Lawyers Archive

Nick is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Energy (Power and Renewables) Practice Group. Nick is also a member of the Finance Practice Group.

Nick focuses his practice on domestic and cross-border energy-related transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, financings of all types, project development, construction and operation, and restructurings. He has particular experience in wind power, solar power and other renewable technologies. He represents developers, sponsors, strategic investors and lenders in connection with these transactions. Nick has led numerous first-of-its-kind and industry-awarded transactions in the sustainability space, including complex project financings, project and platform equity investments, and royalty structures.

Nick is ranked nationally as a leading Energy lawyer by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, and The Legal 500. Chambers notes that he is “just a brilliant guy who is as much a businessperson as a lawyer,” “the perfect balance of legal and commercial knowledge,” and “really adds value to negotiations with practical solutions.” In addition, Nick is recognized as a top energy and environmental lawyer in Euromoney’s Expert Guides’ Energy and Environment Guide and recommended by Who’s Who Legal in its Project Finance guide.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Nick was Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel of a publicly-traded, vertically integrated energy company focused on the renewable power industry.

Nick received his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1986. He graduated magna cum laude and with distinction in economics, from Duke University in 1983. He is admitted to practice in New York and California.

Selected Representations:

Berkshire Hathaway Energy: Represented Berkshire Hathaway Energy in connection with its acquisition by MidAmerican Wind LLC of the tax equity investment in the 298MW Kingfisher wind power project located in Oklahoma.
Saguaro Power Company: Represented Saguaro Power, the owner of a cogeneration electric power facility in Henderson, Nevada, in connection with a long-term $300 million secured natural gas hedge provided by Merrill Lynch Commodities. The hedge included a novel pre-approved shared lien structure that will enable the Company to raise additional secured debt in the future.
MidAmerican Renewables, LLC: Represented MidAmerican Renewables in connection with its acquisition of the 550 MW Topaz solar power project.
MidAmerican Renewables, LLC: Represented MidAmerican Renewables in connection with its acquisition of a 49% interest in the 290 MW Agua Caliente solar power project.
Topaz Solar Farms LLC: Represented Topaz Solar Farms in connection with its $850 million senior secured note offering and $345 million letter of credit facility.
Goldman Sachs: Represented Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter and arranger of the $1.15 billion construction and term financing of the Kleen Energy Systems gas-fired power plant in Middletown, Connecticut. Awarded “North American Power Deal of the Year” by Project Finance Magazine.
BP: Represented BP in connection with financing of 400 MW of wind plants in Kansas.
BP and Sempra: Represented joint venture of BP and Sempra in connection with financing of 440 MW of wind plants in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Colorado.
BP and Dominion: Represented joint venture of BP and Dominion in connection with financing of 300 MW wind plant in Indiana. Awarded Project Finance Magazine’s “North American Renewables Deal of the Year.”
Terna Energy: Represented Terna Energy in connection with financing of 160 MW of wind plants in Oregon and Idaho.
Edison Mission Energy: Represented Edison Mission Energy in the financing of its 150 MW Cedro Hill wind farm.
Tax equity investors: Represented tax equity investors in connection with $800 million equity financing of Vento II wind project portfolio.
Tax equity investors: Represented tax equity investors in connection with the $250 million equity financing of PPM wind project portfolio.
Orion Energy: Represented Orion Energy in connection with a spin-off of its projects in construction and subsequent sale of the company to BP Alternative Energy.
Astoria Energy: Represented Astoria Energy (sponsor/owner) in connection with all aspects of the development, debt and equity financing and sell-down of a 1000 MW gas-fired power plant in Queens, NY. First term loan “B” construction financing ever done. Awarded “North American Power Deal of the Year” by Project Finance Magazine.*
Construction lender: Represented a construction lender and subsequent equity investor in financing an 800 MW combined-cycle gas-fired generation plant located in Mississippi, including restructuring of EPC and off-take arrangements.*
Equity investor: Represented an equity investor in financing an 800 MW combined-cycle gas-fired generation plant located in Louisiana, including restructuring of EPC and off-take arrangements.*
Lessor: Represented lessor in connection with single-investor lease financings of three geothermal plants located in California.*
Sole equity investor: Represented sole equity investor in a 325 MW Noble New York wind project, including leveraged pay-as-you-go structure and long-term financial hedge.* Awarded “Americas —Environmental Deal of the Year” by Project Finance International.
Sole debt and equity capital provider: Represented sole debt and equity capital provider in a 150 MW Camp Grove wind project.*
Sole debt and equity capital provider: Represented sole debt and equity capital provider in a 30 MW Tawhiri wind project.*
Sole equity investor: Represented sole equity investor in 200 MW Storm Lake and Lake Benton wind project, including pay-as-you-go structure and comprehensive project restructuring related to Enron bankruptcy.*
EcoElectrica: Represented EcoElectrica, the developer/owner, in all aspects of development and financing of a 500 MW LNG-fired power plant, LNG storage facility and related desalinization facility located in Puerto Rico.*
ConEd Development: Represented ConEd Development in connection with the $350 million construction and term synthetic lease of a 500 MW power plant in Newington, New Hampshire, developed by ConEd.*
Innogy/National Windpower: Represented Innogy/National Windpower (U.K.-based utility) in connection with the placement of tax-structured equity and debt for a portfolio of wind plants operating in the United States. Transaction value $125 million.*
ING (U.S.) Capital: Represented ING (U.S.) Capital as lead arranger and underwriter in providing the $600 million debt component of structured lease equity investments made by Southern Company and its affiliates.*

*Representations were made by Mr. Politan prior to his association with Gibson Dunn.

Raquel Babb is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group.

Raquel earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Barnard College.

Raquel is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.

Melissa Farrar is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Her practice focuses on white collar defense, internal investigations, and corporate compliance.

Melissa represents and advises multinational corporations in internal and government investigations on a wide range of topics, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the False Claims Act, anti-money laundering, export controls compliance, and accounting and securities fraud, including defending U.S. and global companies in civil and criminal investigations pursued by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). She also has experience representing U.S. government contractors in related suspension and debarment proceedings.

Her defense and investigations work has included successful representation of companies across a variety of industries, including those in the pharmaceutical, telecommunications, technology and software-as-a-service (“SaaS”), manufacturing, consumer products, rail transportation, oil and gas, and defense spaces, among others.

