio .
Kyle Spencer
" Overall , it was their sterling reputation in D . C . for delivering results to clients especially in the energy space ," he said . " Beyond that , once I got to meet the partners and my nowcolleagues , I learned that they were part of a very welcoming group of very esteemed professionals I ' m excited to both work with and learn from ."
At Bracewell , Spencer said that he ' ll start off mainly doing regulatory and legislative advocacy work with a focus on the energy space . Once he ' s acclimated to the firm , he expects to expand his work to a broader range of clients and industries .
" Kyle is a great addition to our team , bringing a keen understanding of public policy and regulatory affairs to bear on behalf of our firm ' s wide array of energy and manufacturing clients ," policy resolution co-head Dee Martin said in a statement . "[ The policy resolution group ] and Bracewell represent companies and associations on the cutting edge of the clean-energy transition , and our clients will benefit from Kyle ' s experience ."
At the API , Spencer worked on comment writing , coalition development and advocacy campaigns . Some of the more high-profile work involved the U . S . Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration .
" There ' s a lot of interests that need to be taken into account when representing a trade association of this size ," he said . " It was a great experience and I got to learn a lot . The leadership there gave me some high-profile projects to work on , things the membership really cared about ."
Spencer , who graduated from George Mason University ' s Antonin Scalia Law School , also had a stint as a staff attorney with the Chemical Safety Board , an independent U . S . federal agency charged with