CROSS PRACTICE TEAM IN WASHINGTON, BOSTON AND NEW YORK BOLSTERS MORGAN LEWIS’S ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE CAPABILITIES

Morgan Lewis announced the arrival of a cross-practice team of lawyers—an energy regulatory attorney, a private equity and investment funds attorney, a tax attorney and a securities and general corporate attorney—who will work together to serve the needs of energy sector participants, private investment funds, and global institutional investors that focus on investments in energy, infrastructure and other real assets. The group, which joined from another Am Law 100 global firm, includes Mark Williams, a partner in the Energy Practice in Washington, D.C., Daniel Nelson, a partner in the Tax Practice in Boston, Gerald Kehoe, a partner in the Business and Finance Practice’s Private Investment Funds group in Boston, and Ann Chamberlain, of counsel in the Business and Finance Practice in New York.

The team has considerable experience advising clients that concentrate on energy and infrastructure on regulatory matters, fund formation, energy-sector mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, project finance investments, tax issues and an array of transactional and securities matters. Their arrival deepens Morgan Lewis’s existing energy and infrastructure capabilities across practices.

“This talented group of lawyers will enable us to serve even better our growing list of clients focusing on energy and infrastructure investments around the world,” said Firm Chair Francis M. Milone.

“The ability to leverage knowledge and experience across practices sets us apart and enables us to address the constantly evolving legal demands of our clients investing in energy and infrastructure,” said Kathryn Sutton, co-leader of Morgan Lewis’s Energy Industry Practice. “The addition of this multi-disciplined team deepens our bench in numerous areas of law related to the energy industry,” she added.

Mr. Williams has counseled clients on energy regulatory and utility holding company matters arising in complex energy project financings and corporate transactions for more than 20 years. He has advised energy project developers, banks and insurers, hedge funds, private equity funds and investment funds in connection with energy projects, electric and gas sector acquisitions and energy securities issuance and transactional matters. He also advises clients on secured lending and equity positions in the energy sector. His past legal experience includes positions on the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and as an adviser to the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Paperwork Reduction in connection with electric sector oversight hearings.

Mr. Nelson devotes a significant portion of his practice to advising global institutional investors, including investment managers for some of the world’s largest pension funds, regarding investments in real estate, infrastructure projects, and other real assets.  He also advises sponsors regarding fund formation transactions, co-investment arrangements, and joint ventures involving pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors.  In addition to his work with institutional investors and sponsors, Mr. Nelson also maintains a broad-based transactional tax practice.  He advises on a wide variety of tax matters in transactional settings, including project finance transactions and other transactions in the energy sector, transactions involving U.S. real estate and REITs, and tax planning for cross-border transactions.

Mr. Kehoe focuses his practice on private investment fund formation and related investment product structuring. In addition to his work advising fund sponsors that concentrate on energy, infrastructure, renewable, buyouts and various other strategies, he has experience counseling a well known global financial institution on the structuring of offshore investment products.  He also advises sponsors and institutional investors on the structuring and implementation of co-investments, direct investment pools, real asset acquisitions, master feeder partnerships, and related complex investment structures.

Ms. Chamberlain has deep experience in general corporate and securities law.  She advises U.S. and international clients on investment transactions, including public offerings and private placements of equity and debt. She concentrates heavily on counseling global institutional investors in connection with the acquisition, ownership, and disposition of investments in private funds, co-investment arrangements, and joint ventures that focus on real estate or infrastructure.