This conference will explore the legal and business trends and issues facing the growing renewables sector of the energy industry. The conference will focus on renewable project development and is designed primarily for attorneys and legal consultants representing the energy industry. This conference will be presented in a hybrid format. Although primarily designed for those attending the conference in-person, the conference is also available to view live online.
Although MCLE credit was previously obtained for this program in at least one jurisdiction (most likely Texas), such credit has expired and not been renewed by The Center for American and International Law. You may be able to obtain credit in certain jurisdictions (self-study credit), but the rules vary greatly by jurisdiction. Please review your jurisdiction’s MCLE rules and regulations before purchasing or viewing this program.
David is a Vice President on the Wood Mackenzie corporate research team, and heads up Americas Corporate Research. His focus is on the US majors and independents, providing in depth data-driven analysis and strategic corporate insight. He has played a key role in developing corporate service product offerings, including the expansion of corporate financial data. He is based in New York City.
David joined Wood Mackenzie in 2020 after an 18-year career as a sell-side research analyst, most recently as a Managing Director at Mizuho Securities USA. Prior to that he worked as an analyst at Wolfe Research and Deutsche Bank, where he began his career in finance and worked until 2014. Over the course of his energy research career he has focused on the global integrates, US E&Ps, Canadian oil companies, US independent refiners and the oil market.
Marty Hopkins advises energy clients on a variety of complex regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters. Investor-owned electric utilities, renewable and conventional generation owners, private equity investors, developers, and retail electric providers rely on Marty’s expertise in state and local regulation when developing projects, executing mergers and acquisitions, and litigating contested cases before state agencies and in state and federal court. She has significant experience with multi-state and Texas-jurisdictional transmission projects and traditional utility base rate proceedings. Marty also regularly advises clients on issues related to registration, certification, and reporting with state commissions and independent system operators/regional transmission organizations,
including the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
In addition, Marty currently serves as the Chair of the City of Austin’s Electric Utility Commission, overseeing Austin’s municipally owned utility, and is the current Chair and past Co-Chair of the Gulf Coast Power Association’s emPOWERing Women Leadership Conference. Her commitment to public service and the development of women and diverse
individuals in law and energy extends to speaking engagements and other volunteer advocacy.
Aaron Bloom is a Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs at NextEra Energy and a voluntary Chair of the Energy Systems Integration Group’s (ESIG) System Planning Working Group. Mr. Bloom also serves on the board for the Midwest Reliability Organization. He is an expert in power system planning, power systems operations, resource adequacy, electricity market design, and utility regulation. For the last three years he worked at NextEra Analytics where he led software development for tools used in originating clean energy projects and optimizing battery market performance.
Prior to joining NextEra, Mr. Bloom led a research portfolio at focused on system planning and market design for high renewable systems. He started his career in the energy sector at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission where we worked on a variety of wholesale market design topics, NERC standards, and California Energy Crisis investigations. Mr. Bloom received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Michigan State University and a Master of Public Administration from The Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs.
Katie Coleman is a Partner in the Austin office of O'Melveny & Myers. Katie has more fifteen years of experience representing a variety of clients on energy matters. Katie is best recognized for her holistic representation of large industrial customers through the Texas Industrial Energy Consumers and the Texas Association of Manufacturers. Katie has deep experience with ERCOT’s competitive market design, electric market policy, and utility rate regulation. Katie also assists clients on energy transactions including generation development, power purchase agreements, retail power supply arrangements, and jointly owned electrical infrastructure.
Katie is a member of the Board of Directors for the Gulf Coast Power Association (GCPA) and served as President for 2020-2021. She previously served as President of the State Bar of Texas Public Utility Law Section for the 2016-2017 term. She received the Gulf Coast Power Association’s (GCPA’s) “emPOWERing Young Professionals Award” in 2019. Katie has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® from 2018-2021, selected as “Lawyer of the Year – Energy Regulatory, Austin” by The Best Lawyers in America® for 2019, recognized by Chambers USA for “Energy: State Regulatory & Litigation” from 2015-2021, recognized by The Legal 500 US for “Energy Regulatory – Conventional Power” from 2017-2021, honored as a “Texas Rising Star” in Legislative & Governmental Affairs by Thomson Reuters for 2016-2021, and recognized as one of 23 statewide Texas Lawyer’s “Lawyers on the Rise” in 2018.