Melissa also routinely counsels corporations in these and other industries on the design and implementation of their corporate ethics and compliance programs and in connection with transactional due diligence, with a particular emphasis on compliance with anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws. She frequently leads corporate compliance program assessments and has experience in all areas of corporate compliance, including policy and procedure and code of conduct development, program governance and structure design, risk assessment planning and implementation, and the conduct of internal investigations, among others.

She has been recognized by the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Criminal Defense: White-Collar. She was named by Expert Guides in its 2021 and 2022 Rising Stars Guide, which recognizes the brightest and most talented practitioners under 40 in the area of business law and related practices.

Representative matters include:

Defended a rail-based transportation company in a DOJ investigation under the False Claims Act of allegations relating to hours of service reporting.
Conducted an internal investigation for a major global SaaS company relating to apparent U.S. export control violations, including development of disclosures to, and representation before, the U.S. Department of Commerce (BIS) and DOJ.
Represented a multinational pharmaceutical company in negotiating resolution of whistleblower-driven FCPA investigations by DOJ and the SEC in three countries. This representation resulted in non-public declinations by both agencies.
Defended a civil engineering company in a False Claims Act investigation by DOJ relating to allegations of inadequate employee qualifications.
Conducted a post-monitorship anti-corruption compliance review and assessment for a global conglomerate and industrial manufacturing company.
Conducted pre-acquisition anti-corruption due diligence for a multi-billion dollar acquisition of an international e-commerce company.
Completed two Independent Examinerships for Swiss financial institutions participating in the DOJ Tax Swiss Bank program.

Melissa received her law degree with high honors from the George Washington University Law School in 2013, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. While in law school, she was a member of the George Washington Law Review. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 2004 from Dartmouth College.

Melissa is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia.

Ioana Burtea is an English-qualified associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Group and Technology Transactions Practice Group.

Ioana’s practice has a strong focus on technology advisory work, bringing expertise on a broad range of regulatory areas including data protection and privacy, artificial intelligence, online safety and cybersecurity. Ioana also has experience advising clients on complex commercial transactions and large-scale outsourcings.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Ioana worked in the London office of another major law firm. She also spent six months’ in-house at Ford Motor Company and easyJet, advising on a range of privacy and commercial technology matters.

Sasha H. Kawakami is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn, where she currently practices in the firm’s Litigation Department. Her experience includes a range of complex corporate, commercial, and transactional litigation, as well as government investigative proceedings and civil litigation.

Sasha received her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law, where she served as Executive Articles Editor for the NYU Annual Survey of American Law. She graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with distinction.

Sasha is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Publications

The Full Promise of Liberty: A Place for Identity in Post-Bostock Jurisprudence, 77 N.Y.U. Ann. Surv. Am. L. 1 (2021).

Josh Barringer is a corporate associate in the Dallas office of Gibson Dunn. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, investment funds, private equity, and general corporate matters.

Josh earned his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 2023, where he participated in the inaugural Franke Global Business Law Fellowship Program. He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a major in History and minors in Spanish and Sociology.

Josh is admitted to practice in Texas.

Maxwell Ball is a partner in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of Gibson Dunn’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice Groups. Maxwell represents private equity sponsors (including their portfolio companies) and strategic clients (both public and private) in connection with all aspects of their domestic and cross-border M&A activities, including acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, minority investments, restructurings, and recapitalizations.

Maxwell’s representative private equity matters include transactions for Investcorp, Littlejohn & Co., Trilantic Capital Partners, Antin Infrastructure Partners, Macquarie Infrastructure Partners and certain of their respective portfolio companies. Maxwell’s representative strategic matters include transactions for Hologic, PAR Technologies, ModivCare, Visa, and Stanley Black & Decker.

Maxwell received his Juris Doctor in 2015 from Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Negotiation Law Review and conducted clinical work for the Project on Predatory Student Lending at the Harvard Law School Legal Services Center. Maxwell received his Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from the University of Maryland in 2010.

Maxwell is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Alisa Balderas is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn. She currently practices in the firm’s Transactional Department.

Alisa earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. While earning her degree, she served as staff of the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal and as vice president of the Latino Law Students Association. Prior to law school, Alisa earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

She is admitted to practice in the State of California.

James is a partner in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and specialises in structured and asset finance. He is Co-Chair of the Transportation and Space Group and a member of the Finance Practice Group.

James has extensive experience representing investment banks, lessors, financiers, equity investors, private equity, hedge funds, manufacturers, operators and arrangers on a variety of corporate, asset- and receivables-backed financing and leasing transactions involving aircraft, ships, oil rigs, rolling-stock, power turbines, military assets and other moveable equipment.

James has advised clients on a wide array of structured asset and corporate financing solutions, including capital markets transactions, asset-backed securities (ABS), enhanced equipment trust certificates (EETC), operating leases, structured tax-based financings, export-credit transactions, restructurings, securitisation, and portfolio deals such as leasing company acquisitions, M&A asset portfolio sales and purchases, joint ventures, Islamic financing projects, Japanese leasing, and default and restructuring matters.

James has conducted numerous lectures on structured asset and corporate finance and has contributed articles to several respected industry journals. James is ranked as a Band 1 asset finance practitioner by both Chambers UK and Chambers Global. He is also distinguished as a “Leading Partner” by Legal 500 UK, a notable practitioner in IFLR1000, and holds rankings in both Who’s Who Legal and Legal Experts.

Chambers UK 2025 notes that James “has a terrific team, is highly regarded for being market-savvy and is very strategic” as well as being “excellent in terms of industry and market knowledge as well as getting things resolved quickly, pragmatically and efficiently.” Further, it is noted that “He has excellent client service and is fantastic at organising a large and very capable team.” In previous years, clients have noted that “Jim is exceptionally client-focused. He’s also a strong negotiator with a huge amount of commercial awareness.“

Legal 500 UK 2025 highlights that “James Cameron has excellent knowledge of the industry and is great for large transactions which involve a strong team of associates.” In previous years, clients have noted that “Jim Cameron is an excellent negotiator and deal maker and a great individual to have in your corner when a transaction needs to get done. He brings a wealth of experience and practical nous to any deal he works on.”

James is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, serves as a trustee for multiple charities, including Laureus Sport for Good, and is the chairman of the School of Hard Knocks.

Prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, James was a partner in the Asset Finance practice group at another major international law firm. James is admitted to practice in England and Wales.

