Practical LawConferences

Until recently Hans von der Linde was General Counsel for Shell’s global Downstream business (refining, marketing and chemicals). He led a team of 300 people based in 40 countries. The head of Legal at Shell UK also reported to him. In 28 years with Shell, Hans has worked in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and China. During his time as head of Legal for Shell in North East Asia, he chaired the legal committee of the European Chamber of Commerce in China.

Hans is an experienced M&A lawyer and has also worked in government relations and issues management. He has a keen interest in developing people, and has been in charge of talent management across Shell Legal since 2004.

Martin McAspurn-Lohmann is the Head of Oil & Gas at Santander Corporate and Investment Banking in London with responsibility for the global coverage of major oil & gas companies. Prior to this, he was a Director in Lloyds’ Oil & Gas team with responsibilities for the global relationships with the Majors and business development in the European upstream sector. During his 12 years in corporate finance, Martin has worked in the US, Germany and the UK  and has provided advisory work and led deal teams in numerous high profile debt and equity transactions in the Natural Resources and Energy sectors. Martin is bi-lingual in German and English and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration

Alain is the Global Smart Metering Lead in our Global Power & Utilities Center and is responsible for driving the global growth of our advisory business in the areas of smart metering and Smart Grid. Alain has almost 25 years of experience supporting clients as they transform their business.

Erik D. Lazar, is Director and Founder of Transatlantic Law International in London, United Kingdom, an innovative global legal firm which provides a broad range of business law solutions to multinational and growing companies in more than 90 countries worldwide.

A U.S. lawyer by training with over 25 years of experience in international business law, Erik founded the group in 2001 after more than 15 years of international legal and management experience including in European General Counsel positions for Fortune 50 companies. Erik specializes in global M&A,  where he has negotiated or completed more 80 deals worldwide  with more than $5 billion in deal value, restructuring, management of cross-border projects and transactions, international transactions, antitrust, and commercial agreements. He regularly counsels leading companies on M&A strategies, as well as structuring cross-border transactions and post-merger restructuring.

In the power and energy field, Erik had managed greenfield and acquisition projects in the solar, hydro and wind farm sectors in countries including the UK, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Mexico, Ecuador and  Brazil

Erik also  counsels leading companies regularly on global, regional and local labor issues worldwide focusing particularly on global executive and management contracts and cross-border employment and expansion, as area covered worldwide by Transatlantic Law’s global labor and employment law service,  Labor Law Plus®.

Prior to moving to Europe in 1991, Erik worked as a corporate and litigation lawyer in major U.S. law firms in Boston and New York. He has lectured extensively before bar associations and corporate groups in the United States and in Europe on topics including global M&A, corporate governance, expanding businesses internationally, improving the general counsel function from an outside and inside perspective, distribution and agency agreements, and key issues in cross border movement of executives as well as global non-competition, among other matters.

Erik is an honors graduate of Yale University and of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and a member of the bars of New York and Massachusetts. He speaks French and German and resides in London.

Elaine began her legal career in private practice. She moved in-house 12 years ago and first became involved in the area of legal compliance in 2005 when she joined Vetco Gray at a time when they had recently entered into a settlement with the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in relation to matters arising under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In January 2007 she joined Baker Hughes, who shortly thereafter also entered into their own settlement with the DOJ and SEC. As part of these settlements both companies also had independent monitors appointed to oversee and advise on their compliance programmes for a period of time. In July 2012 Elaine became the Chief Compliance Officer for Wood Group, serving as the focal point for business ethics and compliance matters across the Group’s global activities. Wood Group is a leading independent services provider for the oil & gas and power generation markets. The Group employs around 43,000 people worldwide and operates in over 50 countries.

Ken earned a B.A. degree in Philosophy at Miami University and his law degree with honours from the University of Georgia in 1981.  He then joined Dinsmore & Shohl in Cincinnati, Ohio where he became a partner and had a diverse general civil and white-collar criminal trial practice.  Ken served from 1985-1989 as an Assistant Special Prosecutor for the State of Ohio, during which time he successfully prosecuted participants in the Savings & Loan crisis.  Ken’s experience also included the successful pro bono representation of a death row inmate in Mississippi before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ken joined General Electric Company in 1993 as Sr. Counsel, Litigation at GE Aviation. Ken became Vice President & General Counsel for GE Oil & Gas in 2005, headquartered in Florence, Italy, with over 40,000 employees and a legal and compliance department of approximately 100 professionals world-wide. During Ken’s tenure, the business grew from 3.5B to 20B dollars in orders.

