Mingda Zhao > White & Case LLP > Houston, United States > Lawyer Profile

Fielding a ‘talented and commercial’ team that ‘listens to client needs and responds appropriately’, White & Case LLP boasts a stellar and diverse client roster that includes majors, state-owned energy players and investment funds, and new market investors. The group has engaged with large-scale greenfield project financings, both domestically and internationally, floating production storage and offloading vessels, LNG regasification terminals, and direct air capture facilities – among others. This impressive asset engagement sits alongside continued excellence regarding multi-billion dollar M&A and private equity transactions, joint ventures and company spin-offs, handling mandates across upstream, midstream and downstream. Team lead Jay Cuclis has a wide corporate practice that is particularly focused on the upstream, and is noted for his strong work regarding CCUS. The ‘phenomenal‘ Mingda Zhao is praised for his ‘pragmatic’ and ‘commercial’ mindset is often instructed by private equity funds and their portfolio companies. Possessing M&A, finance and development expertise, Steven Otillar has predominantly been engaged with offshore mandates, while Clark Wohlferd focuses on large company takeovers, often working with the likes of Saudi Aramco. Emery J. Choi demonstrates prolific activity across the entire oil and gas value chain, handling M&A, joint ventures and strategic partnerships, whereas Charlie Ofner has led the team on mineral and royalty interest deals as well as spin-offs. Miami’s Sean Goldstein heads up the firm’s Americas-facing practice, specializing in project development and energy infrastructure work in Latin America. All practitioners are based in Houston unless otherwise stated. Christopher Richardson departed the firm in March 2024.

White & Case LLP regularly acts on complex structured transactions that involve both substantial conventional power and renewable asset portfolios, particularly gas fired and nuclear projects which remain a key theme of the group’s pipeline of work. With a diverse spread of clients, the team is active on behalf of PE outfits, particularly regarding investment in early stage outfits through to the eventual sale and reinjection of capital back into the energy space. Michael Shenberg, head of US power and utilities and operating out of New York, is a key figure in some of the practice’s most prominent client relationships, such as Caline Corporation, EnCap Investments, and JERA Americas. Fellow New York practitioner Ipek Candan Snyder carries out considerable foreign investment work, often instructed by Asian asset managers and Middle Eastern clean energy developers on traditional power, battery storage and renewable deals. Houston’s Morgan Hollins provides corporate governance advice alongside her deep expertise in M&A, private equity and joint ventures, while Mingda Zhao, also in Houston, has predominantly worked with NRG Energy, Inc over the past twelve months on their energy and digital infrastructure acquisitions. Jeff Davies lends tax equity expertise from Washington DC, while Hayden Baker joined in New York from Troutman Pepper in 2023 and brings further M&A and financing capabilities. Arthur Scavone has retired.