Jennifer Ferri is a Partner in the Austin Office of Jackson Walker. Jennifer has represented energy industry clients for more than ten years, with a focus on wholesale power market transactions and electric regulatory compliance. She also draws on her prior experience as in-house counsel for a large municipally-owned electric utility. Jennifer has deep knowledge of wholesale power purchase agreements, representing both buyers and sellers. She also represents power project developers, utilities, large industrial consumers and retail electric providers in a variety of transactional matters. Jennifer also has substantial experience representing lenders and tax equity investors in renewable project finance transactions.
Giji John is a partner in the Houston office, and spends his time working on industry-leading renewable energy deals. He has led development and financing transactions for wind, solar and energy storage transactions since the earlier days of the renewable energy industry in 2008, representing almost $10 billion of capital investment. Since 2012, Giji has worked both for, and across from, large corporate and industrials- such as Amazon, Bloomberg, Chevron, Facebook, General Motors, Microsoft, and Nestle- in securing multi-million dollar renewable energy deals to achieve their sustainability goals. In 2019, Giji represented Microsoft in rolling out new risk mitigation instruments that allow corporates to significantly reduce the risk of carrying these transactions while continuing on their carbon reduction path. This deal won the Financial Times “Enabling Business Growth and Transformation Award,” and Giji was commended by FT for his leadership of that deal. In addition to the FT commendation, Giji was included as one of 100 worldwide lawyers in A Word About Wind’s Legal Power List 2020 and has been repeatedly recognized as a leading practitioner in the areas of Project Finance and Renewable Energy by Chambers USA/Global, The Legal 500, Law 360 and Public Utilities Fortnightly.
Averill Harrington Conn is Senior Counsel at Vitol Inc., in Houston, Texas, where she supports Vitol’s power and renewables businesses. Prior to joining Vitol in 2021, Averill was counsel at Sidley Austin LLP. At Sidley, Averill represented clients in all phases of the financing and development of energy projects, including renewable energy projects (wind, solar and storage), thermal power generational facilities, and carbon capture facilities, with a particular emphasis on complex structured commodity and hedging arrangements and offtake agreements.
Averill began her legal career as an associate in the energy finance group at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP (now Bracewell LLP). In 2008, Averill left private practice to join Reliant Energy as Counsel, supporting origination and commercial operations. Following NRG’s acquisition of Reliant in 2009, Averill spent nearly a decade at NRG where held various roles within NRG’s legal department, including acting as primary legal counsel for EVgo, a nationwide electric vehicle services company, and Petra Nova, NRG’s innovative carbon capture and enhanced oil recovery project in Fort Bend County. In 2014, Averill’s work on Petra Nova was recognized by the Texas General Counsel’s Forum, who named her as a finalist for the Magna Stella Awards in the Major Transaction category.
Averill graduated with a B.A. cum laude from Yale University, where she majored in Classical Civilization, and received her J.D. with honors from the University of Texas.
Averill and her husband David have two young sons, Graham (age 11) and Jamie (age 9). In her limited free time, Averill enjoys reading, playing tennis, and binge-watching English period dramas like The Crown and Bridgerton.
Jared Johnson is Senior Counsel, Downstream, Chemicals & Midstream Law at Chevron. Since 2014 he has advised Chevron on electric power matters for its North American operations. He has counseled the Chevron Pipeline & Power business unit on power sales and steam transactions from cogeneration units, resource adequacy sales in California, federal and state regulatory and compliance matters. He has also negotiated retail power supply purchases for Chevron’s refineries and its ERCOT power supply for upstream operations. He routinely advises on rate case strategy in a variety of state PUCs and on power legislative developments. Since 2019, Mr. Johnson has advised Chevron on its renewable power strategy to integrate renewable power into its upstream and downstream operations, including through the development of new renewable power facilities and purchase agreements.
Mr. Johnson has recently transitioned to supporting Chevron New Energies, where he will counsel on a variety of matters relating to Chevron’s development of new energy businesses, including carbon offsets and hydrogen.
Prior to joining Chevron in 2014, he was a member of the Energy Regulatory and Markets practice group at Latham & Watkins LLP, representing clients in regulatory proceedings before the FERC and several state utility commissions, as well as in project development and financing transactions.