James’ experience includes:*

Aircraft Finance and Leasing

Advised the finance parties in connection with the financing of up to $71 million relating to a portfolio of aircraft on lease to AAB and its affiliates registered in Malaysia and Thailand
Advised a consortium of banks (Citibank, Societe Generale, RBC and NordLB) in connection with an amend, extend and restatement of a 2019 facility for TrueNoord under which 17 aircraft were refinanced, with further new aircraft to be added
Advised the finance parties in connection with the refinancing of up to $161 million relating to a portfolio of Aircraft on lease to AAB and its various affiliates registered in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines
Advised CMB Financial Leasing in relation to its sale and leaseback acquisitions of four Airbus A320-251N aircraft to Frontier Airlines, Inc.
Advised Elix Aviation Capital on its purchase of ten new ATR42-600S aircraft from ATR
Advised volofin in connection with a senior secured limited recourse loan facility with ACS, financing aircraft engines. The portfolio consisted of an initial nine engines with scope for further engines to be financed. The finance documents contain a committed and uncommitted facility totaling $50 million
Advised Citibank, Société Générale, Royal Bank of Canada and NordLB as Lenders and arrangers in connection with a secured credit facility for up to $640,000,000 for TrueNoord for the financing of the acquisition of an initial portfolio of 10 identified aircraft, (including 4 ATR42-600 and 6 E2-195 aircraft), and further aircraft to be identified in the future
Advised MUFG on a $82 million JOL secured limited recourse financing of two A321-200NX Aircraft on lease to Wizz Air Hungary
Advised ORIX on competition law matters with respect to its acquisition from Merx of their 50pc share in SORA Airlease DAC
Advised Credit Suisse as lender on a $50 million bilateral facility for International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A.
Advised ORIX on the sale and leaseback with United for 15 new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft
Advised Muzinich & Co in respect of finance leases for two Boeing 737 aircraft with the TUI Airlines
Advised SMBC AC in connection with the negotiation of leases for, and the deliveries of, two A321 LR aircraft to Air Transat
Advised CMB Financial Leasing as seller on the sale of two narrowbody aircraft to Lunar Aircraft Holdco
Advised Oaktree Capital Management on the merger of Elix (owned by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management) and Adare Aviation Capital to form the new leasing company Abelo
Advised Citibank, SMBC, Goldman Sachs and CACIB on the provision of a $750 million bridge loan to British Airways secured over a portfolio of Boeing and Airbus aircraft
Advised Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Investec in relation to the refinancing of various facilities with Falko
Advised Goldman Sachs in relation to a $400 million sale and leaseback financing with Falko and Delta
Advised BNP Paribas and CACIB on the provision on a $300 million secured aircraft warehouse facility to a joint venture entity owned by Airbus and JP Lease
Advised AerCap on a sale and leaseback with United Technologies of a portfolio of 90 Pratt & Whitney engines related to various Airbus aircraft owned by AerCap or its affiliates and leased to various airlines
Advised TUI in relation to its arrangements with Boeing regarding its 737-max
Advised Elix Assets I Limited as borrower and Elix Aviation Capital as guarantor in its $350 million secured warehouse facility from a syndicate of lenders including Deutsche Bank, Citibank, BNP Paribas and Nomura for the refinancing of its portfolio of ATR and Bombardier turboprop aircraft of difference vintages and leased to a variety of lessees
Advised BNP Paribas and Nomura for the refinancing of its portfolio of ATR and Bombardier turboprop aircraft of difference vintages and leased to a variety of lessees
Advised TUI Travel on the order of 60 aircraft from Boeing valued at $6.1 billion, as well as purchase options for a further 90 aircraft
Advised Vueling in its purchase agreement for the purchase of 62 narrow-body passenger jets with a total value of $5.4 billion, as well as options to purchase a further 58 aircraft from Airbus
Advised Investec on the financing of a portfolio of aircraft acquired by Investec Global Aircraft Fund

Corporate Finance, Joint Venture and M&A

Advised Chorus Aviation Inc. on the sale of Falko Regional Aircraft Limited, together with Chorus’ equity interests in certain aircraft investment funds managed by Falko and its affiliates, to investment funds managed by HPS Investment Partners, LLC, in a transaction valued at $1.9 billion
Advised Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd on the acquisition, through one of its affiliates, of a portfolio of 64 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from a wholly owned subsidiary of China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited
Advised SMBC Aviation Capital in relation to its acquisition of Goshawk Aviation Limited, which included a portfolio of approximately 160 owned aircraft and 15 managed aircraft
Advised Fortress Investment Group LLC and certain of its managed funds on the sale to Chorus Aviation Inc. of Falko Regional Aircraft Limited, together with other asset owning entities managed by Falko, in a transaction valued at approximately $855 million (including debt assumed)
Advised SMBC Aviation Capital in relation to its acquisition of Goshawk Aviation Limited
Advised Fortress Investment Group LLC and certain of its managed funds on the sale to Chorus Aviation Inc. of Falko Regional Aircraft Limited, together with other asset owning entities managed by Falko, in a transaction valued at approximately $855 million
Advised ORIX Aviation in connection with its $2.2 billion acquisition of a 30% stake in Avolon from Bohai Capital
Advised AWAS and its owners Terra Firma and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board on an agreement to sell a portfolio of 90 aircraft to Macquarie Group Limited for a total consideration of $4 billion
Advised Oaktree on the establishment of Elix, and its turboprop and regional jet venture
Advised the shareholders of TrueNoord on the establishment of its turboprop and regional jet business
Advised Oaktree on the establishment of Meta -a leasing platform for military and technology assets
Advised SMBC in its acquisition of RBS Aviation Capital. The portfolio comprised 210 Aircraft with a further 90 on order, with a sale price of $7.3 billion. This transaction was at the time the largest M&A transaction in the aircraft leasing sector
Advised Goldman Sachs as underwriting counsel on the sale of RBS’ Aircraft Loan Book, $4.5 billion
Advised Investec and Shawbrook Bank on the purchase of the Lombard offshore leasing business of $225 million
Advised Adare Aviation Capital on the establishment of its aircraft leasing business
Advised the financiers in the acquisition of Cobham by Advent International
Advised Investec on the acquisition of Masterlease, General Motors’ car leasing business
Advised Magnetar on its joint venture with Orix
Advised Airbus on its Aviateur joint venture with KfW, CIT and a group of banks
Advised Commerzbank, Credit Suisse and other banks as a joint venture acquiring a company that owns a North Sea oil rig and on the subsequent refinancing of that company
Advised the financiers to a joint venture between KKR and Deucalion for the acquisition financing of aircraft and on the subsequent sale of Deucalion

