Welcome back to the Big Law Business column. I’m Roy Strom, and today we look at how looming changes in Washington are spurring a flood of work for clean energy lawyers. Sign up for Business & Practice, a free morning newsletter from Bloomberg Law.

With a president who touts his energy policy as “drill, baby, drill,” few lawyers expected the renewable energy practice would be a safe harbor.

Donald Trump has routinely promised to cut clean energy subsidies, but lawyers say those threats are part of what’s driving a surprising boom in clean energy work.

The Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, which Trump often panned on the campaign trail, unleashed a wave of investment in clean energy—more than $550 billion worth—after its passage in 2022, according to a clean energy advocacy group. Big Law’s clean energy practices that have been in overdrive during that time now are getting an added shot of adrenaline as the future of at least some of subsidies hang in the balance.

One of Trump’s first executive orders signed in January paused disbursing some funds appropriated under the law. Congressional Republicans working to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts are sizing up how much of the tax credits created by the IRA can be chopped.

Clients are rushing to get their projects started while the tax credits are still in place, lawyers told me. Many law firms expect the first three months of this year will be the busiest first quarter for their renewables practices on record.

“There was a lot of concern, certainly, in the legal industry at the end of last year, about what 2025 would look like,” said Zach Crowley, a partner at boutique firm Clean Energy Counsel. “But we’ve had the busiest Q1 we’ve ever had. And it’s not even close.”

The experience of clean energy practices early in Trump’s second term represents a mirror opposite of the dynamic in another major Big Law practice: Mergers and acquisitions. The surge in dealmaking activity anticipated prior to Trump’s inauguration has yet to happen, while tariff wars have led to a stock-market correction and cast an uncertain shadow over global trade.

Instead, firms are seeing a rush to start clean energy projects while their clients can take advantage of tax credits still on the books. Any changes by Congress to the IRA are not expected to be retroactive, lawyers say.

Attorneys also are busy negotiating “change in tax law” provisions that seek to mitigate any impact from Washington’s cuts. Some deals provide financiers flexibility to get out of contracts entirely or readjust their pricing based on policy changes, Crowley said. Others include language signaling the parties are aware of potential changes and will work together to move forward once they’re clear.

The rush has made for a “frantic” first quarter of activity, said Vaughn Morrison, a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke who represents financiers, utilities and sponsors building renewable energy projects.

Morrison compared the current environment to working during the Covid-19 pandemic. During both moments, the workload was crushing and set against the backdrop of “dread,” he said. This time around, it’s the possibility that tax credits will be significantly rolled back.

“We were busier than we ever had been, but there was this looming threat of something really bad happening,” he said. “It feels a little bit like that.”

The 2022 law allowed for the first time some tax credits to be sold, creating a new type of financing that has become a lucrative source of work for law firms, Morrison said.

A total of $30 billion worth of tax credit purchase deals were signed last year, according to a report from Crux Climate Inc., which tracks the transactions. That figure was triple the amount from the year prior, when the market first developed. The market remained active after the November election—with participants even agreeing to purchase tax credits for future years—indicating some comfort that they will survive the political fallout from Trump’s election.

A new tax bill is likely to hit clean energy sectors differently. Most lawyers expect electric vehicles, and money to build charging stations, will lose out. Support for wind power, one of Trump’s favorite targets of criticism, also is likely to be hit. But the outlook for solar energy is more promising.

Trump’s announcement of a $500 billion artificial intelligence project dubbed Stargate, and his early reluctance to target solar energy, led research provider BloombergNEF to revise upward its forecast for utility-scale solar installations in 2025. Stargate is set to require an immense amount of energy that will be provided by a combination of traditional energy like gas power plants and renewable sources.

The US is projected to install 10% more utility-scale solar this year than the 39.8 gigawatts it added last year, according to BloombergNEF. That was more than double the amount added in 2022, the year the IRA was passed.

Some lawyers are hopeful that the surge of investment in red states and Republican House districts will serve as a deterrent against eliminating tax credits. Either way, they don’t expect anything will be finalized in Congress until summer. That will give them plenty to talk about at the renewables industry’s most important conference, Infocast’s Solar and Wind finance and investment summit, which begins Sunday in Phoenix and is sponsored by more than a dozen major law firms.

“What Congress does is going to have a huge impact on the growth and outlook and ability to finance,” said Josh Heideman, a Vinson & Elkins partner in Los Angeles who advises clients on tax equity financing for renewables deals. “But renewable energy is not going away. The renewable energy penetration in terms of the amount of energy we get from solar and wind will only increase.”

Heideman said the first quarter will be the busiest yet for Vinson & Elkins’ renewable energy practice.

Clean Energy Counsel hired eight lawyers last year and already needs to hire more attorneys to handle the upswing in work so far this year, Crowley said. “While the industry as a whole is in an uncertain place, the need for these practices seems to be booming.”

On Perkins Coie: A DC federal judge on Wednesday temporarily barred the Trump administration from enforcing an executive order targeting Perkins Coie, but legal observers said the risks for the law firm are far from over.

On Latham: Latham & Watkins generated $7 billion in revenue in 2024, boosting its top line by 23% during a banner year for the world’s second-largest law firm.

On Patent Litigation: President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US Patent and Trademark Office, John A. Squires, is setting off alarm bells for tech companies and their lawyers. That’s because of his work helping create Fortress Investment Group’s IP funding arm while working in private practice.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for reading and please send me your thoughts, critiques, and tips.