Covington Picks Up Three-Lawyer Project Finance Team

Covington & Burling has picked up a three-lawyer project finance and development team led by Joseph Tato, a New York-based partner who had been global co-chair of DLA Piper’s Energy and Natural Resources practice.

Tato, who was also U.S. co-chair of DLA Piper’s projects and infrastructure practice as well as a member of its Africa committee, will be joined in New York by Charles Carroll and Andrea Chambers in Washington.

Tato said in a statement that he was pleased to be joining the firm, which has more than 1,000 lawyers with offices around the world.

“I was particularly drawn to the robust capabilities of Covington’s projects practice in London, Johannesburg, and Dubai and its London M&A capabilities, which will significantly benefit clients with whom I have worked for many years,” he said.

Tato represents project sponsors, equity investors, financial institutions, and governments in the development and financing of power, oil and gas, LNG, renewables, water, mining, and other infrastructure projects in the U.S., Africa, Latin America, and Europe. He also advises sponsors and financial institutions on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and workouts.

Carroll has more than 30 years of experience representing developers, investors, financial institutions and others in the acquisition, disposition, financing, and restructuring of renewable and other energy and infrastructure projects in the U.S. and abroad.

Chambers joined DLA Piper’s finance practice as a partner in 2016. She has three decades of experience representing clients in matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and has advised clients regarding state and federal regulatory approvals for transactions involving electric, natural gas, and storage facilities, among other areas.

“The pace of development in emerging markets and the challenges of the energy transition mean that skills in project development and finance are needed more than ever. Though the types of projects may change, this area will continue to generate work not only for our project development and finance practice but also for other parts of the firm such as arbitration, commercial litigation, M&A, anti-corruption, and global problem solving,” Graham Vinter, chair of Covington’s Project Development and Finance Practice, said in a statement.