NiSource Inc. provides natural gas to more than 3 million customers from Texas through the Midwest and into New England, and supplies electricity to another 455,000 in its home state of Indiana. It is heavily invested in developing the Marcellus Shale natural gas region, and has the capacity to store more than 600 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The company has approximately 8,000 employees and has headquarters in Merrillville, Ind. Last year’s revenues of $6 billion earned for it the No. 362 slot on the Fortune 500.
LEGAL TEAM AND OUTSIDE COUNSEL
General counsel Carrie Hightman’s department comprises “65-ish” employees, she said, including 39 lawyers besides herself. She has instituted a “core provider” program, relying on a dozen key outside firms plus additional providers to address specialty needs. Among the core group are McGuireWoods (labor/employment, regional litigation); Schiff Hardin of Chicago (environment, corporate, securities); Reed Smith (regional litigation, commercial); Columbus, Ohio’s Porter Wright Morris & Arthur (employee benefits); Locke Lord (midstream mineral rights, natural gas); Chicago’s Winston & Strawn (federal matters, energy); and Atlanta’s Troutman Sanders (federal regulatory). Hightman deals with state regulatory counsel wherever NiSource operates.
