EVERSHEDS SUTHERLAND LLP - Key Persons


Alexandra Franklin

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Alex Franklin advises clients in various matters related to renewable energy, including energy-related project development and financings. She represents energy providers, project developers, public companies, retail electric providers, electric and gas utilities, cooperatives and other energy industry participants in a wide range of transactions.

Allison Speaker

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Allison Speaker advises clients on energy regulatory, enforcement and compliance matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and state commissions. She also counsels electric cooperatives and other electric utilities, transmission companies, energy trading companies, generators and end users on a wide range of energy-related transactional matters involving natural gas, oil and electric utility issues, and securing necessary regulatory approval for energy-related transactions.

Alyssa Walker

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Alyssa Walker advises clients in various transactional matters particularly focused in the electric power, natural gas and renewable energy sectors including energy-related project development, financings and mergers and acquisitions. Her recent work includes engineering, procurement and construction agreements, operations and maintenance agreements, power purchase agreements, energy storage services agreements, energy trading agreements and merger and acquisitions agreements.

Amish Shah

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Amish Shah represents clients in the development of, and investment in, renewable, alternative and traditional energy projects, including tax equity investments. He also advises clients in developing and understanding risks associated with beginning of construction strategies and in maximizing the benefit of investment tax credits (ITCs), production tax credits (PTCs) and fuels and other energy tax credits. Amish also counsels clients on the credits for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) under IRC 45Q. He regularly represents clients in energy tax related controversy matters, in obtaining IRS energy tax rulings and a variety of other energy tax issues.

Cindy Upchurch

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Member of the US Finance Group
Cindy, a member of the US Finance Group, assists electric cooperatives and other energy clients with wide array of financing transactions, including traditional corporate finance transactions to financing of renewable energy projects. Cindy also advises clients with respect to Rural Utilities Service (RUS) regulatory and loan program requirements and provides general finance and corporate representation.

Dan Frank

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Dan Frank guides electric industry clients in compliance matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and state public service commissions. Dan also advises clients on cybersecurity and data protection matters. His clients include electric cooperatives and other electric utilities, transmission companies, energy trading companies, generators and end users.

Darryl Smith

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Darryl Smith brings more than 13 years of experience representing a broad range of clients in connection with capital markets transactions and compliance with federal securities laws. Within these areas, Darryl has a strong background advising electric utilities-particularly electric cooperatives-and investment banks.

Dorothy Franzoni

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • Member of the Firm 's Executive Committee and Chair of the Eversheds Sutherland ( US ) Clean Energy
Dorothy Franzoni is a member of the Firm's Executive Committee and Chair of the Eversheds Sutherland (US) Clean Energy team. Dorothy's clients are independent power producers, investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives and other strategic investors in the electric power industry. She is a member of the Electric Cooperative Bar Association.

Herbert Short

Job Titles:
  • Partner
With more than three decades of experience, Herbert Short has developed a deep and broad practice representing energy and financial services companies in connection with a myriad of capital markets, securities regulatory, corporate governance and transactional matters. He also has a lead role implementing and overseeing the firm's initiatives for its various global sector groups, including serving as Global Co-Lead of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).

Jackson Allen

Job Titles:
  • Counsel

James Orr

Job Titles:
  • Partner
James Orr provides strategic responses for his clients in energy litigation matters across the country. James has a long history of representing independent power producers, electric utilities, oil and gas producers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) companies and other energy-related companies.

Kathyrn Wymer

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Kevin Eikenberry

Job Titles:
  • Leadership Consultant
Leadership consultant Kevin Eikenberry highlights aging coop leadership and is encouraging electric coops to take a long-term view of workforce planning, including talent transition teams.

Kyle Wamstad

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Kyle Wamstad represents clients in various transactional and regulatory matters in the electric power, renewable energy, natural gas, crude oil and refined products sectors. His recent transactional experience includes purchase and sale, asset purchase, power purchase, procurement, interconnection, transportation/transmission service and asset management agreements.

Meredith Lawrence

Job Titles:
  • Special Counsel
Meredith Lawrence focuses her practice on assisting electric cooperative clients with financings and other corporate transactions. Meredith's work includes mortgage indentures, secured credit facilities, unsecured bilateral and syndicated credit facilities, direct and agented private placements, government-guaranteed financings, tax-exempt bond transactions and taxable market transactions. Meredith also advises clients with respect to Rural Utilities Service regulatory and loan program requirements and provides general finance and corporate representation.

Michael Kerman

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Mike Kerman regularly represents energy clients in development, acquisition and financing of traditional and alternative energy projects. He brings strong financial and business acumen to every client, having previously worked both as an in-house general counsel, and as a CFO for a real estate development company.

Michael Petrov

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Michael Petrov advises clients in the energy sector on a wide range of transactional matters, with a focus on finance-related matters. Michael's practice includes working on mortgage indentures, secured credit facilities, unsecured bilateral and syndicated credit facilities, direct and agented private placements and government-guaranteed financings. Michael also advises clients with respect to Rural Utilities Service (RUS) regulatory and loan program requirements and provides general finance and corporate representation.

Paulette Hurteau

Job Titles:
  • Special Counsel
Paulette Hurteau uses her skills to help electric cooperative clients with financings and other corporate transactions. Paulette's work includes mortgage indentures, secured credit facilities, unsecured bilateral and syndicated credit facilities, direct and agented private placements, government-guaranteed financings, tax-exempt bond transactions, taxable capital market transactions and Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREBs) transactions. Paulette also advises clients with respect to Rural Utilities Service (RUS) regulatory requirements and provides general corporate representation.

Peter Fozzard

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Working with both borrowers and lenders across the country, Peter Fozzard helps clients finance utility, telecommunications, agribusiness, transportation, infrastructure, and other corporate operating and liquidity needs. Peter also currently leads the Finance Practice Group in the US.

Reginald Clark

Job Titles:
  • of Counsel
Reggie Clark counsels a variety of corporate clients on the complex tax issues that affect corporate acquisitions, restructurings, spinoffs and other transactions. Reggie also advises clients in tax disputes, often serving as their representative before the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in connection with ruling or technical advice requests.

Scott Wright

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Scott Wright helps his clients minimize tax liability and protect their interests in regards to state and local tax issues. He has an extensive knowledge of sales and use taxes, income taxes and property taxes; he also handles cases involving utility taxes, employment taxes, transfer taxes and gross receipts taxes. He represents clients from numerous industries, including manufacturing, health care, energy, banking and finance, insurance, transportation, timber and retail.

Thomas Warren

Job Titles:
  • Partner
Tom Warren co-leads Eversheds Sutherland's Energy Projects team. Tom helps his clients manage risk and strategically negotiate complex transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, energy commodity transactions and project development. Tom's clients are strategic investors, independent power producers, electric utilities, including electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities, private equity funds, commodity trading firms and other institutional investors.

Will Pickens

Job Titles:
  • Counsel
Will Pickens advises clients on a variety of transactional matters, with a focus on energy- and infrastructure-related lending and capital markets transactions. Will regularly represents clients in economic development incentives transactions for energy and industrial facilities, real estate developments and other major capital projects and has experience advising energy-industry clients on acquisitions, project development and various commercial transactions.