TOKYO – 27 April, 2022 – On the heels of adding a six-shareholder real estate finance team from Winston & Strawn earlier this week, a highly integrated team of four energy and infrastructure shareholders joins global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP to launch its Asia Energy & Infrastructure Practice, initially located in the firm's Tokyo office and with the intention to soon lead the firm's opening in Singapore, expanding the firm’s capabilities in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
The team is led by Joseph Kim, who has covered Asia’s energy and infrastructure sectors for the past 20 years. He has joined as head of the firm’s Asia Energy and Infrastructure Practice. Joe, together with William Wu and Da Woon (Christina) Jeong, were previously at Hogan Lovells’ Tokyo and Hong Kong offices. Jared Raleigh is rejoining the team he previously worked with after spending several years as a senior in-house lawyer and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) executive at global mining, energy, and infrastructure companies. All join as shareholders.
“This team is known for providing hands-on support to clients, from deal initiation and structuring innovative solutions to solving vexing bankability issues faced by investors on complex projects. There is no time when finding creative solutions to energy needs has been more crucial to clients and governments alike, and Joe is an extremely experienced and well-regarded lawyer known for advising clients who have projects involving cross-border investments led by entities in Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and beyond. We are honored to have him join us and lead the strategic growth of our Asia energy practice,” Greenberg Traurig Executive Chairman Richard A. Rosenbaum said. “This is a key time to add strategic assets, following our best year on record and with the world facing disruptive times, as we also did earlier this week by adding significant leaders and teams in real estate finance across multiple offices. These are business-oriented, highly regarded and pragmatic lawyers in real estate finance, while Joe brings a uniquely experienced understanding of the power sector and the diverse and complex issues faced by clients. He has long been highly effective in creating customized strategies to address those issues and embodies the qualities we look for in an attorney and a leader. We are known for growing with top-notch practitioners in areas important to clients and with a focus on optimistic, urgent problem solvers.”
The team will focus on energy transition matters and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments in the renewable power and infrastructure sectors and will be capable of managing the full lifecycle of project/platform investments, developments, acquisitions, dispositions, and financings. With deep industry knowledge in liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power, and renewable power projects – including on and offshore wind, hydropower, utility scale solar and geothermal projects, and digital infrastructure projects, to name a few – the team will cover the investment flows to and from countries in the region who are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Greater China region, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East.
“Greenberg Traurig offers a unique global platform and enjoys a coveted reputation that is so important for my clients. I look forward to working with my new colleagues around the globe and assisting the firm in further expanding the Asia practice,” Joe said.
“Greenberg Traurig’s Asia Practice continues to grow, not simply in terms of the number of attorneys, but also regarding quality and the types of services we can offer clients. We are pleased that Joe, Will, Da Woon, and Jared chose Greenberg Traurig to further expand their successful careers,” Greenberg Traurig Vice Chairman Richard A. Edlin said.
With governments pledging to decarbonize their economies to net-zero carbon economies, the team will be ready to work with clients to handle matters dealing with new energy solutions and technologies such as building the green hydrogen/ammonia economy. The team will also focus on working closely with the firm’s institutional funds and private equity clients to assist them in expanding their investment activities in APAC region countries. The team will continue to work with the leading trading houses, utilities, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), export credit agencies (ECAs), development financial institutions (DFIs), insurance companies, private capital, and multilateral agencies to structure innovative solutions to accelerate the launch of successful and bankable projects and platforms in the region.
Initially, the team will be based in Tokyo but will shortly be transitioning to Singapore and expanding to provide additional offerings to clients. From Singapore, the team will continue to collaborate closely with the firm's Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai offices to assist firm clients’ investment activities in the region.
“Over the past several years, the firm has been actively and strategically expanding its Asia and Corporate Practices. Singapore is fast becoming the key hub in Southeast Asia, and in many ways surpassing Hong Kong as a major regional business center. We hope to announce further additions to the Singapore, Tokyo, and Seoul offices soon,” Rosenbaum said.
Joseph Kim has been recognized by several publications and organizations. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in Japan under the Project Finance and Development Practice category for 2022; in the Chambers Asia-Pacific Guide as a Projects & Energy: International - Leading Individual from 2019 to 2021; in the Chambers Global Guide under Projects & Energy: International (Japan) as a Recognised Practitioner from 2019 to 2021; and in the 2021 edition of The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific under Projects & Energy: International Firms and Joint Ventures. He was recognized in the 2016 – 2018 editions of IFLR1000; as a Highly Regarded Lawyer in Financial and Corporate Law (Japan) in 2018 and listed as a Leading Lawyer in Energy and Infrastructure (Japan) in 2016 and 2017. He is a member of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association. Joe received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and his B.A. from the University of the Pacific. He is admitted to practice in California and is registered as a Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi (GJB) in Japan.
William Wu advises on a wide range of corporate, M&A, and regulatory matters. He advises international clients on cross-border matters, representing both public and private clients in their mergers, spin-offs, and joint ventures, particularly for energy and infrastructure related projects. In addition to equity investments in the energy and infrastructure space, Will has also advised multinational corporations on their strategic alliances, distribution arrangements, product recalls, as well as cross-border disputes arising out of business transactions. A native of Taiwan, Will has most recently been involved in various offshore wind and other renewable projects in Taiwan. He has first-hand and extensive experience on auctions for various offshore wind farms in Taiwan and has recently advised leading Taiwan financial institutions and international investors on several other renewable projects in development and advising bidders on equity processes. Will received his LL.M. from Cornell University, his LL.B. (with Honors) from the University of Manchester, and his B.A. (cum laude) from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Will is a member of the New York State Bar Association and a Foreign Legal Consultant with the Hong Kong Law Society.
Da Woon (Christina) Jeong is a project finance lawyer with expertise advising sponsors and lenders (including development finance institutions, export credit agencies, and commercial banks) on international energy projects with a focus on power, petrochemical, and renewable energy projects in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa who will be joining the firm. Previously, she practiced law in Korea, Japan and the UK as an energy projects lawyer. Da Woon has been on secondment with Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (a Japanese ECA), working closely with the Structured and Trade Finance Insurance Department. Da Woon received an LL.B. and B.A. from the University of Auckland. She is admitted in England and Wales and New Zealand. She is fully bilingual in English and Korean, and she is fluent in Japanese.
Jared Raleigh is a seasoned practitioner advising on large-scale energy and infrastructure projects throughout Asia, the Middle East and Australia. Based in Singapore since 2011, Jared advises on all phases of the development, structuring and financing of infrastructure projects and has extensive experience in analysing, negotiating, and drafting the full suite of project and finance documentation in established and emerging markets. Jared brings a commercial focus to his practice, after spending several years as a senior in-house lawyer and M&A executive at global mining, energy, and infrastructure companies. Jared received his LL.B. (with Honors) and BCom from Monash University.
About Greenberg Traurig’s Asia Practice: Greenberg Traurig’s Asia Practice regularly represents companies throughout China, India, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan in their business dealings in the United States and abroad. The firm also advises U.S. and European companies engaging in transactions throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Attorneys provide strategic advice and legal services in connection with mergers and acquisitions, financings and securitization activities, intellectual property, trade and governmental strategies, international dispute resolution, infrastructure and project finance, export controls, and business immigration issues. The practice brings together attorneys based in the firm’s Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo offices along with numerous multilingual attorneys from across Greenberg Traurig’s global organization with experience handling client matters in Asia.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2400 attorneys in 43 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm, often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono, reported gross revenue of over $2 Billion for FY 2021. The firm is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, NLJ 250, and Law360 (US) 400. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage. Web: www.gtlaw.com.