We're delighted to welcome James Durnall as a new Corporate and Energy & Utilities Special Counsel today. James will be based in our Sydney office.
James joins the firm from UK based Ingenious Infrastructure (a division of The Ingenious Group) and Golden Square Energy Limited, where he was Director of Legal & Business Affairs. The Ingenious Group is a market leading financial services group, with Ingenious Infrastructure specialising in managing funds which invest in providing merchant banking services to the energy and infrastructure sector together with developing and managing a significant portfolio of generation assets providing renewable power to the UK market. Prior to this James worked as a senior associate in the corporate, projects and investment funds team of leading law firms in London and Sydney.
James is a leading legal specialist in the clean energy sector, having advised on all aspects of solar, onshore wind, anaerobic digestion, waste to energy and innovative energy efficiency transactions. He also brings significant strength to Bird & Bird's capital markets expertise, having both Australian and international experience advising on IPOs, right issues, capital reductions, share buy-backs and advising in relation to private equity and venture capital fundraisings.
Another key area of James' expertise includes advising on all aspects of investment funds in the UK, Australia and offshore jurisdictions (energy & infrastructure, private equity and hedge) together with substantial banking & finance experience.
Shane Barber, Managing Partner, of Bird & Bird in Australia, says: "James is a fantastic addition to our Australian and Asia Pacific team. His wealth of international experience across project finance, corporate and investment funds in the energy and utilities sector will significantly add to the busy Energy & Utilities sector practice as it begins a further expansion phase in the Asia Pacific market."
James adds: "I am delighted to be joining the Bird & Bird team. I have worked with the global team as a client for many years and I am excited to be joining one of the world's pre-eminent firms in the energy and utilities regulatory space. The clean energy and renewable asset class represents a compelling and attractive investment proposition with the Asia Pacific market increasingly becoming a driving force in clean energy development and investment worldwide. It is fantastic to be a part of this vibrant and growing sector."