He is a graduate of Gonzaga University and Georgetown Law School.
Theodore Matula is the Chief Legal Officer of Leeward Renewable Energy (LRE), a Dallas-based developer, owner, and operator of renewable energy projects. He has more than 25 years of experience in domestic and international M&A, corporate finance, project finance, and energy transactions and has been responsible for both legal and commercial aspects of the development, financing, and commercialization of multiple gigawatts of installed renewable energy capacity across the U.S.
Over his career, Mr. Matula has been involved with several first-of-kind and innovative energy transactions, including the structuring of commercial and industrial power purchase agreements for utility-scale wind and solar power projects, the development and commercialization of the then-largest battery storage system connected with a wind power facility, and microgrid-as-a-service projects.
Prior to joining LRE, Mr. Matula co-founded and served as Managing Director of High Road Clean Energy in Austin, Texas, an independent solar development company. He previously served as Vice President and General Counsel of Austin-based Tierra Energy before its acquisition by Duke Energy, where he served as Deputy General Counsel overseeing legal support to its renewables business. Prior to his in-house positions, Mr. Matula practiced corporate finance, M&A, and securities law at Hogan & Hartson, in Denver, Colorado, and Vinson & Elkins, in Dallas, Texas.
Mr. Matula holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Philosophy from Southern Methodist University and a Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University School of Law. He is a regular speaker and panelist at renewable energy industry events and a has been a guest lecturer at the University of Texas School of Law since 2009.
Amish Shah currently serves on the firm’s Executive Committee and provides sophisticated and practical tax planning and tax controversy advice and representation to clients in a variety of industries including energy, financial services, manufacturing, technology and ecommerce.
Amish has been recognized by The Legal 500, BTI Consulting Group and Client Choice for his tax proficiency and superior client service.
Amish regularly represents clients in transactional matters including acquisitions, dispositions, mergers and other restructuring transactions. In addition, Amish’s practice includes advising clients on financial products tax, tax accounting and tax reporting matters; cross-border financing debt-equity issues; section 529 qualified tuition plans; bankruptcy tax matters; and numerous other business and individual tax issues.
In the tax controversy area, Amish represents clients under IRS examination in all phases of the controversy process including examination, IRS Appeals, post-Appeals mediation and trial-level and appellate litigation. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Tax Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Fifth Circuit.
In the energy sector, Amish represents clients in the development of, and investment in, renewable, alternative and traditional energy projects, including tax equity investments. He also advises clients in developing and understanding risks associated with beginning of construction strategies and in maximizing the benefit of investment tax credits (ITCs), production tax credits (PTCs) and fuels and other energy tax credits. Amish also counsels
clients on the credits for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) under IRC 45Q. He regularly represents clients in energy tax related controversy matters, in obtaining IRS energy tax rulings and a variety of other energy tax issues.
Amish started his career as a CPA/tax accountant at a Big 6 accounting firm. He utilizes his comprehensive experience, encompassing both tax planning and controversy, and his CPA experience to provide clients with knowledgeable and practical advice and representation.
Jonathan Katz is a partner in the Global Transactions practice in King & Spalding’s Houston Office. His practice focuses primarily on the representation of owners and developers in their construction projects, including power plants, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, and petrochemical facilities.
Jonathan has experience drafting engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), construction management, construction, engineering, industrial services, operating & maintenance, and procurement agreements.
Jonathan was named a Law360 “Rising Star” for Construction Law in 2020 and as a “Up and Coming” partner by Chambers USA for Texas: Construction in 2021.
Simon is senior legal counsel in TotalEnergies’ US renewables team, advising on all aspects of solar and offshore wind projects with a focus on construction and offtake arrangements.
Simon recently joined from Allen & Overy, where he spent 10 years advising developers, contractors and lenders on renewable projects across the globe and here in the US, including solar, battery, onshore and offshore wind and hydro projects. He has practiced in the UK, Australia and, for the last four years, in the US, providing a global view on the renewables sector and different trends arising across jurisdictions. Simon earned his LLB from Queen Mary’s College of the University of London.
