Project Finance and Infrastructure

At the forefront in advising on a range of multifaceted projects, Sidley’s lawyers draw upon a nuanced understanding of the evolving global landscape to meet our clients’ strategic business objectives. Our team harnesses the firm’s breadth of resources to provide seamless service that crosses borders and areas of law. We represent sponsors, lenders, investors, contractors, credit agencies and service providers across virtually every major industry, in particular, energy and infrastructure, as well as alternative energy, electric power, mining and manufacturing, oil and gas, telecommunications and transportation.

We bring value to our clients in the following ways:

• Global reach and perspective: With lawyers in offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia, we are well positioned to advise clients in the development, construction, financing, sale and acquisition of large-scale global projects. Several of our lawyers are native Spanish speakers and have active practices in Latin America, bringing in-depth knowledge of the region. Our close relationships with local counsel in key jurisdictions where we do not have an office have enabled us to assist on ground-breaking transactions in emerging markets, such as Mongolia.
• Diversified practice areas: Leveraging the firm’s vast network of lawyers, we offer tailored advice spanning multiple legal disciplines. This includes global finance, international trade and arbitration, corporate reorganization and bankruptcy, regulatory, tax, environmental law and real estate. In addition, we regularly collaborate with the lawyers in our M&A and technology and IP practices to structure joint ventures and private equity transactions in connection with a variety of infrastructure projects. 
• Integrated service capabilities: Our experience representing major institutional investors, banks and project developers allows us to offer our clients market-leading insight into compliance concerns and project risks, as well as the advantages of each form of financing. We negotiate and document all aspects of engineering, procurement and construction contracts, equipment supply contracts and off-take contracts. This includes handling agreements related to fuel transportation and supply, water, operations and maintenance, transmission and interconnection, land use, and debt and equity financing.

Recognition for the practice

Strong leadership in advising clients has earned us acknowledgment from numerous industry publications. This includes receiving a first-tier national ranking in Project Finance Law in the 2016 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” Survey. Our lawyers are frequently ranked among The Best Lawyers in America®, and are recognized as industry leaders by Chambers Global and Chambers USA, The Legal 500, IFLR1000 and Who’s Who Legal. According to Chambers USA 2016, members of our team are “well regarded for … developing power and oil and gas projects,” with clients saying that our lawyers have “a wealth of knowledge on these transactions” and “a comprehensive approach.” 

We have also been recognized for our global reach, including in Chambers Global 2016, which said of our work in Mongolia: “The firm pools expertise from Singapore, China, the UK and the USA to assist various clients with project development, M&A, financings, litigation and arbitration. … The lawyers have impressed market sources, who note that they ‘know their priorities’ and have been ‘highly efficient in terms of delivering and responding to any issues raised.’”

In addition, Chambers USA 2015 described our team as an “esteemed group in the Latin American market” with “strong offerings throughout Central America and the Caribbean.”