Most Highly Regarded Firms: California 2009 - Project Finance
The energy sector remains robust, with continued demand for energy driving high levels of investment internationally.
As a result many of the practitioners in this chapter have a strong energy side to their project finance practice and remain busy through difficult times for business. Thirteen individuals from six firms make up the project finance chapter of this publication.
Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP maintains an international reputation in the project finance area and performed well in our survey. Its global project finance department boasts over 100 dedicated practitioners and the firm provides three lawyers for this edition. Ed Feo again received the most nominations in the research. He was described to researchers as a "real name in California - very good, incredibly smart and with a great depth of knowledge". Feo co-chairs the firm's project finance and energy practice, and has written a number of articles on renewable energy, an area in which he is widely regarded as an expert. Karen Wong is a partner in the firm's project finance group and is regarded by her peers as "an exceptional deal lawyer", who is "very good at getting the deal done". Wong focuses on the financing of power, petrochemical and other infrastructure facilities in Asia, Latin America and the US. She is currently advising the sponsors of a mine-mouth lignite fired project in Laos. Allen Marks has experience across a wide range of industries, including power, oil and gas, transportation, telecommunications, technology and real estate. He has been involved in a number of recent financings for several wind power plants across the US and is "a safe pair of hands", according to one source.
Latham & Watkins LLP improves upon its two-strong contingent in the previous edition thanks to the inclusion of Jeffrey Greenberg. Greenberg is the vice chair of the firm's US finance department and splits his time between the Los Angeles and New York offices. He is adept at the financing of energy, infrastructure and industrial projects and high-profile sources were quick to note that "his star is on the rise". Kenneth Blohm chairs the firm's finance practice in San Francisco. He specialises in international project finance and has extensive experience in the financing of electricity, oil and gas, petrochemical and water projects. Blohm has represented the lead arranger in the financing of J-Power's Orange Grove Project in San Diego and in the financing of Tractebel's Baymina project in Turkey. Kelley Gale is a big name in San Diego and is regarded as a "dean of the bar". Gale's experience lies in alternative energy projects and capital-intensive infrastructure projects. He has worked on geothermal, wind, solar, biomass, waste-to-energy and hydroelectric power projects, and he completes the impressive showing for Latham & Watkins.
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP features in this edition thanks to the key hires of David Spielberg and Mark Weitzel, who joined the firm from Thelen LLP in August 2008. Spielberg's project finance practice includes the development and financing of both conventional and renewable energy facilities throughout the US. Recent representative matters include two major banks in connection with investment in two large wind energy projects in Texas and the financing of two biomass projects in California. Weitzel has undoubted expertise in energy project mergers and acquisitions, project and infrastructure investment and the structuring of both equity and debt investments. He is also a keen speaker on energy project and infrastructure investments.
The "fantastic" Robert Nelson was co-head of Thelen's Asian practice group (his practice has a particular focus on China and India) and co-head of the energy technology/cleantech practice group. After the firm dissolved in October 2008, Nelson took his stellar reputation to Winston & Strawn LLP. He has a great deal of experience in the power project sector and has represented the sponsor in $1.3 billion series of solar power projects in California of the lenders and project sponsors in connection with both the development and restructuring of numerous wind and other alternative energy projects.
Chadbourne & Parke LLP also improves upon last year's performance in the research, with two practitioners making the grade. Edward Zaelke is managing partner of the Los Angeles office and is very well known for his "experience with alternative energy sources, especially wind power" (Zaelke is a former president of the American Wind Energy Association). He boasts an impressive client list that includes Horizon Wind Energy and Clipper Windpower. The "excellent" Adam Umanoff also boasts an industry focus on the renewable energy sector. He has worked on solar thermal projects, wind and geothermal projects across the US. He has focused in-house experience after time as the general counsel of Enron Wind Corp/Zond Corp.
Richard Shortz also has invaluable in-house experience as a result of his tenure at Tosco Corporation, where he served as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. Shortz serves as the co-chairman of the energy and infrastructure finance group at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and is the practice group leader of the business and finance group in Los Angeles. Shortz's area of expertise is in the energy sector and over the past five years he has been involved in over 50 acquisitions, dispositions and financings for independent power projects. Dino Barajas joins Shortz at Morgan Lewis, joining the firm in March 2008 after serving as co-head of that firm's Latin American projects group at Paul Hastings. He has a national and international practice with special concentration in Latin American infrastructure projects.