Hunton Andrews Kurth has added two attorneys from Exxon Mobil, the firm announced Tuesday.
William Freeman, a former senior tax lawyer at the oil and gas giant, returns to his old firm as a partner in Dallas while Houston-based project finance expert Alex Choinski joins as counsel.
At Exxon Mobil, Freeman advised on the domestic and international tax implications of strategic mergers and acquisitions, designed tax-optimized structures, planned cross-border financing and engaged in advocacy regarding tax legislation and regulations.
Freeman previously practiced at Andrews Kurth from 2000-2007.
Choinski served as lead in-house counsel for Exxon Mobil’s treasurer function and, according to the Hunton AK announcement, was the go-to in-house legal advisor and subject matter expert on some of the company’s most complex projects and financings.
For example, he was the lead lawyer for the Rovuma LNG consortium (ExxonMobil, Eni, CNPC, Kogas, Galp, ENH), managing a worldwide team for the $16 billion multi-sourced ECA financing of a proposed $30 billion 15.2 Mtpa LNG export facility in Mozambique. He was also the lead on the financing aspects of Coral FLNG, ExxonMobil’s acquisition of an interest in a 3.4 Mtpa floating liquefaction deepwater facility offshore of Mozambique.
More recently, Choinski has advised on matters relating to decarbonization and energy transition initiatives as well as compliance with International Finance Corporation performance standards and Equator Principles.
Before his eight-year tenure at Exxon Mobil, Choinski had stops at McDermott Will & Emery, Baker Botts and Milbank.