Capital Markets

Advised Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as placement agents for British Airways Plc in relation to a private placement EETC offering of approximately $299,569,000 sustainability-linked Notes for the financing of two Airbus A320neo aircraft, two Airbus A350-1000 aircraft
Advised Citibank and the joint bookrunners, in connection with the $1,004,621,000 British Airways 2020-1 EETC offering, to finance BA’s purchase of 14 aircraft
Advised Citibank and the joint bookrunners, in connection with the $806,879,000 British Airways 2019-1 EETC offering, to finance BA’s purchase of 8 new aircraft
Advised Citibank and the joint bookrunners, in connection with the $608,551,000 British Airways 2018-1 EETC offering, to finance BA’s purchase of 11 new aircraft
Advised Citibank as lead structuring agent for a group of international banks in the first-ever issuance of an EETC for British Airways raising $927 million. The securities were intended to finance BA’s purchase of 14 new aircraft, including six Boeing Dreamliners
Advised the syndicate of 28 lenders in the $1.075 billion replacement for the British Airways 2012 revolving credit facility
Advised Elix Aviation Capital in connection with its $411 million debut ABS deal. This was the first ABS to be 100% secured against turboprops
Advised Aldus Aviation Limited on the $540 million asset backed securitisation for Aldus Aviation Limited
Advised Citi on the $807 million asset backed securitisation for Bank of China Aviation
Advised the bookrunners on the $328 million EETC financing secured against three new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for Turkish Airlines -the first EETC issuance by a Turkish
Advised Doric on the first non-US EETC, with Goldman Sachs as underwriters and Emirates as lessee of four A380 aircraft, $586 million

ECAs

Advised Citibank in connection with its participation in an EXIM backed loan to be advanced to KLM for the acquisition of a Boeing Model 787-10 Aircraft
Advised Export Development Canada in over 100 financings for the acquisition of corporate jets by VistaJet
Advised JP Morgan on the financing of 18 A320 Aircraft for the Air Asia Group, $604 million
Advised financial institutions, banks and investment banks including HSBC, Bayerische Landesbank, KFW, CACIB, BNP and JP Morgan on numerous European ECA supported aircraft financings
Advised BNP in relation to COFACE-supported financings for ATR
Advised JP Morgan on an 18 Aircraft, $605 million ECA financing for Air Asia
Advised a syndicate of 42 lenders in relation to an ECA-backed financing to GECAS for 10 Air Canada Aircraft
Advised a syndicate of banks and ECAs in relation to the restructuring of Swissair / Flightlease
Advised on project financing transactions for JBIC
Advised K-Sure in relation to various maritime financings

Rail and Rolling Stock Finance

Advised Commerzbank on the €1 billion refinancing of a portfolio of SNCF trains
Advised National Express on the ScotRail Franchise
Advised Eversholt Rail on the South-Central Refranchising
Advised Eversholt Rail on the sale of a portfolio of locomotives to various European buyers
Advised Commerzbank on the refinancing of Eurostar and Eurotunnel assets
Advised Angel Trains on a joint venture with Hyundai
Advised Porterbrook on financing structures outside its main financing arrangements to fund the acquisition of new rolling stock including the funding of pre delivery payments in connection therewith

Shipping and Offshore

Advised Ambassador Cruise Line in respect of the secured financing of two vessels pursuant to a two tranche Euro Loan, which was structured as a Cayman Stock Exchange debt listing. The proceeds of the financing will be used to finance upgrades to the vessels and other working capital requirements
Advised Vantage Drilling International, an international offshore drilling company, in connection with its $350 million offering of senior secured first lien notes due 2023
Advised Citibank and other financing banks with respect to a portfolio financing program of up to $2 billion and Société Générale on a $200 million sustainability linked loan (based on the Poseidon Principles framework) which was subsequently upsized to $250 million with syndication made available to a subsidiary of Seaspan Corporation to refinance approximately 40 vessels. The financing program provides for a common collateral pool to secure bank financing as well as private placement notes
Advised an investment bank in connection with the potential purchase of a participation in $500 million loan facilities made available to an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management to finance shipping loans purchased from Nord/LB
Advised a joint venture between KKR, Oak Hill Advisors and Borealis Maritime in connection with a financing from a large investment bank. The joint venture fund was established for the purpose of financing vessels and purchasing vessels to be leased to vessel operators
Advised TCW Asset Management Company LLC on the provision of a first lien facility to Grand Circle Corporation and its affiliates secured over a portfolio of real estate, IP and cruise ships owned by the obligors
Advised Morgan Stanley, the global financial institution, in its loan to CVI Ocean Transportation Inc., an affiliate of CarVal Investors, LLC, initially secured by mortgages over, amongst others, six bulk carriers subject to long term charter to Cargill International S.A.
Advised Goldman Sachs on US$1bn financing for McDermott, a company focused on designing and executing complex offshore oil and gas projects
Advised the lenders on the financing of an FPSO for the Brazilian field Tiro and Sidon, US$300m
Advised Bank of America on its acquisition and financing of five tankers
Advised Korea Line Corporation on the structured refinancing of three vessels
Advised Commerzbank, CSFB and Lehman Brothers in their joint acquisition of the UK owner of a North Sea oil rig
Advised Lloyds Banking Group on the financing of three oil rigs
Advised Goldman Sachs Lending Partners as sole lead arranger and sole bookrunner in a $300 million senior secured first-lien term loan facility for McDermott Finance, a subsidiary of McDermott International, Inc.: and Goldman, Sachs & Co. as sole book-running manager in an offering of $500 million of senior secured second-lien notes by McDermott and an offering of tangible equity units by McDermott generating gross proceeds of $287.5 million
Advised the lenders on the financing of an FPSO for the Brazilian field Tiro and Sidon, $300 million

