King & Spalding has recruited Kelly Malone, a specialist in cross-border development and financing of major energy projects, as a partner in its energy practice. Malone will be based in King & Spalding’s Singapore office. He joins from the Singapore office of leading Norwegian firm Wikborg Rein, where he was a partner and head of that firm’s global projects team. Malone is bringing with him a team of two senior lawyers and an associate.
“Kelly’s power project and project finance business nicely complements our strong worldwide oil and gas practice,” said Ken Culotta, leader of the King & Spalding’s global transactions practice group. “His presence and expertise increase our capability in the power and project financing sectors, and allow us to offer the full range of energy services throughout the Asian market, and to expand our roster of clients.”
Malone has built a practice that includes representing sponsors, lenders, governments and state utilities in over 50 major mostly power projects in 22 countries in Latin America, Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. He is identified as one of the “world’s leading energy and natural resource lawyers” by Euromoney Institutional Investor and as a regional expert on Asia and Latin America by Chambers Global.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Kelly and his team to the firm,” said John Savage, managing partner of King & Spalding’s Singapore office. “Our Asian practice has historically focused on oil and gas and arbitration, and the logical next step in growing the business was to add a senior power projects partner with substantial financing and Asia experience. So we’re very fortunate to have Kelly join us. We expect to build out our Asia team with more lateral partner hires and internal promotions in different practice areas in the short- to medium-term.”
Malone said, “The opportunity to grow my practice from King & Spalding’s global platform, and in the company of such talented energy lawyers, makes this an excellent move for me. I and my team look forward to being part of the firm’s expansion in the energy sector and in Asia.”
Malone joins a Singapore-based energy team which includes partners Dan Rogers and Merrick White. King & Spalding hired White, one of Asia’s leading oil and gas lawyers, from Clifford Chance in October.
King & Spalding’s Singapore office serves as a hub for the firm’s work in energy projects and international arbitration throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
King & Spalding’s energy practice is one of the world’s largest, most experienced and most extensive. More than 250 lawyers across a range of practice areas make up the firm’s integrated energy team. The group includes individuals who have been practicing in the field for several decades, including former in-house lawyers for leading global and national energy companies; leaders of energy industry trade groups; and former managers, engineers, scientists and government officials. The firm’s energy lawyers offer experience that spans every sector of the industry, from oil and gas to power and renewables.
