About FERC 
Directory of Judges
Judge Michael J. Cianci, Jr.
Judge Michael J. Cianci, Jr. received his B.A. degree in 1975, with high honors, and his J.D. degree in 1978, with honors, from the University of Arizona, in Tucson, Arizona. In 1988, he received his LL.M degree from the University of Washington Law School, in Seattle, Washington, with an emphasis in environmental, water, and public land law.
Judge Cianci served in the United States Air Force as an assistant staff judge advocate at Lackland AFB, Texas and as a Circuit Trial Counsel at Randolph AFB, Texas. As a circuit counsel, he prosecuted major criminal cases within a five state area. Many of his cases were tried against well known civilian criminal defense attorneys. Judge Cianci has had two stints in private practice as a litigation attorney, practicing primarily in the areas of medical malpractice, commercial, and labor law. Judge Cianci also served in the Arizona Attorney General's Office in the Licensing, Natural Resources, and Insurance Defense Sections, where he had the opportunity to defend the Governor of Arizona and several state agencies, including the State Land Department, Board of Medical Examiners, and the Department of Corrections, in both state and federal court. In 1991, Judge Cianci joined the United States Air Force Environmental Law and Litigation Division, then in Arlington, Virginia, as a civilian litigation attorney and was involved in a number of complex third party site clean-up, inverse condemnation, endangered species, and clean water cases. In 1994, he was assigned as the Chief of the newly created Air Force Water Rights Adjudication Team, and managed this litigation field office at Luke AFB, Arizona. Judge Cianci played a major role in settlement negotiations on behalf of Nellis AFB in the Las Vegas Artesian Basin water adjudication, wherein the State of Nevada recognized for the first time a water right based upon national defense. The case is the subject of a joint law review article Judge Cianci assisted in writing, which is published in the Air Force Law Review, Fall, 2000. Judge Cianci's ADR experience also includes cases which utilized mediation, arbitration, and mini-trial. Since October 2001, Judge Cianci has served as a United States Administrative Law Judge.
Prior to his appointment with FERC, Judge Cianci served with the Social Security Administration in Cleveland, Ohio, and Phoenix, Arizona. In Phoenix, Judge Cianci served as the Hearing Office Chief Judge and oversaw a staff of 40 employees, including 8 judges. Judge Cianci has served as an Air Force reservist at numerous locations, and is currently the senior reservist at the Environmental Law and Litigation Division, serving in the rank of Colonel. He is married to Wendy Six Cianci, and they have two daughters.
