Energy & Natural Resources

We have the global resources, expertise and know-how to help clients address all of their construction, engineering, equipment procurement and project needs. We represent clients at every phase of a construction project. We advise owners, developers, operators, contractors and subcontractors, governments, venture capitalists, management consultants and architects – from initial contract negotiation to final details to post project disputes and tax matters. Our experience includes the development of greenfield projects from the concept or bidding stage; analyzing tender documents and assisting in the preparation of bids; negotiating consortium, teaming and joint development agreements; preparing detailed legal risk analyses for developers; and negotiating and preparing the full range of project documentation, including project engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, operation and maintenance (O&M) contracts, capacity and services agreements, power purchase agreements transportation service agreements (TSAs) supply and offtake agreements.

We have extensive experience in energy regulation, route to market and trading arrangements, grid dynamics, planning, project siting, permitting, federal land use approvals, licensing, competition, antitrust and trade-related issues relating to energy projects. We are recognized leaders in precedent-setting cases before regulatory commissions involving oil pipeline rates, government enforcement agencies, and open access and bypass issues. We have experience in counseling on the establishment of electric and gas transmission rates, obtaining market-based rate authority, and reporting requirements and other administrative matters.

Our lawyers and public policy professionals have maintained a reputation for cutting-edge advocacy in the energy and environmental sectors by working closely with Congress and regulatory agencies in Washington DC, in state capitals and with governments around the globe. The firm maintains extensive and long-standing bipartisan relationships with numerous members of Congress, the leadership of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as with the Executive Branch. Our Public Policy Practice provides strategic advice to clients regarding a broad range of energy and environmental policy matters and is intimately familiar with US landmark energy and environmental laws.

Our Environmental, Safety & Health practice is one of the largest and best-regarded practices in the world. The practice excels in complex litigation, including defense of government and citizen suit enforcement actions, advancement and defense of cost recovery actions and defense of multi-party and toxic tort defense. The practice also has significant experience with rulemaking and policy development, including rule challenges, particularly with respect to air quality and climate change, and has helped to shape some of the issues of greatest significance to the energy industry. Our practice includes a robust compliance counseling component, which includes complex project siting, permitting and infrastructure development. The transactional component of our practice includes property acquisition, federal land leasing and land use approvals, site remediation, brownfields redevelopment, water rights and water resource management where we regularly act for utilities, developers and project sponsors.

Our lawyers have extensive experience in the area of energy and resources project finance and frequently work with major project sponsors, financial advisers, investment banks, commercial banks, export credit agencies and multilateral financial institutions. Many of our lawyers have also been internationally recognized for their expertise in this area, including attribution in Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Guide to the World’s Leading Project Finance Lawyers. Our work in energy project finance covers both equity and debt structures, as well as other sophisticated finance structures, such as leveraged leasing, tax effective and public finance.

The international team advises on the full gambit of commercial contracts and IP and IT issues pertinent to the dynamics of the sector with an increasing focus on cleantech, EV vehicles and infrastructure and smart tech together with corporate and financing diligence support and TSAs and licensing arrangements.

We have a leading corporate practice advising on buy and sell side M&A mandates in the sector, private and public equity, IPOs, restructurings, complex joint ventures and consortia arrangements, co sec, governance and corporate support. As well as strong domestic practices we have extensive cross border multi-jurisdictional expertise. The team acts for utilities, developers, project owners, PE, infra and VC funds, contractors and lending institutions.

We have experience in litigation and arbitration relating to energy matters in courts in numerous countries and under a variety of international arbitration regimes. We have significant experience in disputes relating to leases and concessions, joint operating agreements, energy facility construction contracts, long-term oil, gas and refined product supply agreements, LNG price review arbitrations and treaty arbitrations relating to energy projects.

We have represented a number of energy and natural resource companies as creditors and debtors in numerous reorganization and restructuring proceedings, most notably serving as co-counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Enron bankruptcy case, providing restructuring-related advice, structured finance and litigation support on more than 25 energy related M&A transactions. We have also served as bank and trustee counsel to numerous oil and gas producers and fuel refineries, and also served as Chapter 11 restructuring counsel to TECO-Panda, the owner of the two largest combined cycle natural gas power plants in the world. We have also extensively advised on restructurings and distressed acquisitions and SOLR processes in the energy supply market.