Dan Mah is Senior Legal Counsel for Shell based in Calgary, AB, Canada. Dan has been a Shell lawyer for 10 years, primarily representing major capital projects throughout the global Shell portfolio. Dan has significant expertise in all phases of project contract formation, execution and delivery. Dan also has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary, and worked as a practicing engineer in the Canadian oil and gas industry for several years before switching to law. Dan is currently supporting several major “New Energies” projects within Shell and is passionate about Shell’s role in the global energy transition.
As Managing Counsel, US Zero Carbon Energy, for bp legal, Mike focuses on providing legal support for bp’s global Zero Carbon Energy businesses, including solar, wind (onshore and offshore), bioenergy, and digital energy, and manages a team of lawyers supporting such businesses in the US. Mike has supported bp’s low carbon businesses since 2008, working extensively during that time on all aspects of those low carbon businesses, including development, acquisition, partnering, financing, construction, and operations.
Prior to bp, Mike was an Associate in the Global Projects department of Baker Botts L.L.P., where he represented international real estate developers, owners, and energy companies in global commercial real estate transactions and energy project development. Mike has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin and obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center, where he served as Managing Editor of the Houston Law Review.
Roshan is Legal Counsel at Shell USA, Inc. in the Projects & Technology Group, specializing in major capital Projects and EPC contracts. Roshan’s Business Partners include clients in Downstream, Upstream, Integrated Gas and Renewable Energy Solutions business lines. In addition to traditional Oil & Gas EPC Projects, Roshan serves as Shell’s lead EPC lawyer for offshore wind Projects in the Americas and is actively involved in multiple workstreams supporting Shell’s offshore wind Projects across the globe. Prior to joining Shell, Roshan worked as in-house counsel for a leading international Oil & Gas EPC contractor which included Project assignments in Algeria and Canada. Roshan has more than a decade of experience negotiating and drafting engineering, procurement and construction contracts and supporting major capital Projects through various stages of execution including claims and dispute resolution.
Antoine is a partner at Reed Smith in the Energy & Natural Resources Industry Group, specializing in Projects & Construction. Antoine’s clients include multinational companies involved in renewable energy, oil & gas and infrastructure. Antoine represents owners and contractors on EPC related transactions and is an emerging leader in the field of construction related dispute resolution, both as Project Counsel and in large-scale domestic and international arbitrations, which have included projects involving renewable energy (wind, solar, battery storage and hydro), gas power plants, LNG mega projects, road and rail transport, and catastrophic plant failures. Antoine has a strong grasp of the technical and legal issues arising from construction disputes such as delay analysis, changed work, defects and root cause investigations, bringing to bear his previous experience working as in-house counsel for construction and engineering companies.
Ming Lei advises clients on domestic and international merger, divestitures and acquisitions, joint venture, private equity investments, project finance and development and complex commercial contracts in all aspects of the energy and infrastructure business.
A.J. Davitt, is counsel for Chevron New Energies, where he advises the company on strategy, planning, execution and engagement on energy transition and lower-carbon issues. He supports and advises clients seeking to develop scaled businesses in Carbon Capture, Hydrogen, and other emerging energy sectors. Prior to joining Chevron, A.J. worked as an associate in the Houston office of Locke Lord LLP, where his practice focused on environmental permitting, environmental enforcement and litigation, regulatory compliance counseling, and transaction-related environmental matters. He advises clients on a wide range of issues related to compliance with state and local environmental and land use regulations, energy project siting and development. As a lawyer, he seeks to use his technical background and training in ecology and evolutionary biology to provide understanding and insight into the scientific considerations that drive complex regulatory and project development issues.
Carl J. Fleming is a transactional lawyer whose principle areas of practice are renewable energy and private equity. He leads transactions throughout the US and worldwide for a number of the renewable industry’s leading developers, global private equity funds and Fortune 500 companies. He provides legal, commercial and strategic advice on the development, purchase and sale and financing of renewable energy projects in wind, solar, energy storage, electric vehicles and other low carbon solutions. A partner in our Washington, DC office, he also advises on a number of energy and climate change policy issues.
