Vinson & Elkins Attracts Nationally Recognized Renewable Energy Team

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vinson & Elkins announced today it has expanded its market leading Renewable and Sustainable Energy and Tax practices with the addition of a nationally recognized renewable energy finance team that includes partners Sean Moran, Mike Joyce, Lauren Collins and Aaron Prince, counsel Josh Heideman and Trevor Shelton, and a number of talented associates. 

This team brings to V&E a broad-based and sophisticated energy and infrastructure finance practice and comprehensive experience in acquisitions and tax equity. Each was previously with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP. 

"Sean, Mike, Lauren and Aaron are among the leading practitioners in renewable energy and tax equity in the United States," said V&E Managing Partner Scott Wulfe. "Virtually all of our clients are interested in renewable and sustainable energy, and the practice is growing rapidly all over the world. Now is a particularly exciting time in the industry given the convergence of significant economic, technological and political developments. The addition of this team enhances our ability to help our clients navigate the rapidly transforming landscape."

"V&E's clients are at the forefront of the energy evolution," Moran said. "As a result, the firm has all the pieces – the complementary practices and lawyers necessary to serve this client base. We all agreed that joining V&E will allow us not only to continue serving our existing clients at the highest level but to take advantage of a number of opportunities to develop and extend the practice."

"Capital is being deployed into the renewable energy and adjacent markets at a record pace, and there are significant challenges and opportunities our clients face," said Kaam Sahely, head of V&E's Renewable and Sustainable Energy and Infrastructure practices. "The addition of this team, with whom we have worked on multiple transactions, cements our position as a preeminent firm for sophisticated investors and participants in the renewable energy markets."

Moran, Joyce, Collins, Heideman and Shelton will remain in Los Angeles, where V&E has secured temporary office space and will open a permanent location when conditions permit. Prince will join the firm's New York office. Below is a brief overview of each new partner and counsel's practice.

Sean Moran, Tax Equity: Moran focuses on asset finance, with an emphasis on financing, acquiring and disposing of renewable energy, zero carbon and infrastructure assets. Instrumental in creating the structure that has become the standard for renewable energy deals in the United States, Moran has handled many of the country's largest and most complex renewable energy financing transactions, including numerous first-of-its-kind deals. In the course of his practice, Moran represents Fortune 50 companies, investors, sponsors and developers. His clients include some of the largest investors in the renewable energy market, collectively investing billions of dollars in renewable energy generation. His projects include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and waste-to-energy facilities that generate electric power in all but a couple of states. Recently, he has represented both investors and sponsors in the development of solar and storage facilities, off-shore wind power facilities and fossil fuel power facilities that sequester carbon. Moran is ranked by Chambers USA (2020) as a Band 1 lawyer nationally for Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy, where sources call him a "[t]op tax equity lawyer," and a client says, "[w]e really rely on him from a tax, financing and transactional perspective. He knows the market very well and is incredibly valuable to us." He graduated from Fordham University with a B.S. degree in 1981 and a J.D. in 1988 and earned an LL.M. in Tax from New York University School of Law in 1994.

Mike Joyce, Corporate: Joyce's practice focuses on energy and infrastructure finance. He has represented clients in numerous cutting-edge transactions in the energy and infrastructure field, with a particular emphasis on renewable energy sectors such as solar, wind and storage. He also has considerable experience with geothermal, biomass, coal, gas-fired and nuclear projects, as well as with joint ventures and the disposition and acquisition of energy and infrastructure assets. Joyce is a recognized practitioner in Chambers Global and Chambers USA (2020) for Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy. He received his B.A. degree from Claremont McKenna College in 1998 and his J.D. degree from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2002.

Lauren Collins, Tax Equity: Collins focuses on tax matters related to project finance, with an emphasis on renewable energy and infrastructure assets. She has represented clients in the financing, disposition, acquisition and development of renewable energy projects including solar, wind, energy storage, carbon sequestration, fuel cell and biomass projects. Collins has considerable experience utilizing a variety of structures to finance these assets and has helped develop some of the most complex and cutting-edge renewable energy financing transactions in the United States, including numerous first-of-its-kind deals. In the course of her practice, Collins represents Fortune 50 companies, investors, utilities, sponsors and developers in the renewable energy space and has advised clients more broadly in connection with various federal and state tax matters. Her experience includes tax issues related to M&A and private equity, reorganizations and bankruptcy, structured finance and New Markets Tax Credits. Collins received her B.A. degree from the University of California, San Diego in 2007, and her J.D. degree from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law in 2010. She also received an LL.M. in taxation from New York University School of Law in 2011.

Aaron Prince, Corporate: Prince's practice focuses on asset based financing, acquisition and joint venture transactions. He represents tax equity investors, private equity funds, sponsors, lenders, borrowers and other investors in project finance, structured finance, acquisitions, joint ventures and general corporate transactions, primarily in the energy sector, including renewable energy (such as solar, wind, geothermal and refined coal). In addition, Prince has experience advising clients on other asset-based and non-asset based financing transactions, including innovative transactions in the fintech space. Prince received his B.A. degree from Emory University in 2005 and J.D., cum laude from Brooklyn Law School in 2008.

Josh Heideman, Corporate: Heideman's practice focuses on renewable energy asset finance and acquisitions. Heideman has represented clients in numerous renewable energy transactions in solar, wind, geothermal and biomass, with a particular emphasis on tax equity financing. He also has considerable experience with renewable asset financing, non-asset financing, mergers and acquisitions and asset deals in both the renewable energy and technology sectors. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Southern California in 2003, and his J.D. degree from New York University School of Law in 2006.

Trevor Shelton, Corporate: Shelton represents equity investors, lenders, sponsors and project developers in the energy and project finance space. He has extensive renewable energy experience including the financing of wind, solar and numerous other asset types utilizing a variety of structures. Shelton has worked on many first of their kind transactions as well as some of the largest renewable energy projects in the United States. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, San Diego, in 2002 and his J.D. degree from UCLA School of Law in 2006.

The group's clients include tax equity investors Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, The Goldman Sachs Group, State Street and others and renewable energy companies such as Cypress Creek, Clearway Energy Group, Terra Gen and Siemens.

As a leading law firm in the energy industry, V&E works with a broad spectrum of clients including companies, investors and financiers across the globe and is exceptionally well-positioned to advise on their most important and complex transactions or disputes. This includes clients' needs in traditional energy spaces as well as the energy evolution.

Vinson & Elkins LLP is an international law firm with approximately 700 lawyers across 12 offices worldwide. For more information, please contact Melissa Anderson at +1.713.758.2030.

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