Practice Areas
Transportation and energy, including varied railroad transportation arrangements of bulk and other commodities, preemption, competitive access, service, coal procurement, wholesale power, and transmission
Economic regulation, including the Surface Transportation Board and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Transportation and energy contracts, including their negotiation, administration, litigation, arbitration, and administration
Public-private partnership disputes, including ports and commuter rail
Trade regulation, including antitrust
Economic analysis, including damages, cost of capital, cost/rate/price adjustments, and productivity
Honors
Martindale-Hubbell A/V Preeminent Rated
Ranked by Chambers USA, “Leaders in their Field,” for Transportation: Rail (for Shippers) (Nationwide) since 2013, Band 1 for 2024)
The Best Lawyers in America, Transportation Law and Railroad Law (Lawyer of the Year for Transportation Law in Washington, DC for 2025)
Robert D. Rosenberg
Slover & Loftus LLP
Partner
Email: rdr@sloverandloftus.com
Tel: (202) 347-7170
Fax: (202) 347-3619
Practice Focus
Mr. Rosenberg’s current practice focuses on administrative regulation at the Surface Transportation Board and FERC, contract and related litigation in the courts and in arbitration and associated appeals, antitrust, damages, and other economic analysis, and negotiation and counseling for clients.
Representative Legal Matters
Administrative agency and appellate litigation resulting in substantial modification of the Surface Transportation Board’s methodology for estimating the cost of capital for the railroad industry.
Representation of captive shipper in first rate case before the Surface Transportation Board successfully applying the stand-alone cost test to coal movements involving two carriers involving more than one Class I railroad defendants.
Successful representation of shippers in other rate cases, other adjudications, and rulemakings at the STB and in litigations and arbitrations against railroads.
Successful representation of a port seeking competitive access to a second railroad.
Representation of a rail commuter agency in assuming passenger operations from a Class I railroad.
Representation of TIH/PIH shippers in service and liability indemnification matters.
Representation of solid waste shippers in preemption and transportation matters.
Representation of a community group in successful opposition to proposed solid waste rail transfer facility.
Successful opposition to railroad efforts to base Surface Transportation Board revenue adequacy constraint on replacement costs.
Representation of utilities in negotiation, administration, litigation, and arbitration of coal-supply and coal transportation arrangements.
Representation of RUS-financed rural electric cooperative in Ninth Circuit action overturning FERC’s efforts to impose refunds on non-jurisdictional sellers and in related litigation at FERC and in federal and state courts relating to the California power crisis of 2000-2001.
Representation of a utility trade association in initial implementation of reliability provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Representation of coal mines, ethanol producers, real estate developers, and other entities in transportation arrangements, abandonments, offers of financial assistance, and creation, establishment, and operation of short-line railroads.
Successful representation of party in Interstate Commerce Commission proceeding delineating what transportation-related activities may cause an entity to become a common carrier and how common carrier status may be avoided and additional activities representing and advising clients as to becoming or avoiding becoming a common carrier.
Admissions
Supreme Court of the United States
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States District Courts for the District of Columbia
United States District Courts for the Eastern District of California
Los Angeles Superior Court
California Court of Appeal for the Second District
Education
Harvard Law School (J.D. 1981)
Brown University (A.B. 1978)
Events and publications
Published articles in Public Utilities Fortnightly and D.C. Legal Times.
Made presentations on various aspects of rail transportation and energy regulation to the Association of Transportation Law Professionals, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, National Coal Transportation Association, Freight Rail Costumer Alliance, and Western Coal Traffic League.
Member of Planning Committee for the Annual Fall Forum of the Association of Transportation Law Professionals.
Presentations
Protecting Electric Cooperative Information from Disclosure Under FOIA
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Legal Seminar 62
Portland, Maine, July 19, 2022
Urgent Issues in Freight Rail Service Update/
BNSF and UP Revised Service Recovery Plans
National Coal Transportation Association
Webinar, July 27, 2022
Guest Lecturer, Regulated Industries
George Washington University Law School
Washington D.C., 2017-2024
Revenue Adequacy: What’s It All About, A Shipper Perspective
Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Freight Rail Transportation Session
Washington D.C., January 9, 2017
Customer Perspectives: What We’re Doing Right; What Needs to Be Improved
Rail Insights, Railways Age Conference & Expo
Chicago, Illinois, June 18, 2015
Determining Revenues Adequate to Maintain and Improve Service and Capacity
Association of Transportation Law Professionals Fall Forum
Washington, D.C., November 10, 2014
The Dawn of “Revenue-Adequate” Railroads: What Does It Mean?
Association of Transportation Law Professionals Annual Meeting
Annapolis, Maryland, June 23, 2014
Liquidated Damages Issues in Displacing Coal with Gas
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Generation & Transmission Legal Seminar
Boston, Massachusetts, November 9, 2012