Ken retired from GE in June of 2014, and is now President of ATRQ Global LLC, a consulting firm focusing on anti-corruption, compliance, governance, localization, international partnerships and “license to operate” issues in the oil & gas and energy sectors.

Ken taught classes in business ethics and values in the M.B.A. program at Xavier University in Cincinnati, and currently serves as a professor in international business ethics and sustainability at Syracuse University in Florence, Italy. Ken has served on the board, and as President, of the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, and he currently serves as a director of a privately held company in the US.

John Upton is Legal Counsel – Audits and Investigations for Baker Hughes, a leading Global Oilfield Services  Company.  John’s role is to carry out FCPA audits and internal investigations on a world – wide basis.  He is a barrister who has previously worked in private practice and as an Enforcement lawyer in Several Government Departments and for the Financial Services Authority. He  holds degrees from  the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics.

Findlay is Associate General Counsel for the global Subsea Systems business of GE Oil & Gas, a $5bn business headquartered in Aberdeen, UK. Findlay advises and supports the business on all aspects of the company’s operations in over 30 countries.

Before joining GE, Findlay was a Partner in the Oil & Gas team at UK law firm, McGrigors LLP, where he advised clients on a wide variety of O&G industry issues, including M&A transactions, field developments, joint venture operations and supply chain contracting.

Prior to joining McGrigors, Findlay was Legal Manager for CNR International (the international business of Canadian Natural Resources, a large Canadian Oil & Gas E&P operator), where he oversaw all legal support for the company’s operations in the UK and Africa.

Findlay was previously recognised by Chambers as having an “invaluable background in the Oil & Gas industry”. In 2010, Findlay was shortlisted in the finals of the Legal Business Awards and in the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Supplement. More recently, Findlay was shortlisted for the Rising Star of the Year award at the Legal Business Awards 2014.

Robin has acted as General Counsel and Company Secretary to AIM and TSX-V listed E&P Companies since 2007.

Most recently Robin was with Equus Petroleum Plc, a Kazakhstan focused, privately held, E&P Company.

Robin was General Counsel and Company Secretary at Central European focused Aurelian Oil & Gas PLC 2011-13, before its sale to San Leon Energy plc.

Prior to this, Robin held the same role at Stratic Energy Corporation, before its sale to Enquest PLC in 2010. Robin was a Non-executive Director of Carthage Hydro Limited, a hydroelectric power start up 2008-2012.

In his earlier career, Robin was Legal Manager at PetroKazakhstan Inc, based in Kazakhstan 2003-6, until its sale to CNPC for $4.2Bn.

After Qualifying as a Solicitor with Cameron McKenna in 1997, Robin worked at BP until 2003, advising on major Russian upstream investments in East Siberia, Sakhalin IV/V, as well as the upstream aspects of the TNK-BP Merger, and also the Kashagan PSA in Kazakhstan.

Robin holds a Degree in Law from King’s College London.

Christopher advises on energy projects and transactions including new grants of development rights, post-grant government negotiations, company and asset acquisitions, incorporated and unincorporated joint ventures and commercial contracts for project operations, development and financing.

He has particular experience of advising on upstream oil and gas matters in the Middle East and Africa, as well as the UK.

Edward Randall is General Counsel at BELECTRIC UK, the solar PV developer and contractor of ground mounted and rooftop systems. He works with suppliers, landowners, investors and financiers in the renewables sector and assisted in bringing the award-winning Big60Million initiative to market with the launch of four minibonds in the past year. Before that, he trained and worked at Allen & Overy in the UK, the Middle East and North Africa on a wide range of energy and infrastructure projects.

Chris has been a project finance partner since 2001. His project finance experience covers both international and domestic work across the full range of infrastructure and energy sectors, acting for financiers and sponsors. Chris has a particular focus on power (both conventional and low carbon).

