Eli Katz > Latham & Watkins LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Latham & Watkins LLP’s ‘laser-focused’ team acts for its roster of clients across the full range of energy and infrastructure mandates, including the entire oil and gas value chain, from exploration and midstream infrastructure to LNG, refining and petrochemicals. Counting domestic and cross-border M&A, joint ventures and capital markets transactions in its workload, key clients include private and public oil and gas companies, private equity sponsors and lenders. In the firm’s New York office, Eli Katz jointly leads the team alongside Justin Stolte, who advises on M&A, joint ventures and alternative finance transactions across the energy sector. John Greer has considerable experience in transactions involving exploration, pipelines and oilfield service companies and Ryan Maierson specializes in M&A and corporate finance, while Lauren Anderson specializes in private equity transactions, M&A and general corporate matters. Stephen Szalkowski focuses on acquisitions, joint ventures and private equity investments and James Garrett is frequently involved in landmark M&A transactions in the energy sector. Associate Ashley Nguyen has broad domestic and cross-border experience concerning strategic transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors. All named lawyers are based in Houston, unless stated otherwise.

With experience in acting for major energy companies, developers, and investors on high-value and high-impact projects in wind, solar, storage, and CCS, Latham & Watkins LLP earns its strong reputation as a market leader in the renewables space. The team is led by New York-based global energy and infrastructure group (E&I group) vice-chair Eli Katz, who has broad expertise in project financing as well as a niche focus on tax issues related to the sector, and Houston’s E&I group global chair Justin Stolte with a broad expertise in transactions. Also in New York, project finance partner Matthew Henegar and Kelly Cataldo are particularly strong in offshore wind and projects in the US and Latin American market, with Cataldo advising clients on the whole range of construction, financing and investment. Key names on the West Coast include project finance experts Jeffrey Greenberg in Los Angeles and Omar Nazif in San Diego, who is well-versed in development and financing of domestic and international energy projects. In Houston, M&A attorney Ashley J. Nguyen is noted. The firm’s reach was extended significantly in 2022, with the arrival of global co-chair of the firm’s ESG-practice Sarah Fortt in Austin, ESG co-chair Betty Huber, and M&A expert Caroline Blitzer Phillips and Jason Webber in New York, as well as Ethan Schultz, who splits his time between Washington D.C. and Houston.