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David J. Gilles is a shareholder and a member of the Energy, and Antitrust and Trade Practice Groups in the firm's Milwaukee and Madison offices. Prior to joining the firm, Gilles spent four years serving as General Counsel to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (2003-2007). The Commission is an independent regulatory agency, responsible for overseeing public utilities providing electric, gas, water and telecommunications services to the public.
As General Counsel, Dave was responsible for all legal matters affecting the agency. This included ensuring that contested case and other administrative proceedings complied with statutory and other legal requirements. He also monitored legislation that affected agency procedures. While at the agency, legislation streamlining procedures for approval of energy facilities was enacted (2003 Wisconsin Act 89). In addition, legislation setting renewable resource portfolio standards for energy providers became law (2005 Wisconsin Act 141). Dave supervised and directed legal representation in state and federal courts and before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Federal Communications Commission. During his tenure, there were several significant Commission decisions that were upheld by the courts including: Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. Public Service Commission, 2005 WI 93, 282 wis 2nd 250, 700 N.W. 2d 768 (commission authorization to construct $2.2 billion power plant upheld). Wisconsin Bell, Inc. v. Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, 2004 WI App 8, 269 wis 2d 409, 675 N. W. 2d 242, aff;d 2005 WI 23, 279 Wis. 2d 1, 693 N. W. 2d 301 (commission determination that the carrier unlawfully charged access fees and order to refund approximately $18 million upheld). City of Oak Creek v. Public Service Com. (commission determination regarding transfer of customers and related infrastructure upheld). While at the Commission, the federal court of appeals upheld the constitutionality of Wisconsin's public utility holding company act. Alliant Energy Corp. v. Bie, 336 F.3d 545 (7th Cir. Ct. App. 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1105 (2004). Under this law, the Commission is authorized to regulate holding companies that own public utilities in Wisconsin. This precedent is significant in view of the repeal of federal law regarding public utility holding companies in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. During this time the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) began the Day 2 market for bulk electricity and continued to develop procedures for overseeing regional reliability and planning for the transmission grid. The Commission actively engaged in policy concerns with the emerging competitive regional wholesale electricity market. The telecommunications industry saw significant regulatory changes while Dave served as General Counsel. The Commission completed consideration of SBC/Ameritech's application to the Federal Communication Commission to begin long distance service and determined that the company met standards set by the federal telecommunications Act of 1996. In addition, the Commission established wholesale rates for incumbant local exchange companies based on federal law. Before his appointment at the Commission, Dave was an Assistant Attorney General with the Wisconsin Department of Justice for more than two decades. At the department, he handled civil enforcement litigation and related appellate advocacy regarding consumer protection, antitrust and other matters as well as testimony before legislative committees and regulatory agencies. Beginning in the early 1990s, specific responsibility included consumer protection issues emerging with the deregulation of telecommunications services. During the mid-1990s, Dave filed more than 20 civil enforcement prosecutions challenging unauthorized change of long distance providers (slamming and unauthorized charges in phone bills (cramming) practices by resellers and facility-based carriers. These actions resulted in trial court rulings that Wisconsin consumer protection laws applied to out-of-state telecommunication providers and an informal determination by staff of the Federal Communications Commission that federal laws did not preempt state laws. Dave participated in several National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) committees and working groups regarding consumer protection and antitrust issues and proceedings. In 1993 and 1994 he served as coordinator for the NAAGs Consumer Protection Committee, Telecommunications Subcommittee (chaired by Attorney General James Doyle). The NAAG subcommittee and state working groups advocated state consumer and antitrust interests before the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission. Dave contributed to the preparation of comments submitted by state Attorneys General in federal rule-making proceedings that addressed fraudulent pay-per-call services, slamming and cramming practices, deceptive and unfair billing practices, detariffing issues, and excessive pay phone charges. In 1996 he served as the department's Telecommunication Advocate, a position created by the Information Superhighway Act (1993 Act 496) to represent consumer and competitive interests regarding telecommunications issues before the Public Service Commission.
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