Amanda Lewis is a partner in the firm’s Technology, Media and Telecoms Department. She specializes in advising on all types of IT and commercial agreements, having negotiated over 215 major agreements over 28 years, covering IT, telecommunications, service integration, cloud computing, disaster recovery, printing, mailing, training, call centre services, customer services, customer experience, human resources, payroll, pensions administration, finance and accounting, audit, fleet management, vehicle supply and vehicle servicing, revenues and benefits, insurance claims processing, credit card processing, lease payments processing, sweeping and pooling services, home remittance services, custody, fund administration, derivative processing, transfer agency, underwriting support, claims management, cash pool, trade finance processing, engineering consultancy, logistics and fulfillment, research, catering, cleaning and various other facilities management services.
Amanda has also advised on numerous commercial and IT disputes, working with litigation colleagues where relevant.

Patrick joined Burges Salmon in 1990 from local government. He is a Legal Associate of the Royal Town Planning Institute and a Higher Court Advocate for civil law. Patrick’s practice centres on energy (conventional, renewables and nuclear), waste, minerals and transport.

Recent projects include:

• planning and environmental assessment advice on radioactive waste management facilities
• public local inquiry advocacy for onshore windfarms across the UK, successfully obtaining consent for over 150MW of installed capacity under s36 Electricity Act 1989 and Town and Country Planning Act 1990
• advising on CPO for public transport provision for the 2012 Olympics
• acting as planning adviser to a nationally significant underground gas storage/solution mining scheme.

Tony Hawkins is the General Counsel & Head of Commercial for Sterling Energy plc.  He is a senior energy lawyer with over 18 years of experience, predominately in oil and gas but also in power, LNG and renewables.

At Sterling, Tony is responsible for all legal and commercial aspects of Sterling Energy’s operations.   Sterling’s portfolio includes production from the Chinguetti field in Mauritania and exploration blocks in Mauritania, Cameroon, Madagascar and Somaliland.

Tony joined Sterling in January 2013 after 6 years at Centrica plc, where he had a number of roles.  Prior to that, Tony worked for 10 years in private practice in Australia and the UK.

Thamala Perera is General Counsel of IGas Energy PLC, the AIM listed, largest onshore oil and gas exploration and production company in the UK. IGas has more than thirty years’ experience of successfully and safely extracting oil and gas from over 100 sites around the country. Following the acquisition of Dart Energy Limited in October 2014, IGas has an asset base of over 1 million licensed acres and explores for both conventional and unconventional oil and gas.

In 2011, following the reverse takeover of Star Energy Group Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of PETRONAS) by IGas, Thamala was appointed to lead the legal function of the enlarged group.  Prior to the reverse takeover, Thamala was General Counsel of Star Energy responsible for all legal matters of the European Infrastructure Group of PETRONAS with a primary focus on gas storage.

Thamala was called to the Bar in 2000. During her career she has gained a combination of in-house and regulator (Ofgem) industry specific expertise and has a proven record of successfully advising pioneering and fast growth companies on a variety of challenges faced in the oil and gas industry.

Martin’s principal area of practice is U.S., English, and international labor and employment law. He has extensive experience dealing with employment aspects of domestic and international business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures.

He also counsels clients on day-to-day HR and personnel issues, and has represented clients in litigation before U.S. state and federal courts, administrative agencies, English Employment Tribunals, and the English High Court on a wide range of employment matters. Martin also advises clients on employment issues arising out of federal government contracts (including affirmative action and EEO compliance), record retention policies, and international data privacy and transfer laws. He is licensed as an attorney in Texas and as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.

Sarah Gregory is an employment lawyer and partner with Baker & McKenzie.  She has recently been appointed as the Inclusion & Diversity Partner in the London office.  Sarah oversees the strategic direction of Baker & McKenzie’s approach to Inclusion and Diversity in London, ensuring initiatives and projects are championed and achieve tangible results.

