Jeremy Connick > Clifford Chance LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Clifford Chance LLP ‘has no peers when it comes to the delivery of legal services‘, according to one client. Another describes ‘an innovative team that focuses on protecting client’s interest than following the norm‘. The emerging markets team in London is active in deals in Africa, India, Latin America, Turkey, the CIS and the CEE region. Its expertise in in banking, project finance, commodity and trade finance, structured finance, securitisation and derivatives, and debt and equity capital markets transactions is market-leading. The lead partners are Leonard Cleland, who focuses on work in the CIS, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and infrastructure finance partner Simon Williams. Cleland advised the lenders on a €256m dual ECA-backed financing package for the development of three new hospitals in Angola. Energy and infrastructure partners Jeremy Connick, Kayode Oladipo (who is ‘an exceptional lawyer whose knowledge of law and the industry is remarkable‘) and Olamide Oladosu are heavily involved in the Africa practice. Connick and Oladosu advised Genser Energy on a $425m financing to boost its operations in Ghana. Capital markets partner Deborah Zandstra acted for The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in securing an Extended Fund Facility from the IMF. Senior associate Rebecca Shepherd in the global financial markets group also stands out for emerging markets transactions.

The power team at Clifford Chance LLP, noted as being ‘a pleasure to work with’, has a strong reputation for its capabilities in the full scope of complex power work, at both domestic and international levels. The team has a particular presence in the African market, which is Jeremy Connick‘s area of specialism. Partners include the firm’s global head of renewables and wind power expert James Pay , alongside global co-head of power Nicholas Hughes and global head of nuclear power John Wilkins, who is described as being ‘particularly effective in the energy sector’. A key example of the nature and scale of the team’s workload is its advising AXA IM Alts and Crédit Agricole Assurances on the acquisition of a 50% stake in the 1.3 GW Hornsea Two offshore wind farm in the UK. ‘Incredible leader and lawyer’ Clare Burgess heads up the Energy & Infrastructure team in London and has a particular focus on green finance initiatives, namely being work involving green bonds, green loans and current regulatory and legislative initiatives in this area.