Biography
Stephanie Sparks is a Dallas business attorney focusing on commercial litigation, healthcare, and energy transactional and regulatory practice. She is passionate about helping her clients develop effective strategies to resolve issues efficiently and defending them zealously in court and arbitration.
Stephanie takes a problem-solving approach to representing her clients. Taking the time to understand her clients’ concerns enables Stephanie to craft solutions that achieve their unique business goals and are cost effective. For over fifteen years, she has successfully helped represent clients in arbitrations, trials, and in achieving favorable pre-trial resolution to litigation matters. Stephanie also represents and counsels clients on complex transactional and regulatory matters in the energy and healthcare industries.
Complex Commercial Litigation
Stephanie’s extensive finance and complex commercial litigation experience includes representing clients in:
- Contract disputes
- Class actions
- Securities suits
- Business tort actions involving negligence, fraud, theft of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, and deceptive trade practices
- Bank and lender liability
- Collection actions
Energy Litigation, Regulatory, and Transactions
Stephanie has substantial experience as lead counsel in both energy litigation and regulatory practice. As an energy lawyer, she represents utilities, utility investors, retail electric providers (REPs), power developers, owners of conventional and renewable generation, and other banking and financial clients in:
- Breach of contract, billing, and other business litigation lawsuits
- Utility services disputes
- Energy project transactions, regulatory proceedings, and litigation
- Renewable energy matters
- Interpreting and complying with the complex regulatory requirements that govern energy developers, REPs, and utilities’ operations within the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
- Regulatory dockets and contested cases before the PUCT
- Finance transactions for power generation and other energy-related projects, including for power generation facilities, interconnection agreements, tax equity investors, ERCOT compliance issues, and renewable energy development
- Recent work includes a project for one of the nation’s leading competitive energy provider to build two combined-cycle gas turbine units with approximately 1,000 MW of capacity using new technology that will make these units the cleanest, most efficient CCGTs in the state and the nation
Healthcare Litigation and Transactions
Stephanie also has experience representing healthcare clients in litigation and corporate consulting, with a particular emphasis on:
- Breach of contract
- Prompt pay
- ERISA-related disputes
- Healthcare compliance issues
- Negotiating and drafting contracts
Education
B.A., with honors, University of Texas at Austin
J.D., with honors, University of Texas School of Law
Bar Admissions
Texas, 2005
Court Admissions
United States District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Texas
- Rising Star, Super Lawyers – Rising Stars by Thomson Reuters, 2013-2020
- “Engaging External Auditors While Preserving the Attorney-Client Privilege,” presented for the Healthcare Law Seminar: What Keeps You Up at Night, Dallas Country Club (September 2015)
- “Hot Topics in Energy in 2015,” presented at a client CLE (September 2014)
- What Happens After the Sun Sets: NTSB Investigations and Recommendations for Action and the FAA’s Response co-authored and presented at the Embry-Riddle
- University of Texas School of Law Alumni Association, Executive Committee, 2017-2021
- Leadership Dallas, 2019-2020
- North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Member, 2015-Present
- General Counsel, 2017-Present
- Executive Committee, 2017-Present
- Board of Directors, 2015-Present
- Strategic Planning Group, 2016-2017
- Texas Bar Foundation, Fellow
- University of Texas Friar Society
- State Bar of Texas
- Dallas Bar Association
- Dallas Association of Young Lawyers
- Young Professionals of Greater Dallas Chamber
- Gulf Coast Power Association
- Leadership Arts Institute – Business Council for the Arts
- Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program