Overview
(March 11, 2024, Washington, DC) — Steptoe LLP has assembled an all-star team to expand significantly the energy transition, financing and transaction capabilities it offers clients. The addition of top-tier practitioners from Holland & Knight LLP and Covington & Burling LLP, partners Tim Moran and Phil Corsello, senior counsel Joe Tato, and counsel Charlie Carroll and Brad McCormick, who will be based in New York and Washington, follows the addition of 9 partners in Houston and Washington in the last few months.
"Steptoe is honored to have a world-class reputation for its energy regulatory, policy, and litigation experience. With this highly complementary strategic investment, we grow our Energy group to more than 40 lawyers and professionals, and further demonstrate our commitment to current and future clients by building out the range of services we can provide in this sector." said Steptoe chair Gwen Renigar. "This all-star team has worked together previously and we're thrilled to bring them together again here to tackle the most complex matters in the energy, project finance and infrastructure spaces. We talk about advising clients on the intersections between business, government policy, and the courts, and the arrival of Tim, Phil, Joe, Charlie, and Brad underscores the benefits for clients in that proposition."
Dan Mullen, Steptoe's Energy Practice Group Leader commented: "I'm proud to lead an exceptional energy practice team that sits at the forefront of important and emerging issues for both traditional energy and energy transition. This new team along with our recent expansion in Houston and existing world-class energy regulation practice help us continue to design creative solutions to the most complex energy matters in an ever-evolving regulatory landscape. They are terrific additions to our practice and we are proud that they chose Steptoe."
Tim represents and works on behalf of agents, arrangers, institutional investors, lenders, developers, sponsors, private equity, and tax equity investors in a variety of project development and financial matters related to renewable energy, thermal energy, power infrastructure, and midstream oil and gas projects. He represents clients in the structuring of complex financial transactions, and in resolving unique legal and commercial challenges. While working primarily in North American markets, Tim has also spent a substantial amount of time representing clients on projects in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
For most of the past two decades, Tim's focus has been in the renewable energy sector where, in addition to his project finance expertise, Tim has built a strong energy and infrastructure M&A reputation for his representation of clients in connection with the purchase and sale of energy companies, renewable energy assets and portfolios of projects that span utility scale solar, onshore and offshore wind, energy storage, transmission and other asset classes recognized as "clean" or "sustainable".
Phil has more than 30 years of experience in the project finance, energy and infrastructure sectors. He represents agents, arrangers, institutional investors, banks and other lenders, as well as sponsors, developers, private equity, infrastructure fund, tax equity, and other investors in the energy and other sectors on a wide variety of financing transactions. In the energy sector, Phil represents clients on credit facilities aligned with sustainability-linked principles and green loan principles, project construction and mini-perm financings, build-transfer financings, tax equity and back-leverage financings, renewable energy portfolio financings, renewable project development letter of credit facilities and capital call bridge financings, as well as energy project acquisitions and dispositions.
Tim said in regard to joining the firm: "Steptoe is widely known for having one of the premier energy practices in the country, so joining the firm is an exciting opportunity for both myself and my clients. I'm excited to bring back together a team that started working together more than 20 years ago, and to do so under the Steptoe banner. We look forward to collaborating with our Steptoe colleagues around the world on some of the most cutting-edge and complex transactions in the market."
Phil commented: "I'm thrilled to be joining the storied energy practice at Steptoe. This is a great opportunity for all of us and I look forward to working with my colleagues to realize the vision of a full-service project finance, energy and infrastructure team that we all share for Steptoe."
Joe has created and/or led the project finance teams at three international law firms and is well known and highly regarded industry-wide for his representation of project sponsors, equity investors, financial institutions, and governments in the development and financing of power, oil and gas, LNG, renewables, water, mining, and other infrastructure projects in the US, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. He also works with sponsors and financial institutions in mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and workouts.
Charlie represents developers, sponsors, investors, and financial institutions in the development, financing, acquisition, and disposition of nuclear, renewable, and other energy projects and related infrastructure in the US and abroad. He has advised clients engaged in project financings, holding company financings, tax-equity financings, single-investor and leveraged-leasing, Rule 144A offerings, Term Loan B financings, private placements, acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, and workouts.
Brad advises clients on strategic cross-border and domestic investments, acquisitions and dispositions, debt and equity financing transactions and sophisticated contractual matters. He regularly represents sponsors, investors, developers and lenders in the development, financing, construction, operation, acquisition and sale of energy and infrastructure projects, including renewables, nuclear, natural gas, energy storage, transmission and distribution, cogeneration, district heating and cooling, waste-to-energy, solid waste management, biofuels, water, wastewater, transportation, and advanced manufacturing.
About Steptoe
In more than 110 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
The diversity of the firm is a critical factor in its success. The firm's chair is a woman; the majority of the firm's elected executive committee is female; the majority of Steptoe's ten offices are managed by women; and the majority of Steptoe’s practice groups have women as leaders. The firm's six-person professional business services leadership is equally diverse, with two women of color, and other leaders who openly identify as LGBTQ+.
