London - Orrick is pleased to announce that the leading energy and projects team of Matthew Williams, John Deacon and Edward Humphries will join the firm as partners in the London office. Matthew will serve as co-head of Orrick’s European energy practice with Carlo Montella from the firm’s Milan office. The team joins Orrick from Hogan Lovells, where Matthew served as Global Co-Head of the Energy & Natural Resources Group and John served as Global Co-Head of the Renewable Energy Group.

“We are delighted to welcome this market-leading team to our London office,” said Douglas Lahnborg, Orrick’s London Office Leader. “They are a tremendous addition, with experience in all segments of the energy markets. This move reflects our continuing focus on developing our London office as a hub for domestic and cross-border investment in the energy, finance and tech sectors.”

“Matthew, John and Edward add a team of the highest calibre, further building our energy bench in London,” added Carlo Montella, who will co-head Orrick’s European energy practice with Matthew. “This team will help us meet the growing needs of clients who are active in the energy markets across the UK, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.”

Matthew, who is rated as a leading individual in Chambers Global for Power, has extensive experience in transactional and regulatory work across the energy, emissions and infrastructure sectors, including project finance, M&A, commodity trading, corporate restructuring and contentious matters. He has a market-leading practice advising on domestic and cross-border power M&A and has represented parties involved in the majority of power sector disposals in the UK in the last two years. He also advises on the development, financing and acquisition of oil and gas projects.

John, who is rated as a leading individual in Chambers Global for Renewables & Alternative Energy, focuses on energy projects, carbon finance and trading, and infrastructure law, with a particular emphasis on renewable energy. While his practice began with a focus on UK wind projects, over the course of his career he has moved into a broad spectrum of global renewable energy projects, with a recent focus on waste-to-energy, biomass and green waste concessions. John has advised on projects around the world, including the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and across the EU.

Edward’s practice focuses on energy trading, commodities, for which he is recognized in The Legal 500, and the development, financing, acquisition and disposal of energy companies and assets. He has strong experience in Africa and in the UK and continental European markets.

“Orrick is working on some of the most exciting projects in the energy market globally, from the US, the UK, and Europe to sub-Saharan Africa and Japan. We are excited to be a part of a growing and innovative practice and to collaborate with a team that we have known and respected in the market for many years. I am particularly looking forward to working with Carlo to grow the European energy practice to complement the firm’s strengths in energy markets around the world,” said Matthew.

This move continues Orrick's strategic growth in Europe, which is focused on three key sectors: energy and infrastructure, finance and technology. The firm added five partners in London last year, including energy partner Colin Graham, also from Hogan Lovells. Orrick also opened an affiliated office last year in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire to support its market-leading Africa energy practice and other international investment in the region. Earlier this month, it announced the expansion of its international arbitration practice with the addition of Vanessa Liborio and the opening of an office in Geneva.

About Orrick’s Energy & Infrastructure Group

Orrick has more than 120 energy and infrastructure lawyers located in eight U.S. cities, as well as London, Paris, Milan, Rome, Dusseldorf, Moscow, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Chambers Global 2015 recognizes Orrick for excellence in energy and infrastructure work with seven practice and 19 individual rankings across Asia, Africa, Europe and the United States.

The firm is particularly known for work in the power and renewable markets. Over the past twelve months, the London team has advised on the acquisition and/or disposal of over 300 MW of renewable energy projects in the UK covering solar, wind and biomass technologies. Clients include BlackRock, Equinox Capital, Platina Partners, Bluefield and NextEnergy, among others. Orrick is also advising on groundbreaking projects worldwide, including representing the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on a 4,800 MW hydro-electric power project that has been named a priority infrastructure project by the World Bank. The firm also advised SunEdison and Alstom on the two largest wind sector M&A transactions globally last year.