Restructuring

Advised the single largest secured lender to Nordic Aviation Capital in connection with EQT’s equity investment in NAC
Advised Investec on the restructuring of LATAM
Advised the shareholders in in relation to the Philippine Airlines restructuring
Advised a hedge fund on the restructuring of Norwegian Air Shuttle
Advised ORIX Aviation in relation to the restructuring of and litigation with Hong Kong Airlines
Advised the ad hoc committee of bondholders of Thomas Cook group on certain airline group related issues in connection with the attempted recapitalisation of Thomas Cook
Advised the creditors in connection with the restructuring of a shipping company based in Germany
Advised the Ad Hoc Group of New Lenders, consisting of circa 25 investment banks, investment funds and other lenders on the highly complex $1.4 billion restructuring of TORM A/S, the listed Danish shipping company
Advised the Ad Hoc Group of Creditors in the restructuring of Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (ORIG) group of companies and a related exit financing to be entered into with the ORIG group following its restructuring
Advised Citibank and Soc Gen in connection with the restructuring of a secured aircraft warehouse facility provided to a subsidiary of Airborne
Advised Deutsche Bank, Soc Gen and CACIB in in connection with the restructuring of a secured aircraft warehouse facility provided to a subsidiary of Airborne
Advised Buona Sorte Holdings, Inc.in connection with the restructuring of Philippine Airlines Inc.
Advised DNB Bank ASA, Singapore Branch (as agent), for the MLA lenders in an exit financing that is related to the restructuring of shipping financing facilities of PT Berlian Laju Tanker Tbk (BLT)
Advised on Garuda’s $500 million debt restructuring
Advised the banks on the Air Canada in its bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings

*Some of these representations occurred prior to James’ association with Gibson Dunn.

Alisa Babitz is of counsel in Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office. She is a member of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group. She advises public and private companies on a wide range of general corporate, securities and M&A matters including: acquisitions, dispositions and other business combinations; strategic alliances and joint ventures; public offerings and private placements of equity and debt securities; and venture capital investments.

Alisa has co-authored several articles on various corporate and securities law topics, as well as the “Securities Law Issues” chapter of The M&A Practice Guide, LexisNexis and chapters in Partnership, Joint Ventures & Strategic Relationships, Law Journal Seminars-Press.

She earned her law degree, cum laude, in 1993 from Harvard Law School. Alisa received a bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude, in history from Columbia University in 1990. She is admitted to practice in the State of New York and the District of Columbia.

Selected M&A representations include the following:

CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP) in its acquisitions of Apartments.com for $585 million and Apartment Finder for $170 million
Independent directors of Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) in the merger of Media General with Young Broadcasting
Apex Tool Group, a joint venture between Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR) and Cooper Industries (NYSE: ETN), in its $1.6 billion sale to Bain Capital
Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) in the spin-off of Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE: VAC), which operates Marriott’s vacation ownership business
Watson Wyatt in its $3.5 billion merger of equals with Towers Perrin, which resulted in the formation of Towers Watson (NASDAQ: TW)
Neustar, Inc. (NYSE: NSR) in its acquisition of several private companies and its acquisition of the Numbering Solutions business from Evolving Systems (NASDAQ: EVOL)
EaglePicher Corp. in the sale of several portfolio companies totaling approximately $500 million
Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) in its $210 million acquisition of a hotel management company from Gaylord Entertainment Company (NYSE: RHP)
Summit Materials (NYSE:SUM) in its $180 million acquisition of an aggregates and ready-mix concrete company

Selected joint venture representations include the following:

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (TYO: 5401) in the formation of a $3.4 billion steel manufacturing joint venture with BlueScope Steel (ASX: BSL)
Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) in the formation of a joint venture with IHG, Wyndham, Choice & Hyatt to create RoomKey.com, a hotel booking website
SAFANAD, a private equity firm, in the formation of a joint venture with Formation Capital to recapitalize and operate a $900 million health services company
Synthetic Genomics in the formation of research & development joint ventures with each of BP British Petroleum and Asiatic Centre for Genome Technology
Hamilton Lane, a private equity management firm, in the formation of a private equity fund as a joint venture with BNP Paribas (PA: BNP)

Magdalena Auge is an associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the Private Equity, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Capital Markets Practice Groups.

Magdalena has experience advising a range of clients in transactions relating to mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, banking, finance, securities filings, and multiple Rule 144A and Regulation S offerings. She has also handled general corporate and commercial matters.

Before joining Gibson Dunn, Magdalena was an associate in the capital market practice of another international law firm in New York City.

Selected experience:*

Represented Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited in its $5 billion sustainability-linked senior notes offering and its concurrent tender offer to purchase $4 billion of outstanding senior notes. This was the largest-ever sustainability-linked bond offering and the first ever for a generic medicines company.
Represented Torrid Holdings Inc. in its $231 million initial public offering.
Represented PrimeSource Building Products in its acquisition of NWI Enterprises and related Financing.
Represented Frontier Communications Corporation in connection with its $1.65 billion DIP-to-exit financing, including $1.15 billion DIP-to-exit first lien notes.
Represented Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. in its £1.08 billion sale of The Priory Group to Waterland Private Equity.
Represented Leslie’s Inc. in its $680 million initial public offering.
Represented Norwegian Cruise Line in its $2.4 billion transaction involving four different capital markets products, the first-ever four-tranched marketed financing.
Represented Fox Corporation in its $1.2 billion senior notes offering.
Represented Bain Capital and Dealer Tire in the $1.1 billion acquisition of Dent Wizard International and related financing.

*Some of these representations occurred prior to Magdalena’s association with Gibson Dunn.

Nikita (Niki) Aneja is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn. She currently practices in the firm’s Transactional Department.

Representative Transactions:

Platinum Equity in its carve out acquisition of Rehlko (formerly known as Kohler Energy), a global leader in distributed energy solutions, from Kohler Co.
Candle Media, a Blackstone-backed media company led by Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, in its acquisition of Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon’s production company.
Frontier Media Group in its acquisition of a premier digital media and news subscription service.
Endurance Partners in its strategic investment of Westwood Professional Services, Inc., a leading multi-disciplined AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) industry professional services provider.
Avoya Travel in its strategic investment from Certares Management LLC, a global travel, tourism, and hospitality investment firm.
Lowe Hospitality, Inc. in its acquisition of Hyatt Hotel Corporation’s vacation rental management business, currently known as Destination Residential Management.
BDT & MSD Partners in its minority investment in Auberge Resorts Collection, the manager of an award-winning portfolio of luxury hotels, reports, residences and private clubs.
Aurora Capital Partners in its capital raise in connection with its acquisition of Sharps Compliance, a full-service national provider of comprehensive waste management solutions including medical, pharmaceutical and hazardous waste.
McGraw-Hill in its acquisition of Achieve3000, a recognized leader in differentiated instruction and learning acceleration for PreK-12 students.
McGraw-Hill in its acquisition of Boards & Beyond, a producer of digital video educational materials for medical students.
DreamBox Learning, a PK-12 education technology provider, and its investors, including Elliott Investment Management and TPG, in the sale of DreamBox to Discovery Education, a global education technology company backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P.
myDigitalOffice in its strategic investment from Cove Hill Partners.

