Global law firm Ashurst is pleased to announce the appointment of three new partners in its Global Energy practice. Paul Curnow joins Ashurst in Sydney, bringing with him partners Zoë Hilson and Kate Phillips in Sydney and Melbourne, respectively. The hires consolidate Ashurst’s position at the leading edge of the global energy transition. The established team has a deep understanding of energy markets and the renewables sector and collectively gained more than 50 years of experience at Baker McKenzie, where Paul was Global Co-head of the renewable energy practice.
Paul is one of Australia’s leading renewable energy lawyers and is recognised globally as a market leader in climate change and sustainable finance. He has extensive experience in all aspects of Australia’s renewable energy markets, including project development, innovative offtake agreements, energy regulation, and financing, having helped to set up the Clean Energy Finance Corporation as Acting General Counsel on secondment. For more than two decades, he has been a driving force behind renewable energy greenfields and M&A transactions across solar, wind, pumped hydro, batteries and other emerging technologies at both utility and distributed-scales, and a long-standing policy voice for the clean energy sector.
Supporting Paul at Ashurst, Zoë Hilson and Kate Phillips bring considerable experience advising clients on complex large-scale commercial transactions for energy and infrastructure projects. Zoë is a specialist in contracting and regulatory matters, with particular expertise in revenue contracts that underpin major energy projects.
Kate has strong expertise in greenfield energy projects – including wind and solar, as well as battery and pumped hydro. She specialises in acting for sponsors in a lead project role for the structuring and development of solar, wind, pumped hydro and energy from waste projects in the NEM states.
Energy & Resources Practice Group Head, Richard Guit commented:
“We are thrilled to welcome Paul, Zoë and Kate to our platform. The world is changing and we are growing our business to meet the opportunities. Australia will become a global renewable energy powerhouse as Asian economies reposition toward a low carbon future. Ashurst is at the forefront of this evolution and it is fantastic that Paul, Zoë and Kate share our vision. They will play a pivotal role in driving further growth of the firm’s market-leading Energy practice.”
Sydney office managing partner, Harvey Weaver added:
“To have attracted such a high calibre renewable energy team reflects the growing strength and reputation of Ashurst’s award-winning Energy & Resources practice, the quality of our clients, and our ability to provide the most innovative and professional legal solutions. These appointments are well aligned with our focus on strengthening our capabilities in key growth areas, and are evidence of our commitment to expanding the Ashurst team with the best legal talent to capitalise on future opportunities.”
Paul said:
“I am excited to be joining Ashurst’s highly regarded Energy practice in Sydney, and along with my team, look forward to the opportunity to play a key role in the partnership as it further matches its delivery capability to meet the demands of the fast-paced energy transition, underpinned by net zero carbon commitments of countries and corporates alike. Ashurst has a strong market standing in the Energy sector and its Australian and Asian reach provides a great platform from which to service clients across the whole energy supply chain. We look forward to collaborating with the global team to deliver exceptional outcomes for the firm and our clients.”
Source: www.ashurst.com
