Infrastructure

Akin has a market-leading infrastructure team with decades of experience spanning the spectrum of infrastructure projects, investments, M&A and other transactions. We serve as trusted counsel to developers, financiers, procurers, private equity, private credit, pension and other institutional investors, and strategic operators on investments across the transportation, digital, energy and social infrastructure landscape.

We offer full support to clients through every stage of the infrastructure investment lifecycle and beyond. Our team assists infrastructure investors in scaling their operations, modernizing legacy assets, engaging in public private partnerships (PPPs), joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures, thus achieving long-term value creation in critical sectors. We cover both greenfield and brownfield assets, with a particular emphasis on structuring and financing scalable, sustainable investments.

Drawing on our experience representing various parties involved in the development, financing and operation of infrastructure projects of all sizes, we are ideally placed to advise on matters involving core and core-plus assets across geographies and deal structures.

Core Infrastructure

Transportation

Akin represents public and private sector clients on matters involving all modes of transportation, including rail & intermodal, roads, parking garages, airports & aviation and ports & maritime logistics. Leveraging our strengths in infrastructure M&A, government contracts, regulatory compliance and government relations, we routinely advise on the procurement, purchase, sale, development and financing of large-scale transportation projects and help clients navigate transportation policy & regulation.

Digital Infrastructure

We offer comprehensive support to data center and other digital infrastructure clients in M&A transactions and on all facets of domestic and international infrastructure development, including municipal projects such as smart cities. We provide strategic advice on licensing, rulemaking, auctions, compliance and enforcement matters for fiber, wireless, wireline, satellite, broadcast, cable, IoT (internet of things), device, semiconductor, autonomous systems and other telecom, media & technology (TMT) companies.

Our team has facilitated the financing, development, acquisition and disposition of more than 60 data centers. Akin has led the negotiation and execution of dozens of data center lease agreements with the world’s largest hyperscale data center tenants. We also represent investment funds, institutional investors and other asset managers, and real estate investment trusts (REITs), in M&A, purchases & sales and financings of data centers.

Water Infrastructure

We advise clients developing water and wastewater infrastructure, including in M&A, procurements, financings, regulatory compliance and government relations. Our water infrastructure clients include public and private project sponsors, institutional investors, investor-owned utilities, government agencies, tribes and international organizations.

Industrial Infrastructure

We counsel industrial infrastructure clients with issues relating to real estate, industrial properties and related infrastructure, including with respect to mining, telecom centers, warehouses, cold storage facilities, distribution centers and R&D buildings.

Energy Infrastructure

Power & Utilities

Akin has led the way in groundbreaking renewable energy projects and our firm is behind some of the largest and most complex conventional power transactions. We have deep experience in traditional energy infrastructure, including gas, nuclear and other fuels; and renewables, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, landfill gas and bioenergy.

For more than 80 years, our firm has partnered with electricity and gas utilities, merchant generators and transmission and distribution companies. Our experience spans natural gas, coal, heavy fuel oil (HFO), nuclear and their supporting grid infrastructure.

We offer support to clients throughout the lifecycle of baseload, mid-merit and peaking power projects, including M&A, joint ventures, project development and financing. In addition, we advise on grid-connected power projects. Further, we have worked on battery storage, gas storage and other energy storage and flexibility projects such as pumped hydro solutions.

Oil & Gas

We represent infrastructure clients on the development, financing, ownership and operation of midstream oil & gas and liquid pipelines, terminals and facilities. Akin serves as long-time counsel to leading public and private midstream companies and investors in the sector, as well as buyers and sellers of midstream oil & gas assets. Our team has steered transactions involving many of the most successful pipeline projects in the U.S. and around the world.

Energy Transition

Akin is at the forefront of the energy transition, advising infrastructure clients on the key legal and business issues impacting investors, developers and other stakeholders. We advise on the production of clean hydrogen and derivate fuels such as green ammonia, e-methanol, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other renewable fuels, carbon capture, utilization & storage (CCUS) and direct air capture, and electric mobility and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, to name a few.

Social Infrastructure

Our infrastructure team advises on a broad array of public works projects, such as military bases, hospitals, schools, fire stations, federal buildings, courthouses, prisons and parking garages. We assist clients in evaluating whether sponsors can feasibly and more cost-effectively undertake a project through a PPP. Our experience also includes representing clients undertaking PPPs involving healthcare facilities, higher education institutions, prisons and courthouses.

Military Housing

We advise developers competing for, and negotiating, PPPs to finance, develop, operate and maintain military housing. Lawyers and advisors in our government contracts, corporate and lobbying & public policy practices work together to assist in identifying and evaluating opportunities, advocating for our clients, structuring transactions, and advising on compliance with applicable federal laws and regulations.

Tribal Infrastructure

With one of the nation’s largest American Indian law practices, Akin advises tribes and private developers on the development of a wide range of large-scale infrastructure projects on tribal lands, including transportation, water delivery and wastewater treatment, pipelines, telecommunications infrastructure, transmission lines and traditional and renewable energy. Our knowledge of tribal culture and politics and the laws affecting tribes and tribal lands allows us the insight necessary to evaluate, plan, secure approvals and develop infrastructure projects on tribal lands.