Wieland, William J.

Mark Whitt represents the public utility industry in state regulatory commission proceedings and in state and federal trial and appellate courts. He maintains offices in Columbus and Chicago and regularly appears before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and the Illinois Commerce Commission in complaint cases, rulemaking proceedings, rate cases, certification proceedings, and regulatory commission investigations. Representative clients include Ameren, Illinois American Water, Aqua Illinois, Dominion East Ohio, FirstEnergy, and Reliant.

Most recently, Mark has represented regulated gas, electric, and water companies in base rate proceedings in Ohio, Illinois, and Arkansas and was one of the trial counsel for Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company in a 2007 regulatory proceeding involving a request for preapproval of the proposed Red Rock generating facility. Mark was among the team of Jones Day lawyers that defended FirstEnergy and its operating companies in numerous lawsuits and regulatory agency complaint proceedings arising from the August 14, 2003 Northeast blackout. Mark is currently advising FirstEnergy's electric distribution utilities in the first distribution rate case litigated in Ohio since the deregulation of Ohio's retail electric market in 2000. On behalf of Dominion East Ohio, Mark is currently representing the company in several significant regulatory matters, including a distribution rate case and ongoing proceedings to ultimately exit the natural gas merchant function. In Illinois, Mark regularly counsels Illinois American Water, Aqua Illinois, and Ameren. He is currently advising Illinois American and Ameren in pending rate cases.

Although Mark's practice is devoted primarily to the representation of clients in the public utility industry, he also has substantial commercial litigation experience in state and federal trial and appellate courts. He has argued appeals at the Supreme Court of Ohio, Illinois Court of Appeals, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Mark is a veteran of the U.S. Army where he served as a light infantryman with the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, and the 11th Special Forces Group in the Army Reserve.