With expertise in handling energy, infrastructure, and general industrial transactions, Kirkland & Ellis LLP remains a leading practice for environmental transactions. With experience spanning the entire transaction process, from pre-deal counseling to environmental disclosures, the practice has built an impressive client roster of private equity sponsors, including Blackstone and KKR. Splitting his time between San Francisco and Houston, Paul Tanaka is highly regarded for his work within the energy and infrastructure space, where he assists with due diligence assessments, liability and risk allocation issues, and risk-mitigating solutions. Dallas-based Jonathan Kidwell is the primary contact for identifying and managing environmental, regulatory, and permitting liabilities and opportunities within the practice. James Dolphin routinely acts for private equity and industry clients on energy-focused transactions and projects out of the Houston office. DC attorney Sara Michaelchuck Webber is noted for her work on environmental liability solutions, while Michael Saretsky is equally recommended for his broad practice out of the New York and San Francisco office, which extends to bond offerings, public and private M&A, and restructuring.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Very capable, niche team with extremely specialized knowledge.’
‘Recommend the lawyers for their responsiveness.’
‘The Kirkland & Ellis LLP environmental transactional team is not only deep but broad, both geographically and with respect to experience and expertise. The team is practical, business-minded, but also able to advise on nuanced environmental, legal, and technical issues.’
‘The Kirkland & Ellis LLP environmental lawyers I've worked with, including Michael Saretsky and Sam Dykstra, have been practical, business-minded, and understand the difference between the risks that matter in the context of the deal and those that don't, while always keeping the client's risk tolerance top of mind.’
‘Not only do the K&E transactional environmental lawyers coordinate exceptionally well among themselves, but they also work seamlessly with co-counsel, local counsel, the client, and other parties to the deal to achieve the client's ultimate goals.’
Key clients
- Amcor PLC
- Avant Natural Resources & Franklin Mountain Energy
- BC Partners
- Blackstone
- Blue Owl Capital
- Blue Owl Real Estate Capital
- Brookfield Infrastructure Partners
- Butterfly Equity
- CF Industries
- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
- Constellation Energy Corporation
- Encore Holding LLC
Work highlights
Advised Amcor plc on a definitive agreement in which the company will combine with Berry Global Group Inc. through an all-stock merger.
Advised Blue Owl on the closing of the second phase of a $15 billion joint venture with Crusoe Energy Systems to fund the development of a 1.2-gigawatt AI data center campus comprised of eight buildings containing a total of 32 data halls and including 300 MW of on-site power generation, located in Abilene, Texas.
Advised Constellation Energy in its proposed acquisition of Calpine in a cash and stock transaction valued at an equity purchase price of approximately $16.4 billion, composed of 50 million shares of Constellation stock and $4.5 billion in cash plus the assumption of approximately $12.7 billion of Calpine net debt.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Other key lawyers
Paul Tanaka; Jonathan Kidwell; James Dolphin; Michelle Sliwinski DeMaio; Sam Dykstra; Sara Michaelchuk Webber; Michael Saretsky