Carl’s work and thought leadership are often featured in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Power Finance and Risk, The National Law Review, The Global Legal Chronicle and The Washington Lawyer. He is also frequently interviewed for his market insights by global media outlets such as Reuters and Forbes. Carl is recognized as a “Next Generation Partner,” “Rising Star,” “Super Lawyer” and one of the “Top Rated Energy & Natural Resources, M&A and International Attorneys in Washington, DC.”
Carl is currently an appointee to the Biden administration’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee (REEEAC) where he advises the Secretary of Commerce on wind, solar, battery storage, electric vehicles and other low carbon solutions. Prior to his current appointment, Carl was a REEEAC appointee under both the Obama and Trump administrations.
Prior to joining McDermott, Carl served the United States as an advisor to the White House on energy and infrastructure under the Obama administration while he was with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
Carl is a frequent speaker and prominent author. He speaks throughout the US and internationally on topics such as renewable energy, public policy and cross-border transactions. He has written, or contributed to the writing of, several books or chapters on topics such as power purchase agreements, construction, equipment procurement and service contract and battery storage. He has lectured at Harvard University, the Georgetown University Law Center, the University of Pennsylvania, and American University.
Ash Shepherd is Director of Business Development for Talos Low Carbon Solutions. There he leads the commercial negotiations for all CCS transactions. Recently, Ash negotiated the first permanent offshore CCUS lease in United States history. Ash has previously been named by Oil & Gas Investor to their “Thirty Under 40” list and is a former appointee of President Bush in the Department of Energy. Ash earned his BA from St. Edwards University, JD from South Texas College of Law and is earning his Executive MBA from Rice. He is married to his wife Heather and together they have three children.
Janny is legal counsel for renewable energy at TotalEnergies, where she is focused on solar and offshore wind project development, project finance, offtake and M&A.
Prior to joining TotalEnergies, Janny began her career at the international law firm White & Case, where she focused on projects, project development and finance and M&A in the international energy sector, with a particular focus on LNG transactions. Janny earned her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Oklahoma.
Cynthia is a business lawyer focused on transactions and projects in the energy industry, particularly in renewable energy. As Assistant General Counsel- Renewable Energy to TotalEnergies, Cynthia manages all legal aspects of TotalEnergies’ renewable power generation businesses in the U.S., including a multi-gigawatt portfolio of solar projects in development and operation and the U.S. offshore wind business which launched earlier this year.
Cynthia began her career in the global law firm Vinson & Elkins, where her practice focused in transactions and projects in the energy industry. Cynthia then served as General Counsel to Meridian Solar, Inc., a leading solar integrator and development firm, where she managed all legal aspects of solar project development, construction and finance. Prior to joining TotalEnergies, Cynthia was one of the founding lawyers of a successful boutique law firm, Griffin Frey, where she represented a broad spectrum of clients in corporate and M&A matters and often served as their “outside general counsel”. Cynthia earned her B.A. at Georgetown University and her J.D. and M.B.A. at the University of Texas.
| Availability | Module Title | Speaker | Credits | Course Type | Duration | Course Details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Majors: Positioning in New Energy - Non-MCLE
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David Clark
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N/A | On Demand | 42 Minutes | More info » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Current Barriers and Challenges in Developing Renewable Energy Projects
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Total Credits: 1.2 Oklahoma | On Demand | 53 Minutes | More info » | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Financing Strategies and Offtake Contracts for Renewable Projects
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Total Credits: 0.9 Oklahoma | On Demand | 48 Minutes | More info » | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A "Crystal Ball" Look Into Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy and Carbon Capture and Sequestration Projects and the State of Tax Equity in 2022
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Amish Shah
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N/A | On Demand | 45 Minutes | More info » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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EPC Contracting for Renewable & Energy Transition Projects - Lessons Learned and Differences from Conventional Oil and Gas EPCs
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Total Credits: 1.2 Oklahoma | On Demand | 62 Minutes | More info » | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Building an Offshore Wind Farm: What You Need to Know
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Roshan Koneru
Antoine Smiley
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Total Credits: 0.9 Oklahoma | On Demand | 47 Minutes | More info » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Carbon Capture and Sequestration Developments
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N/A | On Demand | 60 Minutes | More info » | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Solar and Storage Law: What Energy Attorneys Need to Know
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Janny Gandhi
Cynthia Martinez
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Total Credits: 0.9 Oklahoma | On Demand | 40 Minutes | More info » | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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