Niki earned her law degree from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, where she served as a Senior Editor of the Southern California Law Review. While in law school, Niki was Vice President of the Public Interest Law Foundation, Vice President of the South Asian Law Students Association, and a member of the Post-Conviction Justice Project.

Prior to law school, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Davis.

Niki is admitted to practice in the State of California.

William B. Altabef is an associate in the Dallas office of Gibson Dunn. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, and advising on general corporate matters.

William earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Comments Editor for the Chicago Journal of International Law. He received his undergraduate degree with honors from Northwestern University. Prior to joining the firm, William clerked for the Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. During law school, William interned for the Honorable Barbara M. G. Lynn of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Prior to law school, he worked in marketing for a multinational financial services corporation.

William is admitted to practice in Texas.

Representative Matters

Counsel to Pioneer Natural Resources Company in its $65 billion merger with Exxon Mobil Corporation
Counsel to AT&T in connection with the sale of its interest in DIRECTV.
Counsel to Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. in its $5.4 billion combination transaction with NexTier Oilfield Solutions Inc.
Counsel to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds in its acquisition of CentroMotion, a leading designer and manufacturer of highly engineered products and systems for the industrial and transportation markets.
Counsel to CenterOak Partners LLC in its acquisitions and divestitures of numerous businesses.
Counsel to Trive Capital in acquiring its stake in Mo’ Bettahs Hawaiian Style Food.

Publications

The Legal Man in the Moon: Exploring Environmental Personhood for Celestial Bodies, 21 Chi. J. Int’l L. 476 (2021).

Marc Aaron Takagaki is an associate in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, where his practice centers on high-stakes commercial, securities, class action, and white-collar litigation across a wide range of industries, including finance, technology, and life sciences. He has successfully represented clients in securities, accounting, contract, trade secrets, and founder disputes, along with criminal and internal investigations.

Marc Aaron has significant motion practice, witness questioning, and civil discovery experience. He has conducted an evidentiary hearing in federal court, drafted dispositive motions in federal court, led appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, and first-chaired fact and expert witness depositions. He also has experience with mediations and settlement negotiations.

Representative matters include:

Representing Amazon.com in lawsuit concerning Key for Business service.
Representing SolarEdge Technologies and its senior executives in securities class action for accounting fraud and financial reporting violations.
Representing Electric Solidus Inc. d/b/a Swan Bitcoin in lawsuit concerning trade secrets and breach of contract related to cryptocurrency venture.
Representing Welltower Inc. in lawsuit concerning investment in residential housing complexes.
Representing Evan Greebel in criminal and civil matters.
Representing financial institution in criminal and regulatory investigation.
Representing accounting firm in regulatory investigation.
Representing Sequential Brands Group, Inc. and its senior executives in securities class action for accounting fraud and financial reporting violations.
Represented Esperion Therapeutics in pharmaceutical licensing dispute.
Represented S&P Global in class action concerning antitrust violations.
Represented Meta Platforms, Inc. in class action related to the aftermath of the widely reported Cambridge Analytica issues.
Represented Solomon Levy in lawsuit involving breach of contract.
Represented the University of Southern California in lawsuit related to Dr. George Tyndall.
Represented Vale S.A. in multiple securities class actions concerning mining accidents in Brazil.
Represented Rio Tinto Group in securities enforcement action concerning multi-billion-dollar investment in Mozambique.
Represented life science company in pharmaceutical licensing dispute.
Represented accounting firm in internal investigations.
Represented cryptocurrency company during corporate formation.
Represented casino in corporate governance dispute.

Marc Aaron further maintains an active pro bono practice. He is currently lead trial counsel in a federal civil rights action on behalf of an inmate in New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and represents asylum applicants fleeing persecution.

He received his Juris Doctor in 2017 from the University of Michigan Law School where he was a Contributing Editor of the Journal of Law Reform. Marc Aaron was also the winner of the 2016 University of Michigan Law Transactional Competition and was awarded “Best Drafting for Buy-Side Counsel” and “Best Overall Buy-Side Counsel.” He also represented the University of Michigan Law School in a national transactional law competition, where he was a semi-finalist. During law school, Marc Aaron also worked with low-income individuals as part of the General Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic and worked with criminal defendants on appellate matters in the Advanced Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic.

Marc Aaron received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from the University of California Los Angeles in 2011.

He is admitted to practice in the State of New York and the State of California, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Michael P. Darden is a partner in the Houston office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Mr. Darden is chair of the firm’s Oil & Gas Practice Group, a member of the firm’s Energy and Infrastructure, and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Groups, and previously served as partner in charge of the Houston office.

His practice focuses on:

International and U.S. oil and gas ventures (including LNG, deep-water and unconventional resource development projects)
International and U.S. infrastructure projects
Asset acquisitions and divestitures
Energy-based financings (including project financings, reserve-based loans and production payments)
Carbon capture, utilization and sequestration projects

Before joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Darden served as the global chair of the oil and gas transactions practice and co-chair of the global oil and gas industry team at Latham & Watkins as well as the firmwide chair of the global oil and gas practice at Baker Botts. Prior to Baker Botts, Mr. Darden was Vice President, Business Development, for Nuevo Energy Company, with responsibility for U.S. and international business development, international new ventures, international legal and negotiations matters, international mergers and acquisitions, as well as real estate portfolio management and land matters in the United States. He has also worked in the international legal and/or negotiations areas for Tenneco Oil Company, BHP Petroleum and Hunt Oil Company.

Mr. Darden has been recognized in the following publications:

Chambers USA – America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional), 2005-2025 (Band One)
The Legal 500–Hall of Fame in Energy Transactions–Oil and Gas, 2021-2025; The Legal 500–Tier 1 leading lawyers in the U.S. in the practice of Energy: Transactions – Oil & Gas, 2015-2020; The Legal 500, 2012–2014
Who’s Who Legal Oil & Gas, 2010–2025; Who’s Who Legal Oil & Gas – Thought Leader, 2023-2025
Chambers Global, 2011-2025 (Band One)
Law360 Energy MVP, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2021
Law & Politics as a “Texas Super Lawyer,” 2003–2004, 2006–2025; Top 100 “Houston Super Lawyers List,” 2018 and 2019
Who’s Who Legal Project Finance, 2012–2014, 2017-2023

Mr. Darden is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, in which he has served as an officer, director and committee chairman and was co-chair of the committee that developed the model form international farmout agreement. Mr. Darden is Board Certified in Oil and Gas Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and a member of the Houston Bar Association.

