Orrick Herrington team joins Osborne Clarke in London

Orrick Herrington team joins Osborne Clarke in London

UK firm adds on heft to renewables and energy management capabilities with the arrival of John Deacon and two other partners

In the UK, Osborne Clarke has expanded its energy and infrastructure practices by taking along three partners from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe in London.

Osborne Clarke is bringing in sector veteran John Deacon immediately, while Dominic O'Brien and Hannah Roscoe will join before the end of FY 2022.

According to the firm, the arrival of the trio will add significant heft to its expertise in the energy sector, especially in the areas of renewables, power management, waste and bio-energy. As listed on the firm's website, 74 lawyers, including 39 partners, make up Osborne Clarke's energy and utility team in the UK.

In addition to the new hires, Hugo Lidbetter, a former energy expert at Fieldfisher in Bristol, has joined the firm's energy group as a partner.

"We are committed in investing and growing the UK energy sector as part of our decarbonization transformation strategy," said Matthew Lewis, head of the firm's UK energy and utilities sector group. "Our partnership will help to grow our client base and enhance our services with the vast experience of John, Dominic and Hannah."

After five years as the UK firm's co-leader of its renewables practice at Hogan Lovells, Deacon joined Orrick in 2015. He concentrates his practice on renewable energy projects like biogas and solar assets, carbon finance and trading and infrastructure claims. He specializes in dealing with renewable energy issues.

Between 2005 and 2011, Deacon was a partner at Hunton & Williams for six years before joining Hogan Lovells. In his LinkedIn profile, he is listed, having worked previously at Hammonds, where he became a partner in 2004 after working five years as an associate at Baker McKenzie.

In 2016, O'Brien shifted to Orrick from Jones Day. His experience is primarily focused on energy and infrastructure project financing. He helps utility companies, developers and energy providers finance new Greenfield projects, brownfield acquisitions and corporate financings.

The move comes shortly after Roscoe spent over two years at Orrick. After earning her qualifications and training at Herbert Smith Freehills between 2008 and 2010, she moved to the US firm in 2019. In addition to her expertise in renewable energy, nuclear and conventional sources of energy, she has experience in M&A, joint ventures, commercial contracts, restructurings, financings and project development.

Osborne Clarke launched an office in Warsaw in March 2022, which added 30 lawyers from local practices to the firm's European infrastructure and energy and utilities platforms. The office will be the firm's first physical presence in Central and Eastern Europe and will be led by Olgierd Swierzewski, a co-managing partner and Tomasz Olkiewicz, the firm's head of business development. The office consists of six partners, including four from MDDP, 24 lawyers and four support staff.

The firm's long-time corporate partner, John Cook, left Orrick in January to join Intersect Power as its chief legal officer after spending more than 25 years at the firm.