Overview

Businesses in the energy sector rely on McDermott for our ability to address the unique legal issues associated with operating in this highly specialized market. As a global team, we deliver coordinated counsel around the world, focusing on clients’ transactional and regulatory needs and leveraging our market knowledge to help them achieve business success.

Leading directories have repeatedly recognized our energy practice lawyers for the quality of our work. US News-Best Lawyers has ranked our US national practice and our Houston office as top providers in its Best Law Firms publication, while The Legal 500 USA has acknowledged our group’s transactional capabilities, The Legal 500 EMEA has praised our Italian energy group, and Chambers Global has ranked the firm for its projects and energy work in Africa.

Clients appreciate our broad, yet substantial market knowledge that comes from decades of experience in domestic markets, in cross-border representations and in coordinating work in foreign jurisdictions. We are highly active in the power, oil and gas, biofuels, renewable energy, agriculture, metals and derivatives markets. Within these areas, we represent a diverse collection of clients, ranging from financial institutions and private investors, to owners and operators of energy assets. We also counsel service providers, marketers, trade associations, and electronic exchanges and clearing organizations.

We excel at advising on M&A transactions and provide support in virtually all other related areas of law, including corporate, financing, tax structuring, real estate and environmental counsel. We are in step with macro trends and local issues alike. With lawyers located around the world—including Houston, New York, Washington, DC, Paris and London—we put that knowledge to use on projects throughout the United States, Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Our lawyers have a broad range of experience; before entering private practice, many have spent significant time in government, including at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and have served on utility commissions and at private-sector entities such as commodity trading businesses. This combination of business, regulatory and legal knowledge allows us to provide proactive counsel to clients in the United States and abroad, helping them identify critical issues that can impact their operations and enabling them to save time and money.

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Africa
McDermott has decades of experience advising international corporations, African sovereign states, state-owned enterprises, private equity funds, closely held businesses, family offices and high-net-worth individuals with investments in Africa. We have advised on matters in 45 of the 54 countries in Africa in all major sectors, many focused on energy, including oil and gas, mining and metals, infrastructure, commodities, agribusiness and telecommunications. Leveraging our transactional and regulatory knowledge, and in combination with local law firm relationships, we have guided clients in achieving results through direct investment into state enterprises, partnerships in the development of energy infrastructure and full acquisitions of assets for business operations.
Asset Restructuring
Lawyers from our energy and restructuring groups collaborate to assist clients with acquiring troubled energy assets. We provide guidance to those facing bankruptcy, out-of-court reorganizations and workouts, including the separation/spin-off, acquisition or disposition of distressed assets and operations. Our professionals stay abreast of industry trends and financial market signals to help clients identify strategic opportunities and avoid business interruptions. We have pursued the interests of debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, directors, equity holders, operators and other parties in numerous energy-related administrative, bankruptcy and judicial proceedings.

Europe
The energy team in Europe represents the regulatory and business interests of clients active in the supply, production and delivery of services and power to the European market. With lawyers throughout the continent, we are knowledgeable with respect to EU directives and equally important jurisdictional laws and requirements. Our work is broad and our professionals have experience in all areas of power, particularly renewables, oil and gas, emissions and plant regulations, transmission services and trading. By monitoring regulatory and legislative developments, we deliver proactive counsel along with strategic counsel to maneuver and position clients accordingly to avoid negative impacts on business.
Renewable Power
McDermott has decades of experience successfully developing, financing, acquiring and selling renewable projects for clients around the world. We are particularly skilled at advising strategic investors and financial institutions with their portfolios and at working to structure operating agreements of those assets. We handle all relevant legal aspects from start to finish, and with dedicated renewable energy lawyers in the United States and in key cities in Europe, we are deeply familiar with the regulatory climate and the financial opportunities offered by governments for renewable project development. Our work includes wind farms (onshore and offshore), private and publicly owned large solar facilities, residential, commercial and industrial solar projects, landfill gas, biomass, digesters, fuel cells, microturbines, water and a variety of other biofuels projects. One of our primary areas of focus is structuring tax equity transactions in the United States, where we are a leader in this area.
Tax
McDermott’s tax practice is at the forefront of energy industry taxation. Numerous directories recognize us as a market leader, and we are skilled at advising utilities and trading companies with their M&A, trading, risk management and renewable energy tax issues. Equally, we are active as tax counsel to companies for their domestic and cross-border M&A pursuits. Our lawyers have expansive knowledge of the market. As leaders in taxation issues related to renewable energy, tax equity transactions, energy contracts, derivatives, trading and risk management techniques, we frequently represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service and the US Treasury Department.

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