Reed Smith has made a further lateral hire to bolster its City offering, as Prajakt Samant becomes the second energy partner in just over a year to join from McDermott Will & Emery, joining as a partner in the top 30 Global 100 firm’s energy and natural resources group in London. Continue reading “Reed Smith bolsters City energy practice with further hire from McDermott”
CMS’ Aberdeen capability sees it awarded £572m BG Group disposal
CMS Cameron McKenna’s capability in Aberdeen has seen it selected ahead of fellow BG Group panel law firms Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance to lead the energy producer’s £562m sale of a North Sea gas pipeline to Anglo-French fund manager Antin Infrastructure Partners. Continue reading “CMS’ Aberdeen capability sees it awarded £572m BG Group disposal”
Energy lawyers welcome Queen’s speech as Infrastructure Bill set to open pathways to fracking
Energy lawyers are expecting a hike in UK shale gas projects after the Queen’s speech yesterday (4 June) outlined plans to widen trespass laws in a draft Infrastructure Bill. Continue reading “Energy lawyers welcome Queen’s speech as Infrastructure Bill set to open pathways to fracking”
Power struggles – the challenges facing counsel in the $5trn oil and gas industry
Legal Business talks to lawyers on the frontline of the controversial and risky oil and gas business to explore the industry trends and challenges in-house legal teams face
2010 was arguably a turning point in the $5trn global energy market. That was the year that Brazilian oil giant Petrobras undertook a record-shattering $70bn equity offering ahead of unveiling a $224bn investment plan, on some measures the largest corporate spending programme the world has ever seen.
Continue reading “Power struggles – the challenges facing counsel in the $5trn oil and gas industry”
With an external legal spend in excess of $1bn since 2010, BP launches panel review
Energy giant BP, which has paid around $1bn in external legal fees in relation to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, has announced a review of its UK law firm adviser line-up. Continue reading “With an external legal spend in excess of $1bn since 2010, BP launches panel review”
Profile: Alison Kay, National Grid
The energy giant’s group GC discusses the overhaul of its legal function
When the in-house legal team of a large corporate announces a ‘review’, it’s often enough to instil a sense of foreboding in its external legal panel. For the law firm, it’s likely to mean months of painstaking paper pushing, parading in front of senior lawyers (and, these days, possibly their bosses) and making promises they hope they can keep, particularly when it comes to costs versus service levels.
But at National Grid, things are a little different, for now at least. There is a review planned, but group general counsel (GC) and company secretary Alison Kay is determined to analyse service levels closer to home, starting with her own 31-strong UK team.
Energy run: Clifford Chance advises Shell on series of major M&A deals
Clifford Chance (CC) has secured a run of major mandates for Royal Dutch Shell including last week’s A$2.9bn ($2.6bn) agreement to sell the global energy giant’s Australia downstream businesses to Vitol and the sale of a number of businesses in Italy to affiliates of Kuwait Petroleum International.
The Vitol deal, which was announced on 21 February, saw CC led by London-based partner Kathy Honeywood, Singapore-based Geraint Hughes, and Australia-based Tracey Renshaw advise on all aspects of the transaction, which included the sale of Shell’s Geelong refinery and 870-site retail business in Australia. Continue reading “Energy run: Clifford Chance advises Shell on series of major M&A deals”
Breaking new ground – advisers hope shale revolution can restart CEE market
While most of central and eastern Europe (CEE) predictably remains in recovery mode from the global financial crisis, the buoyant energy sector has led to a steady stream of foreign investment and some prized mandates for law firms active in the region.
Anything that can galvanize the region’s economy is to be welcomed. While the CEE’s major countries have generally avoided the kind of economic contraction seen in western Europe since the 2008 banking crisis, the rise of more potent rival emerging economies has drained away much of the foreign investment that would have once gone to the region. The mood has been further darkened by persistent concerns over cronyism and the quality of political governance in some states – a factor not helped by an increasingly difficult balancing act between the competing influences of the European Union (EU) and Russia. Continue reading “Breaking new ground – advisers hope shale revolution can restart CEE market”
Rising Stars for 2014 – Energy
Dentons hires high profile energy partner Charles July and Eversheds’ banking partner Michael Wainwright
Increased optimism within the business sector at the start of 2014 is being reflected in a flurry of lateral hires as high profile energy partner Charles July joins Dentons as a partner in the energy, infrastructure and project finance City practice.
July joins from Watson, Farley & Williams, where he was head of the firm’s projects, commodities and export finance group in London. He joined the firm as a partner in May 2010, before which he was at Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for 28 years, latterly heading the energy and infrastructure group for the Middle East and North Africa region. He also led the firm’s Abu Dhabi launch in 2008, and was former head of the firm’s Asia project finance practice as well as Singapore office head between 1992 and 1998. Continue reading “Dentons hires high profile energy partner Charles July and Eversheds’ banking partner Michael Wainwright”