Bracewell Continues London Growth

LONDON (June 21, 2013) - Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is pleased to announce the addition of four energy lawyers in its rapidly-growing London office.  Ben James, Darren Spalding and Martin Stewart-Smith will join the firm as partners, and Olivia Caddy will join the firm as senior counsel. These are the latest in the firm’s expansion of its global energy practice in London, which so far this year has included Partners Julian Nichol, Jason Fox and Alastair Young.

“Ben, Darren, Martin, and Olivia are all great additions in our London office,” said Bracewell’s firm-wide Managing Partner Mark C. Evans. “Our goal has been to bring in people of the highest calibre who can help us serve energy clients on energy transactions across the globe, and these four will certainly help us accomplish that.”

Ben James, joining from Linklaters, is an energy lawyer advising oil and gas companies, utility companies, private equity houses and banks on cross-border energy transactions from the wellhead to the market. James advises on upstream oil and gas and LNG, gas commercialisation, refining and petrochemicals, and pipeline projects, with particular experience across Africa.

Darren Spalding, joining from Allen & Overy, is a dedicated upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas lawyer. His experience includes international M&A, joint ventures, project development, and long-term commodity sales and offtake agreements. Spalding has been active in oil and gas work across the globe.

Martin Stewart-Smith, joining from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has more than 20 years of experience in the oil and gas, power, renewables, and energy services sectors around the world, including in the United States, Africa, Middle East, Asia, and the UK. In addition to his transactional work, Stewart-Smith has advised a number of governments on institutional, legal and regulatory reform in the process of market liberalization.

Olivia Caddy, joining from Herbert Smith Freehills, advises clients on structured debt financings, particularly in the energy sector, working with lenders and borrowers on domestic and cross-border oil and gas financings.

“Continuing to build out the London office and our firm’s energy platform is extremely important to us,” said Partner Rudolph W. Giuliani. “I am confident that these additions will enhance our London-based team and our ability to service clients globally,” added Giuliani.

“These latest additions move us a step closer to achieving our goal in London, which is to build a team of energy lawyers of unparalleled strength and depth, dedicated to serving energy clients,” said Julian Nichol, Bracewell’s London managing partner. “Ben, Darren, Martin, and Olivia bring a combination of experience which is very rare to the London market and will benefit our clients tremendously. We are delighted to welcome them to Bracewell.”

Over the coming months Bracewell plans further growth for its energy-focussed London office to support the firm’s energy client base.

Bracewell’s energy lawyers have achieved top tier rankings from Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 as a leading energy practice. The firm was ranked in the top 25 globally by Thomson Reuters in its 2012 Global Mergers & Acquisitions Review based on aggregate dollar value of worldwide deals. The Financial Times recognized Bracewell in its U.S. Innovative Lawyers report, in the category of Most Innovative U.S. Law Firms: Business of Law 2012.

The firm’s London office is dedicated to serving clients in the energy and other infrastructure sectors and is located in the centre of the world’s financial and capital markets. It works closely with other Bracewell offices, particularly those in New York, Dubai and Houston, to provide English, U.S. and local laws services to clients across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Middle East.

About Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

Bracewell & Giuliani LLP (www.bgllp.com) is an international law firm with 470 lawyers in Texas, New York, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Seattle, Dubai and London. We serve Fortune 500 companies, major financial institutions, leading private investment funds, governmental entities and individuals concentrated in the energy, technology and financial services sectors worldwide.