Paul Dickerson, Partner, Haynes and Boone LLP
Paul Dickerson, a recognized leader and sought-after speaker on issues of clean tech and energy efficiency, launched Haynes and Boone's Clean Tech practice group in 2008. Paul, a partner who offices in the firm's Houston and D.C. offices, returned to the firm to launch the group, a new concentration for the firm that builds upon the firm's broad experience in intellectual property, litigation, technology, financing and many other legal issues that companies in the nascent industry must face.
Paul served as Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) from 2006 until his return to Haynes and Boone (where he worked as an associate from 2000 to 2005). He oversaw the EERE's $1.8 billion budget and helped move alternative and renewable energy technologies from the "vision" stage to real-world development.
Paul is knowledgeable on the pressing needs of the global energy market and regularly speaks about the tangible, real-world solutions that can be implemented now, from increasing efficiency, bio-fuels, solar and wind investments, to connecting venture capitalists with the cutting-edge scientific researchers in the field of sustainable energy.
He also served as Chief of Staff for the United States and Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Department of Commerce. While at the Commerce Department, Paul was responsible for day-to-day management of the Commercial Service's worldwide network of 1,700 employees in 260 offices and for directing the implementation of the Commercial Service's worldwide priorities and policies.
Paul has extensive experience with corporate turn-arounds and holds great knowledge about the new wave of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies that will power America and the world in the 21st century. Under his leadership, the Department of Energy changed its direction toward commercialization of technology and quickened the pace of moving these groundbreaking energy solutions from the laboratory to the international marketplace.
He now helps Haynes and Boone clients as they continue to develop products and businesses in the Clean Tech arena, in the U.S. and abroad. Paul, who is also a certified public accountant, has published numerous articles and frequently appears on the media circuit discussing politics, business, taxation, financing and other issues relevant to international trade and business. Through articles, interviews and speeches, he has appeared regularly in the local, statewide, nationwide and international press, including frequent citations in the New York Times and the Houston Chronicle. Paul is on the Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council of Houston.