Representative Matters*

Domestic U.S.—Upstream; M&A/A&D

Representation of Pioneer Natural Resources in its $64.5 billion merger with ExxonMobil
Representation of Chief E&D Holdings, LP and Tug Hill, Inc. in the $2.65 billion acquisition by Chesapeake Energy Corporation of Chief E&D Holdings and associated interests held by affiliates of Tug Hill
Representation of Pioneer Natural Resources Company in its $7.6 billion acquisition of Parsley Energy, Inc.
Representation of Pioneer Natural Resources in $6.4 billion bolt-on acquisition of DoublePoint Energy
Representation of Callon Petroleum Company in connection with acquisition of the leasehold interests and related oil, gas, and infrastructure assets of Primexx Energy Partners in the Delaware Basin
Representation of Occidental Petroleum in a $3 billion joint venture with Ecopetrol to develop almost 100,000 net acres of Midland Basin properties in the Permian Basin
Representation of Murphy Oil Company in a $3 billion joint venture with Petrobras America for ownership and development of deep water Gulf of Mexico assets
Representation of EnerVest in connection with its $2.66 billion sale of its Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk assets to TPG Pace Energy Holdings (TPGE)
Representation of Concho Resources in its $9.5 billion merger with RSP Permian
Representation of seller in divestiture of 63,000 net acres of productive and exploratory leasehold in the Wolfcamp Shale of the Permian Basin, along with seller’s interest in certain mid-stream gathering assets, for $2.5 billion
Representation of purchaser of 12,000 net acres of productive Spraberry and Wolfcamp leasehold in the Permian Basin for $600 million
Representation of seller in divestiture of Spraberry and Wolfcamp leasehold in the Permian Basin for $980 million
Representation of purchaser of 36,860 net acres of Wolfcamp leasehold in the Permian Basin for $855 million
Representation of buyer in its $2 billion investment in exchange for 30% of seller’s interest in approximately 650,000 net acres in the Cline shale and the Midland-Wolfcamp Shale of the Permian Basin
Representation of seller in divestiture of Eagle Ford Shale-focused midstream company for $2.15 billion
Representation of seller in divestiture of 120,000 net acres of productive and exploratory leasehold in the Eagle Ford Shale formation in South Texas, along with the seller’s interest in certain mid-stream gathering assets, for $1.45 billion
Representation of largest seller in multi-company divestiture of approximately 32,000 gross acres in the Bakken Shale formation of North Dakota for $1.4 billion
Conveyance of $5 billion of onshore exploration and production assets in relation to spin-off of exploration and production company from regulated utility
Representation of producer (gas owner) in terminaling agreement for counterparty to store and transport producer’s natural gas stream to producer’s terminal and to process the natural gas stream to produce and deliver ethane to producer’s ships at the terminal for overseas delivery
Representation of buyer in acquisition of interests in producing deepwater Gulf of Mexico leases, along with associated capacity rights in offshore infrastructure and interests in related contracts, for $2.15 billion
Representation of buyer in acquisition of interests in 28 deep-water Gulf of Mexico leases and structuring, negotiating and implementing (i) Participation Agreement calling for a minimum expenditure of $600 million and (ii) Management Services Agreement
Representation of buyer in acquisition of several producing deepwater Gulf of Mexico fields (23 leases encompassing five field areas), along with associated capacity rights in offshore infrastructure and interests in related contracts, for $5.55 billion

Domestic U.S.—Midstream and Infrastructure

Representation of 1PointFive, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, in a 25-year CO2 offtake, transportation, and sequestration agreement
Representation of midstream company in creation of JV for 550-mile crude oil pipeline from the Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast, including JV documents, commercial contracts, and construction management agreements
Representation of seller in divestiture of Eagle Ford Shale-focused midstream company for $2.15 billion
Joint venture with Frontier Midstream Solutions IV to create Beta Crude Connector to build and provide crude oil gathering, transportation and storage services in the Northern Midland region
Representation of seller in divestiture of 63,000 net acres of productive and exploratory leasehold in the Wolfcamp Shale of the Permian Basin, along with seller’s interest in certain mid-stream gathering assets, for $2.5 billion
Representation of seller in divestiture of 120,000 net acres of productive and exploratory leasehold in the Eagle Ford Shale formation in South Texas, along with the seller’s interest in certain mid-stream gathering assets, for $1.45 billion
Acquisition of Saragosa Field Services, LLC (a provider of midstream services) as part of an $800 million acquisition of Delaware Basin assets
Representation of seller in divestiture of productive Eagle Ford assets, along with seller’s interest in certain midstream gathering assets, for $2.7 billion
Negotiation, and renegotiation, of numerous midstream commercial agreements, such as gathering agreements, handling agreements, processing agreements, storage agreements, production agreements, marketing agreements, and transportation agreements
Renegotiation of agreements with midstream services provider during and after bankruptcy of joint working interest owner
Analysis of all midstream contracts of target entity prior to $7.6 billion merger; structuring of client’s midstream business subsequent to merger; and dedication of all upstream assets to the new midstream entity
Analysis of all midstream contracts of target entity prior to $6.4 billion acquisition, and dedication of all upstream assets to midstream entity
Drop-down of midstream assets of general partner to midstream services MLP and negotiation of associated midstream agreement
Analysis of midstream contracts of target entity prior to $9.8 billion merger
Negotiation of suite of midstream contracts with midstream services provider following creation of $3 billion upstream joint venture
Representation of buyer in a series of acquisitions of midstream assets located in South Texas
Representation of seller in divestiture of rights in gathering, processing, and sales agreements applying to Marcellus Shale assets as part of a $325 million transaction
Representation of buyer in acquisition of midstream gathering assets located in the Haynesville Shale area as part of a $1.3 billion transaction
Representation of producer (gas owner) in terminaling agreement for counterparty to store and transport producer’s natural gas stream to producer’s terminal and to process the natural gas stream to produce and deliver ethane to producer’s ships at the terminal for overseas delivery
Representation of satellite field operator in structuring, negotiating and implementing deep-water Gulf of Mexico Production Handling Agreement addressing processing of, and capacity management for, production from satellite field on existing deep-water floating production system
Representation of buyer in acquisition of interests in producing deepwater Gulf of Mexico leases, along with associated capacity rights in offshore infrastructure and interests in related contracts, for $2.15 billion
Representation of buyer in acquisition of several producing deepwater Gulf of Mexico fields (23 leases encompassing five field areas), along with associated capacity rights in offshore infrastructure and interests in related contracts, for $5.55 billion
Acquisition of an interest in an offshore floating production system for in excess of $168 million, including documentation for a special-purpose entity, operating and production handling, capacity management, minimum throughput guarantees, supporting parent company guarantees, and nonrecourse financing
Acquisition of an interest in a producing deep-water Gulf of Mexico oil field, along with associated capacity rights in offshore infrastructure, for $1.2 billion

