K&L Gates Adds Four-Partner, Multi-Office Premier Renewable Energy Team

Kansas City, MO - Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has added a team of four high-profile partners with substantial experience in the renewable energy sector, continuing a path of strategic growth that has included the addition of more than 120 new partners and of counsel since the start of 2020 and the opening of new offices in Nashville and Luxembourg in 2021. The group – which brings a deep bench in mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and project development for renewable energy matters and is joined by two associates – comes to K&L Gates from Husch Blackwell LLP’s Kansas City, Missouri, and Austin, Texas, offices, and is expected to be followed by additional lawyers in the coming weeks.

Joining K&L Gates in Kansas City are partners John Crossley, Jim Goettsch, and Brogan Sullivan, with colleague Maria Faconti arriving as a partner in Austin. Short bios of each partner can be found at the end of this release. The newly created Kansas City office is K&L Gates’ 47th worldwide and 25th in the United States.

“We are pleased to continue building on our firm’s recent strategic growth by bolstering our already strong capabilities in the renewable energy sector with the addition of this elite group,” stated K&L Gates Global Managing Partner Jim Segerdahl. “As leading practitioners in the renewables industry, the team’s arrival advances the firm on a key industry and practice level.”

Steven Sparling, co-leader of K&L Gates’ energy, infrastructure, and resources practice area, commented: “This team practices at the highest level of the renewable energy industry. We are excited to integrate them into our firm and energy practice, and very much look forward to the enhanced knowledge and advice they can offer K&L Gates’ clients in this important area.”

“My colleagues and I are thrilled to have joined K&L Gates, which offers a depth of experience and capabilities in the areas that are important to our clients and shares our collaborative approach to client service,” said Crossley.

K&L Gates’ energy practice assists clients involved in the various aspects of the global energy, infrastructure, and resources space through a variety of legal disciplines, including, among others, project development, finance, construction, energy and environmental regulation, government contracting, public policy, cross-border investment, acquisitions, and dispute resolution. With lawyers in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America, the practice serves project sponsors and developers in power generation, renewable energy, oil and gas, LNG, hydrogen, mining, transportation, and social infrastructure, as well as investors, banks, manufacturers, and contractors involved in the financing, building, and operation of these projects.

Buck Endemann, co-leader of the firm’s power and renewables practice group, added: “John, Jim, Brogan, and Maria share our enthusiasm for the renewable energy industry and ongoing energy transition, and their arrival fulfills a number of mutual strategic needs. We look forward to offering our renewables clients coast-to-coast, bottom-to-top representation for each of their legal matters.”

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Kansas City partners

John Crossley advises traditional and renewable energy companies on the acquisition, development, construction, operation, and financing of projects and assets. He has assisted clients on billions of dollars worth of renewable energy projects totaling more than 30 gigawatts of power in 35 states, and also regularly represents lenders and tax equity investors in real estate, permitting, and other state and local matters across the U.S.

An experienced transactional lawyer, Jim Goettsch counsels clients in the energy sector on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, project finance, and complex commercial matters. This includes having represented multiple national renewable energy owners on the acquisition and financing of wind and solar projects; assisting with joint ventures for the development and ownership of pipelines, terminals, and other infrastructure projects in the midstream oil and gas sectors; and advising on power, natural gas, and water utility acquisitions and dispositions.

Brogan Sullivan is an accomplished advisor to clients in acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and other complex commercial arrangements, with a primary focus on transactions in the energy and manufacturing industries. He has assisted clients in numerous regulated utility and power plant purchase and sale transactions, as well as the acquisition, joint ownership, and tax equity financing of utility-scale wind and solar projects across the U.S. Sullivan also has significant experience with acquisitions and joint ventures involving natural gas and power infrastructure assets, and has represented clients in the purchase, sale, and joint ownership of manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Austin partner

Maria Faconti provides regulatory advice to energy and renewable development clients on transactional, compliance, and litigation matters. While focused primarily within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market, her practice also encompasses a variety of regulatory matters pertaining to other states and electric markets. She ensures that clients have all required permits to operate lawfully and maintain regulatory compliance, including assisting with obtaining regulatory permits and drafting compliance-related provisions of interconnection, power purchase, retail, and shared facility agreements. As an administrative litigator, Faconti represents clients on the various aspects of the Texas electric market, including in contested rate proceedings and violation cases.