Matthew B. Barbara

Matt counsels energy and utility clients on compliance issues and regulatory matters. His varied experience includes representing a regional transmission organization in tariff and complaint proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), serving as national coordinating counsel for complex, multi-jurisdictional regulatory investigations, and prosecuting reforms to wholesale electricity markets to address resource adequacy issues. Matt regularly appears before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and has represented clients in rate cases, electric security plans (ESPs), large load additions including hyperscale data centers, and other contested proceedings.

Matt also represents clients in business disputes at the trial and appellate levels. He has successfully litigated contract disputes, class action claims, First Amendment issues, and intellectual property matters, among others.

Matt was selected for the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s LEAD (Link. Engage. Advocate. Develop.) Program in 2019, which develops emerging leaders who have an interest in economic development and engaging in work that impacts the region.

Prior to joining Calfee in 2020, Matt was a litigator in the Cleveland, Ohio, office of a full-service regional law firm.

Matt received his law degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude, Order of the Coif. He also served as an editor for Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine, a journal of legal scholarship focusing on the intersection of law, ethics, medicine and policy. Matt received his B.A., cum laude, from Davidson College.

Honors & Recognitions

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Appellate Practice, and Commercial Litigation (2023-2025)
• Ohio Super Lawyers, Ohio Rising Stars, Business Litigation (2022-2025)
• Anna Marie Murphy New Partner Service Award Honoree, New Partners of Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center (2023)
• CALI Excellence for the Future Awards for Wills, Trusts, and Future Interests, and Core 3: Transactions, Writing & Skills
• Arthur E. Petersilge Award for Excellence in the Study of Wills and Trusts

Education

J.D., cum laude, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 2015

B.A., cum laude, Davidson College, 2012

Experience

Representative Energy and Utilities Matters

• Calfee is serving as lead Indiana regulatory counsel for a publicly traded, Fortune 50 technology company in a proceeding initiated by a large, regulated utility company for approval of a data center tariff. (2024). Achieved uncontested settlement with all parties in the matter. (2025)
• Calfee served as lead outside counsel for a nonprofit member-based energy organization client and provided legal and regulatory strategy, managed the development of the filing and expert testimony, drafted tariff language, transmittal letter and pre-filed testimony for the client. The Reliability Based Demand Curve filing with FERC represents a paradigm shift in the client's capacity market to address the energy transition, reduce capacity price volatility and provide better investment signals to generator owners and developers. The transition to a downward-sloping demand curve in the Midwest region has been a controversial matter among market participants and regulators for more than 10 years. This filing is the result of considerable stakeholder engagement, planning and analysis. (2024)
• Calfee served as lead outside counsel for a nonprofit member-based energy organization client and provided legal and regulatory strategy, managed the development of the filing and expert testimony, drafted tariff language, transmittal letter and pre-filed testimony. Calfee advised on the Direct Loss of Load (DLOL) accreditation methodology filing with FERC. The proposed reforms in this filing are key to maintaining the reliability of the wholesale power grid through a transition to a two-step resource accreditation method, which measures a resource's availability when reliability risk is the greatest based on both prospective and retrospective risk assessments. This proposal furthers the client's ongoing efforts to better align resource accreditation with the rapidly changing generation resource fleet and risk factors affecting reliability. (2024)
• Calfee served as lead outside counsel for a nonprofit member-based energy organization client in providing litigation strategy and responsive pleadings. Successfully defended a complaint and request for a declaratory order claiming more than $12 million in damages based on allegations that the client company incorrectly applied its Tariff and market rules in a matter involving market offers. The complaint was dismissed by FERC and request for a declaratory order was denied. (2024)
• Calfee is serving as lead Ohio regulatory counsel for a publicly traded, Fortune 50 technology company in a proceeding initiated by a large regulated utility company for approval of a data center tariff. (2024)
• Calfee is serving as lead Ohio regulatory counsel for a governmental energy aggregator client in a proceeding initiated by a natural gas distribution company for approval of a rate increase in a PUCO case. (2024)
• Calfee is serving as lead Ohio regulatory counsel for a large public university in a proceeding initiated by a leading energy company for approval of a gas pipeline extension in an Ohio Power Siting Board (PSB) case. (2024)
• Calfee is serving as Ohio regulatory counsel for a clean energy company client in a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Staff investigation and PUCO proceeding. The Staff investigation culminated in a settlement that was approved by the PUCO following extensive review and an evidentiary hearing. (2024)
• Calfee served as lead regulatory litigation counsel for an independent electric transmission holding company. Calfee represented the client in contested matters regarding a Petition for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to operate an electric transmission system and a complaint case associated with the CPCN.
• Calfee is serving as co-counsel and local due diligence counsel to a Canadian pension investment manager, helping to provide economic and environmental regulatory due diligence for the possible acquisition of a stake in a public utility.
• Calfee is providing legal and regulatory strategy, managing the development of the filing and expert testimony, and drafted tariff language, a transmittal letter, and pre-filed testimony for an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America.
• Calfee is providing legal strategy and defense of a complaint filed against an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America. Specifically, Calfee is assisting the client in the defense of a complaint brought by a national solar energy trade association, alleging that the client's Tariff is unjust and unreasonable.
• Calfee is providing direction on legal and regulatory strategy, draft filing, and pre-filed testimony and assisting in regulatory compliance and discovery processes for an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America. Specifically, Calfee manages the stakeholder processes and presentations and assists with the client’s compliance with FERC Order No. 2222 directing RTOs to allow distributed energy resources (DER) to participate in wholesale electricity markets. This matter is of high importance to the client and involves FERC’s direction in Order No. 2222 and removes barriers to allow DERs to participate in wholesale markets, therefore expanding the grid to previously precluded resources. The rules developed through the stakeholder engagement and filings related to this FERC’s mandate will allow the expansion of wholesale market participation to aggregations of smart residential devices like thermostats and electric vehicle chargers.

Representative Business, Corporate, and Commercial Litigation Matters

• Calfee is representing a software manufacturing client in an arbitration the client before the American Arbitration Association (AAA) for breach of contract, trade secret misappropriation, tortious interference, and unjust enrichment, arising from a terminated distribution contract with a customer. This private arbitration matter involves challenging and novel damages theories related to the misappropriation of software.
• Calfee is representing a mutual health insurance company in several litigation matters, specifically: (1) a class action lawsuit challenging the client's practices in connection with "value-based contracting" with medical providers; (2) a class action lawsuit challenging the client's practices also in connection with "value-based contracting" by medical providers but with a larger putative class; (3) an action alleging the breach of our client's agreements with two national insurance providers.

Professional & Community

• New Partners of the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, Associate Board Member (2018-2024), Board Member (2024-Present)
• Case Western Reserve University School of Law Mentoring Alumni Program (2019-Present)
• Greater Cleveland Partnership LEAD (Link. Engage. Advocate. Develop.) Participant (2019)

Presentations & Publications

Presentations

• "Pending Electric Rate Cases at the PUCO and Impact of House Bill 15," Ohio Chamber of Commerce 2025 Energy Symposium, Columbus, Ohio (February 11, 2025)
• “Ohio Supreme Court Mentoring Training,” Supreme Court of Ohio, Cleveland, OH, Guest Panelist (January 2017 and February 2019)

• “Strategies for Success on the Ohio Bar Examination,” Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, OH, Guest Panelist (March 2016)

Publications

• "Tort Reform, Apportionment and Immunity," Ohio Lawyer, Vol. 30 No. 5 (September 2016)