Michael Watson > White & Case LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

White & Case LLP‘s power offering is noted as having ‘a deep understanding of’ the sector and ‘extensive experience’ in handling international work. The team is headed up by Carina Radford who has significant experience assisting in large-scale, international cases, and projects and energy transition specialist Michael Watson. Mukund Dhar, who has a focus on African energy projects, is noted as being ‘a fantastic partner who is commercial, efficient and strategic’. The team has a strong reputation for its ability to handle matters involving infrastructure, financing and M&A matter of high-value and significant complexity, covering the industry, from conventional generation and renewables, to hydrogen, battery storage and energy infrastructure. It is also well-equipped to advise its clients on regulation, optimisation and operation aspects of projects, which is counsel Elisabeth Blundson‘s area of expertise.

White & Case LLP ‘s London-based oil & gas team sits within the firm’s wider energy practice and is therefore well placed to advise high-end clients across the full spectrum of work from complex oil & gas M&A to project finance and disputes, alongside acting on critical energy transition mandates. Michael Watson is an expert across the energy spectrum and advises on large-scale projects. He now co-leads the team in conjunction with Philip Stopford after Mark Clark left the firm in February 2023. Stopford has more than 40 years of experience advising on complex oil & gas transactions. Pre-eminent practitioner David Baker is an important point of contact for project development matters, receiving praise for his ‘wonderful mixture of deep industry knowledge with humility and pragmatism’. Project and international finance expert Jason Kerr is highlighted as a ‘key problem solver and thought leader’ in the sector.

At White & Case LLP, clients appreciate ‘the exceptional combination of competence, expertise, responsiveness and friendliness which provides for an outstanding client experience‘. The firm is active in emerging markets across the globe in work streams as diverse as project finance, bond issuance, corporate transactions and sovereign-related advisory work. ‘Particularly important is their deep bench of EMEA experienced US counsel‘, among them US-qualified debt specialists Melissa Butler and Ian Clark, who work closely with English debt finance experts James Hardy and Stuart Matty. Clark handled a major liability management transaction for the the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. Project development and finance partner Mark Castillo-Bernaus, international finance partner Jason Kerr. Banking partner Christopher Czarnocki, energy partner Philip Stopford and head of the Africa group Mukund Dhar are also heavily involved in emerging market transactions. Senior associate Judith Olloh is highly recommended for energy, infrastructure and project finance. EMEA Head of Project Development and Finance Michael Watson worked with Butler and a strong team of associates to assist Sweihan PV Power Company with the refinancing of the Noor Abu Dhabi solar PV plant through $700m in green bonds. Mining and metals partner Rebecca Campbell is ‘commercially and technically brilliant‘.

,Boasting a client list featuring a host of leading infrastructure fund managers, lenders and sponsors, White & Case LLP provides financing, development and regulatory advice to large-scale international projects, with the ability to leverage the firm’s wealth of resources across the globe. The group has been responsible for project financing a number of PPPs over the past year in countries such as Turkey and Indonesia, and advises on the full gamut of asset types – most notably water, satellites, hydrogen and fibre optic networks over the past year. Michael Watson fronts the department and is principally noted for his work in the Middle East, working with majors in the region like Saudi Aramco as they engage in partnerships and joint ventures with investment managers such as Blackrock and Hassana. Caroline Miller Smith offers a broad practice that includes both greenfield and brownfield financing, and is well-regarded for her energy transition expertise as well as her knowledge of ports, rail and water infrastructure. Kamran Ahmad covers a wide array of multi-sourced financings and project bonds, offering a pan-European and global service to a range of international clients.

The environment practice at White & Case LLP has strong abilities to assist its clients on matters including energy transition, renewable power, green and sustainable finance in addition to its work advising on the environmental aspects of large-scale transactions. It has a particular presence assisting on projects in the Saudi Arabian and UAE market. Michael Watson heads the practice which was bolstered in October 2022 by the arrival of experienced environment consultant Anna Janas who joined the team from an in-house role. Tallat Hussain left the team in 2024. Stephen Shergold joined from Dentons in February 2024.