LNG Projects

Representation of a confidential client in diligence and document review for acquisition of an interest in the Driftwood LNG Project in Louisiana, U.S.A.
Representation of a confidential client in the upstream segment of the Tangguh LNG Project in Indonesia
Representation of a confidential client in the upstream, gas sales and plant operations segments of the EG LNG Project in Equatorial Guinea
Representation of a confidential client in the upstream, gas transportation and plant operations segments of the Peru LNG Project in Peru
Representation of a confidential client in the sale of an interest in the Peru LNG Project
Representation of a confidential client in the reorganization of ownership shares in the project company for the Peru LNG Project
Representation of a confidential client in the upstream segment of the Al Khaleej Gas (AKG) Project in Qatar
Representation of a confidential client in the upstream segment of the Mozambique LNG Project in Mozambique
Representation of a confidential client in the upstream segment of the Yemen LNG Project in Yemen
Representation of a confidential client in diligence of a target company’s global LNG business, assets, and contracts
Representation of a confidential client in a terminaling agreement to store natural gas, transport natural gas to a terminal (Houston Ship Channel), and process natural gas to produce and deliver ethane to the producer’s ships (VLECs) at the terminal
Representation of a confidential client in the unitization of the Gobe and SE Gobe Fields in Papua New Guinea for gas development

International

Extensive work on petroleum exploration, development and/or production projects in all regions of the world, including several LNG projects. Involvement at all stages of petroleum projects, working with governments, industry participants, partners, contractors, suppliers, lenders and insurers
Drafting and negotiation of production sharing contracts (and other host government contracts), licenses, LNG project agreements, technical evaluation agreements, confidentiality agreements, joint bidding agreements, joint venture agreements, development agreements, company organization, structuring and operating documents, farmout agreements, purchase and sale agreements, joint operating agreements, EPC contracts, drilling contracts and service contracts for exploration, development and production activities in more than 60 countries
Countries, by region, include: Canada; Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Venezuela; Albania, France, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom; Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Tunisia and Yemen; Angola, Benin, Congo, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sudan and Zambia; Australia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Tonga and Vietnam

Education

Mr. Darden received his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center, an M.B.A. from Rice University and a B.B.A. in Petroleum Land Management from The University of Texas.

* Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Simon is an energy regulatory associate whose practice focuses on advising and representing clients in the electricity, natural gas, and renewable energy industries.

He represents independent power producers, public utilities, transmission companies, and oil and gas companies in connection with a variety of regulatory, transactional, administrative, and advisory contexts including energy utility mergers and acquisitions, project development, negotiating transaction agreements, obtaining federal and state regulatory approvals in connection with project development, PURPA mandatory buys, and FERC settlement procedures.

He received his Juris Doctor cum laude and LL.M in Taxation with distinction from the Georgetown University Law Center. He was selected as the student commencement speaker, served as a member of the Georgetown Environmental Law Review, and received the highest grade in coursework related to the taxation of energy markets. Simon earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Florida where he was a member of Florida Blue Key.

He was as a judicial intern to the Honorable Helene White Levin of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

He is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Florida.

Grant Henri Lallande is an associate in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn. He works in the firm’s Litigation Department and practices in the areas of Complex Commercial Litigation, Law Firm Defense, and White Collar Defense and Investigations.

Grant earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 2024. While in law school, he was a member of the California Law Review and received the Jurisprudence Award in Remedies. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego in 2021.

Grant is admitted to practice law in the State of California.

Simon Wörrlein is an associate in the Munich office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group.

Simon advises clients in the area of corporate governance and compliance. His practice includes advice in the structuring, implementation and assessment of compliance management systems as well as assistance in connection with internal corporate investigations both nationally and internationally.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Simon worked as an in-house lawyer in the global legal department of a DAX^®40 multinational in the chemical industry in Ludwigshafen, Germany and Dubai, UAE, where he initially advised global and regional business units and functional units in their daily legal matters and later focused on the design and implementation of group-wide compliance measures as well as on the handling of compliance cases in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Simon studied law at the University of Tübingen, Germany, the University of Granada (UGR), Spain, and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, specializing in International Economic Law. He holds a Master of Administrative Sciences (Magister rerum publicarum) from the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, Germany.

During his studies and his legal clerkship, Simon worked as a research fellow and trainee for renowned international law firms in Frankfurt and Stuttgart, Germany and Barcelona, Spain, and for the German Corporation for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH) in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Simon speaks German, English, Spanish, French and Italian.

Babette Milz is an associate in the Munich office of Gibson Dunn . She is a member of the firm’s Litigation and Antitrust Practice Groups.

Babette studied law at the University of Passau, where she passed her first state examination in 2019. Prior to starting her legal clerkship, Babette wrote a Ph.D. thesis with focus on Corporate Law. During her legal clerkship, she gained experience in Antitrust Law for a renowned international law firm in Munich. Babette passed her second state examination at the Higher Regional Court of Munich in 2024 and has been admitted as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwältin) since 2025.

In addition to her native German, Babette speaks English.

Marc Kanzler is an associate in Gibson Dunn’s Munich office. He is a member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group.

Marc focuses his practice on German and international commercial arbitration and complex litigation matters.

He studied law at the University of Passau, where he passed his first state examination in 2019. During his legal clerkship, Marc worked for different renowned international law firms in Munich. He passed his second state examination at the Higher Regional Court of Munich in 2021. Marc has been admitted as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) since 2022.

After his second state examination, Marc worked for a legal tech start-up as Legal Innovation Manager. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he was an associate in the Mergers and Acquisitions practice of a renowned U.S. law firm in Munich.

In addition to his native German, Marc speaks English.