Where other firms treat project development as an adjunct to their corporate and finance practices, King & Spalding treats it as a core business. Project development, the complex bundle of activities required to turn an idea and a patch of dirt into a profitable production facility, is the firm’s specialty. From structuring and joint venture arrangements to concessions, permits, real estate, commercial and construction contracting, and project finance and monetization, King & Spalding’s dedicated team works full time on project matters.
The project development team offers a unique cross-section of experience in oil, gas, LNG, power and mining. Several of the firm’s partners worked as in-house project counsel or engineers prior to joining King & Spalding; others have handled project matters both domestically and abroad since the 1980s. The firm also employs a dedicated group of senior counsel with diverse and specialized experience, including upstream oil and gas, maritime transportation, minerals and refining/petrochemicals. King & Spalding knows how to help its clients turn molecules and electrons into money, from idea to execution.
Clients benefit from King & Spalding’s dedicated focus in many ways:
Trained. Clients count on the firm’s lawyers to grasp their business objectives and to understand the tasks needed to get them to the finish line. King & Spalding’s trained team can get up and running in very little time on a wide range of projects, saving the client time and money.
Seamless Part of the Team. The firm has extensive experience working closely with client teams on their projects, often over extended periods. Clients consider King & Spalding lawyers an extension of their own team; they listen to their clients and dedicate themselves to their priorities.
Objective Oriented. Numerous obstacles challenge the success of a project, but none more so than lawyers who say, “It can’t be done.” This is especially true in unconventional projects such as the new generation of U.S. LNG receiving terminals, for which King & Spalding developed a new form (now the industry standard) of “terminal use agreements.” The firm’s lawyers work to find effective solutions, even where no template exists.
Win-Win Approach. Projects require long-term commitments by a number of parties with divergent interests. In order for a project to succeed, each participant must get what it needs to justify its support of the project. King & Spalding recognizes its part in creating win-win outcomes, and clients enjoy the benefit of this approach.
Recognitions
The firm’s consistent record of “walking the talk” has brought it significant industry recognition:
- King & Spalding is lauded by Chambers Global 2010 as possessing a “thriving energy M&A and project development and finance practice.”
- King & Spalding is recognized for its “first-class energy team” and ranks as one of the top energy and natural resources firms in the United States in the 2010 edition of Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
- King & Spalding is named one of the top energy and natural resources firms nationally (Chambers USA 2010).
- King & Spalding was ranked in the 2009 United Arab Emirates section of Legal 500 for projects and energy.
- King & Spalding lawyers are ranked in Euromoney’s “World’s Leading Energy and Natural Resource Lawyers.”
- Recommended as one of the leading Latin American practices focusing on project finance (Latin Lawyer 2008).
King & Spalding is called upon by a broad range of the energy and natural resources industry in cutting-edge transactions. Its clients ask for assistance worldwide. A significant portion of the firm’s business is international, including mining, power, LNG, and oil and gas ventures in various foreign countries. King & Spalding’s Project Development Group:
- Represents more LNG import terminal developers than any other U.S. law firm.
- Has assisted sponsors or lenders in multiple gas storage projects in the last two years.
- Represents two clients in their significant international and domestic power development transactions and a number of others in one-off power project developments.
- Has been counsel to a number of mining companies in matters ranging from surface aggregate mining to cement plants, from base-metals mining to gold.
- Has an especially strong foothold in the burgeoning biofuels industry, having worked extensively with both biodiesel and ethanol projects.
