Gibson Dunn Bolsters Market-Leading Data Center Practice With Partners James Johnson and Victoria Delacey Joining in London
Firm News | September 7, 2026
Gibson Dunn announced today that James Johnson and Victoria Delacey have joined as partners in London, deepening in Europe a data center practice that has already advised on more than 350 matters worldwide this year.
James and Victoria represent developers, operators, service providers, institutional investors, infrastructure funds and corporate occupiers across the full data center lifecycle, with a focus on leasing and customer contracts for hyperscale and other large-scale capacity deployments. They join the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group and its Data Centers and Digital Infrastructure Practice Group.
“The growth of AI is driving an unprecedented level of investment in data centers by our real estate, infrastructure, and lender clients, and the size and scope of those projects continue to increase,” said Eric Feuerstein, Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s global Real Estate Practice Group. “Clients expect their lawyers to have subject matter expertise in this asset class, particularly experience negotiating data center leases and service agreements. James and Victoria bring exactly that experience and are among the very few lawyers in EMEA who have done this work at scale.”
These hires continue a sustained expansion of the firm’s data center practice across offices, which brought Emily Naughton, a leader of Gibson Dunn’s Data Centers and Digital Infrastructure Practice Group, to the firm in late 2024.
“Data center clients increasingly expect advice that follows their platforms across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia,” said Emily. “James and Victoria have built one of the leading practices in EMEA and APAC with real depth in this field. Together we can support clients across the full lifecycle of a data center investment, from acquisition and development through leasing and co-location agreements to disposition and transition, wherever they are deploying capacity.”
“The sheer scale and complexity of data center transactions have evolved fundamentally – a project today rarely stops at the lease or power reservation,” said James. “Clients developing scale campuses need an integrated team capable of navigating complex hyperscale offtake arrangements, digital infrastructure M&A, structured finance, and energy hurdles. Gibson Dunn’s exceptional platform and deep relationships with the most active global infrastructure and private equity funds provide the ideal foundation for clients in this space.”
“Demand across EMEA and APAC is accelerating rapidly, and activity is extending well beyond the established hubs,” said Victoria. “Gibson Dunn’s real estate and infrastructure platform is built for that work, and we are thrilled to be joining the team.”
The firm’s 2026 data center matters have drawn on teams from projects, infrastructure, real estate, energy and energy regulation, finance, investment funds, tax, strategic sourcing and commercial transactions, and M&A. Recent matters include representing Related Digital in connection with the development and financing of a U.S. $16 billion data center campus in Michigan, as well as advising ACS Group on its €2 billion joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partners to develop a new data center development platform in Europe, the U.S., and Australia. The firm also advised KKR on its acquisition of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres at an implied enterprise value of approximately U.S. $10.9 billion.
About James Johnson
James is a market-leading adviser to the data center and digital infrastructure industry. He maintains an extensive global practice advising investors, developers, service providers, occupiers and other stakeholders globally in relation to this highly specialized asset class.
About Victoria Delacey
Victoria advises international and domestic clients on a broad spectrum of real estate transactions with a particular focus on data centers and digital infrastructure. Victoria advises developers, operators and investors globally in connection with acquisition and development projects, dispositions, transitional agreements, data center leases and customer contracts.