Hao Huang > Winston & Strawn LLP > Los Angeles, United States > Lawyer Profile

Recognized in the market for its expertise representing lenders on various renewable and alternative energy matters, with a particular focus on wind and energy storage, Winston & Strawn LLP‘s energy and infrastructure group continues to attract new and impressive clients from the financial services, energy, and infrastructure sectors. The practice’s robust offering covers a wide range of transactional, environmental, and regulatory matters including financing, acquisitions, and dispositions, as well as project development, restructuring, and permitting, among others, on both a domestic and international level. Co-heading the department between New York and Houston are Mike Pikiel and Mike Blankenship respectively, and they are supported by Los Angeles’ project finance specialist Laurae Rossi who stands out for her experience handling financing, tax equity partnerships, and tax credit transfer purchase transactions. In New York, Jonathan Birenbaum is the go-to for energy and infrastructure businesses and financial institutions seeking assistance with acquisitions, dispositions, and financing. On the debt financing front, Los Angeles-based Hao Huang is the main contact. The team has seen some new additions between March and August 2024 with the arrival of Kevin Brophy and Ming Lei from McDermott Will & Emery LLP, and Laurens Wilkes from Jones Day.

Winston & Strawn LLP ‘brings tremendous expertise to the area of project finance’ and its sizeable group has complementary expertise in energy project finance and across P3 and infrastructure projects. In energy project financings, the group is well versed in transactions involving both renewable and conventional power assets, and acts in a plethora and significant matters located across the country. In PPP and infrastructure work, the practice is often engaged in mandates that require novel financing structures, and is otherwise a regular fixture of the domestic landscape of significant projects, from transport infrastructure to large-scale buildings. On both sides of the project finance offering, Mike Pikiel in New York is a renowned figure and whether acting for sponsors, developers, investors, lenders, underwriters, or contractors, he is experienced in the range of project financing, particularly P3s. Fellow infrastructure practice head Alan Hoffman is also based in New York and is a recognized figure in sports venue financing. Richard Puttré in Miami is the third of the trio coordinating infrastructure and PPP financing. In Los Angeles the energy offering benefits from the renewable energy finance knowledge of Laurae Rossi, and the growing transactions experience of Hao Huang.