Veteran Houston energy and infrastructure deal lawyer Jude Leblanc moved his practice to Morgan Lewis this week.
Leblanc, a former vice president for Fluor who was most recently at McGuireWoods, brings more than 25 years of experience advising clients on complex commercial transactions across the energy and infrastructure sectors, with a focus on engineering, procurement, and construction contracts, project development, and large-scale infrastructure projects, including nuclear generation facilities.
“Global demand for new energy generation, transmission, data center infrastructure, and industrial development continues to accelerate, driving the need for sophisticated counsel on increasingly complex projects,” Morgan Lewis Chair Jami McKeon said in a statement.
“Jude’s arrival enhances our capabilities at a time when clients are making significant investments across conventional (including nuclear) and renewable energy as well as data center and other infrastructure projects and seeking advisors who can help bring those projects from concept to completion.”
Leblanc expounded on his move and more with The Texas Lawbook:
The Lawbook: What led to your decision to join Morgan Lewis?
Jude Leblanc: I was attracted by the outstanding global energy and infrastructure platform that Morgan Lewis has to offer, and the strength of its nuclear practice given my experience with nuclear new build and SMRs (small modular reactors) over the past decade. Morgan Lewis’ depth across its project development, finance, regulatory and transactional practices, and strong presence in key energy markets both U.S. and globally, as well as its strong Latin America practice were key drivers in my decision to join the team.
The Lawbook: What are two or three of the most important trends you are seeing in your energy and infrastructure practice?
Leblanc: The explosion of power generation projects driven by data center growth and investment has been a “game changer” and will require all types of power generation assets to be developed and built.
This has benefited renewables such as wind, solar and battery storage development despite numerous new regulatory and compliance hurdles and has led to a resurgence in interest and viability of nuclear generation, both large-scale and SMRs.
The challenge posed by such rapid growth and demand is how to balance and manage cost increases and schedule delays amongst the stakeholders (contractors, owners, developers and financing parties) for projects that are inherently complex and capital intensive in the face of global uncertainties, supply chain issues, tax credit compliance and shifting tariff challenges.
The Lawbook: What has been your best day as a lawyer?
Leblanc: My best day as a lawyer was when I was invited by a client to visit a massive offshore wind development project 28 miles off the coast of Virginia that we had spent years negotiating with our client and their numerous suppliers and contractors. To be able to see the physical result of the years of contract drafting and negotiations was a very inspiring moment and brought to life the impact of the work we do as lawyers.