We are widely regarded as a pre-eminent "electricity firm" and have been consistently ranked in the top-tier of the Legal 500 for our work in electricity. We have been at the forefront of the power industry for 20 years.
One of our key strengths is the breadth of advice which we are able to offer our clients. We have been involved in transactions at all points in the supply chain from generation and transmission to distribution, supply and metering and in all sectors from nuclear and thermal power stations, CHP plants, waste-to-energy plants and renewables.
Our experience includes advising on:
- acquisitions and disposals
- project development and project financing
- restructuring
- regulatory
- dispute resolution
- trading
We combine the industry expertise of our core energy team with the local expertise of our teams throughout the world to provide a premier service and commercial and practical solutions. In Europe, we also work closely with our alliance partners, Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe.
A dedicated renewables team
Herbert Smith's experience advising on alternatives to carbon intensive energy goes back to the 1980s when we worked on setting up the UK's Non-Fossil Fuel Purchasing Agency. In recent years, our energy practice has seen growing investment in renewable energy projects together with a resurgence in interest in nuclear energy and the development of carbon abatement technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
Our dedicated renewables team prides itself on keeping up with all the latest technological and regulatory developments, so we can advise our clients on both the potential and the pitfalls of these emerging technologies. Our partners already have extensive experience advising both sponsors and financiers on the development of on and offshore wind farms, photovoltaic installations, hydro plants and energy from waste projects.
Some of our major clients in the power and renewables sectors include Asian Development Bank, BG Group, BP, Centrica, Department of Trade and Industry, E.ON UK, Edison SpA, Electricité de France/ EDF Energy, Government of Romania, InterGen, Israel Electric Corporation, Huaneng Power, Lehman Brothers, Macquarie Bank, Morgan Stanley, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Renewable Energy Holdings, Rand Merchant Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sithe Asia, State Grid Corporation of China, Tata Group and Viridian Power.