Beverley Parrish is the UK lead for Exponent’s Environmental Sciences practice.  She is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and a Chartered Geologist with over 25 years of experience in industry and environmental consultancy.  Following an early career spanning the North Sea petroleum industry and mining and exploration in Southern Africa she returned to the UK to pursue a career as an environmental consultant. She has expertise in environmental regulation, environmental risk and liability assessment, contaminated land and groundwater, waste management, energy from waste and environmental due diligence and she has held a variety of Director level positions.  She is also an expert witness and is currently supporting clients in a number of cases. Beverley is also active in the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, holding posts on both the Green Economy and Skills Panels.  Exponent are a US based company of around 1000 engineers, scientists and health professionals, which has gained considerable experience in the fracking industry in the US, primarily in the field of litigation.

Ana Stanič is an English Solicitor Advocate and an Honorary Lecturer at the Centre of Mining and Natural Resources at the University of Dundee.  She is the founder of E&A Law Limited, an innovative law firm which combines energy specialism with expertise in EU law, international law and arbitration.

Ana has advised on concession agreements, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and privatisations. She is currently advising states and companies on EU energy, competition and environmental law as well as international law particularly in relation to energy projects. She regularly acts as counsel in investment treaty and commercial arbitrations and has appeared before the Court of Justice of the EU.  Ana has a LLM from Cambridge University, UK and a LLB and B. Commerce (Finance and Banking) from the University of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to private practice, Ana worked for the Slovenian Ministry of Economic Relations and Development and the Central Bank where she inter alia negotiated bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements.

Ana is recommended as a leading lawyer in Energy and Energy Disputes by Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners and a leading lawyer in CIS and CEE countries by the IFLR. Besides English Ana speaks Slovenian, Bosnian/Croat/Serbian, Italian and understands Russian and French.

Peter is the Managing Partner of the London office. He advises oil and gas companies worldwide on upstream and midstream transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, LNG project development work and operational procurement and contracting. He presently advises on projects across South America, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe.

A former chairman of the International Bar Association’s Oil and Gas Law Committee, Peter has authored three leading industry textbooks (Gas Sales and Gas Transportation Agreements (Sweet & Maxwell, 2014); Joint Operating Agreements (Globe, 2015); English Law and Petroleum Contracts (OUP, 2013)) and has contributed to several other books. He edits the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) Journal of World Energy Law and Business and is a representative on several oil and gas law university faculties. He is admitted to practice law in England & Wales and Hong Kong.

Peter was recently recognized in the 2013 “Hot 100” by The Lawyer, is recognized by Who’s Who Legal and is ranked highly by Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 directories. He was previously the General Counsel for a UK energy company and has worked for other leading international law firms in London, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Raphael’s research interests are in energy law and policy. His research perspective is through law and economics and he focuses in particular on: electricity markets, energy subsidies, energy liability, the EIA process, energy justice and the future of energy law. Of importance is the aim to understand the legal challenges involved in planning for new energy infrastructure projects. Raphael’s research interests cross the disciplines of planning law, public administration, project management, competition law, tort and strategy. Raphael’s research has involved funding from UK national research councils (the ESRC, and the EPSRC), and is currently funded by the EU (under Horizon 2020). In addition, he has acted as a consultant for the World Bank.

Raphael is a qualified Barrister-at-Law (Honourable Society of King’s Inns, Ireland) Raphael read for his PhD at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge. He holds degrees from the University of Cambridge (MPhil), the University of St. Andrews (MLitt), and Trinity College Dublin (BA, MA). Raphael is an Associate Researcher of the Energy Policy Research Group at the University of Cambridge a Policy Fellow, Policy Fellows Network, Centre for Science and Policy, also at the University of Cambridge. In the past he has held visiting positions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA (Visiting Student), and The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA (Visiting Scholar).

Momoh is a British-Nigerian commercial and dispute resolution lawyer. Momoh practises in London, and has a unique knowledge of Nigerian oil and gas law. Momoh has advised clients on Nigerian related joint ventures, project finance, shipping, and commercial dispute resolution. Momoh has dual legal qualifications; Solicitor (England & Wales) and Barrister & Solicitor (Supreme Court of Nigeria) Momoh’s core areas of expertise lie in energy and natural resources, project finance, infrastructure projects, maritime and multimodal transportation, foreign investment and international economic law,  international arbitration, and commercial litigation. Momoh is an active member of the London branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and also accredited by the Law Society as a civil and commercial mediator. Momoh often sits as an arbitrator or mediator, and has taken appointments both in the UK, Nigeria and elsewhere.