As the global appetite for energy continues to grow, so does the demand to change the way it is delivered and consumed. Adapting to this changing environment presents significant challenges and opportunities. Whether you are developing a new energy technology, already producing power, or pioneering ways to make more efficient use of existing resources, you need an attorney who knows the industry and has deep experience guiding businesses like yours through financial milestones, regulatory hurdles, and other critical issues and opportunities.
As the first law firm in the eastern United States to build a dedicated energy and clean technology practice group, Mintz Levin has been repeatedly recognized as one of the nation’s top law firms in the sector. Our industry-leading attorneys focus on the convergence of technology and industry in regulated markets and provide services at that intersection. We lead the field in completing clean tech public offerings and our experience in venture capital and private equity, bond finance, project finance, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate transactions is unmatched. Having experience at the crossroads of the investment, traditional energy, and clean tech industry means we also handle government funding, environmental, land use, real estate, intellectual property, litigation, and legislative and regulatory matters.
Whether you are an investor, a traditional energy provider, or a clean technology entrepreneur, we have the critical insight needed to help you create, execute, implement, and succeed at your business goals.
Project & Infrastructure Permitting
Mintz Levin attorneys have developed effective permit strategies and secured all needed state, federal, and local environmental permits and approvals for a wide range of major projects. These include energy projects, solid and hazardous waste management facilities, industrial facilities, regional shopping centers and industrial office parks, numerous major downtown developments in Boston and elsewhere, waterfront industrial and recreational / residential developments, and subsidized housing developments. Many of these projects have required coordination of multiple environmental reviews and advocacy before many different forums, facing varying standards and procedural requirements as well as intense agency and public scrutiny. In the context of this diverse array of projects, we have established a clear track record of successful permitting of complex, highly visible, and often controversial and contested projects.
Mintz Levin environmental attorneys have effectively represented such projects in hearings before local zoning boards, health boards, and conservation commissions, and in adjudicatory appeals before the Department of Environmental Protection. Our regular appearances before environmental regulatory agencies, on behalf of public and private project proponents, together with the senior-level public sector background of several of our attorneys gives us extensive knowledge of agency policies and approval processes. We are skilled at assisting clients in anticipating and addressing agency concerns.
Pioneering Innovations in Financing
Our Energy & Clean Technology Practice is driving progressive change in the project finance arena, including the development of cutting-edge public-private financing mechanisms. Mintz Levin was integral in the creation and development of the bond financing program that was recently adopted in the USDA’s 9003 loan guarantee program for biofuels projects. The program uses credit-enhanced corporate debt from project companies in lieu of commercial debt — providing an interest rate that is up to 2% lower, a tenor of 15 to 25 years, and terms that are unavailable to developers relying exclusively on commercial debt. The program is expected to play a critical role in opening up the debt market to biofuels companies in need of financing.
Quick Facts
- Served as legal counsel to GreatPoint Energy in the top greentech VC deal of 2012, according to Greentech Media
- First law firm in the eastern United States to build a dedicated clean technology practice and to combine capabilities in emerging technology representation, project finance and development, and government relations to help clients pursue their goals
- 35 years of experience in energy / renewable energy project finance worldwide, including 30 years of financing such projects through US government loan guarantees, loans, and grants
- Combined knowledge of 40+ industry-leading attorneys and other professionals
- 30 years of experience in taking emerging technology, including energy tech, companies public
- 300+ deals completed, totaling over $7 billion, in the energy and clean tech sector since 2006
- Ranked in the “Top Ten Clean Technology Firms” by Euromoney’s LMG Cleantech & Renewable Energy (2013)
Areas of Focus
Rankings & Recognitions
- Ranked in the “Top Ten Clean Technology Firms” by Euromoney's LMG Cleantech & Renewable Energy (2013)
- Practice co-chairs ranked in the “Top 100 Clean Technology Lawyers” by Euromoney’s LMG Cleantech & Renewable Energy (2013)
- Recommended for Intellectual Property, Regulatory, and Finance & Transactional: Corporate by LMG Cleantech & Renewable Energy (2013)
- Ranked among the 2012 “40 Hottest Partners in Bioenergy and Bio-based Materials” by Biofuels Digest
- Ranked #2 in the CleanTechies “Top Ten United States Cleantech Law Firms of 2011” for our global knowledge of the commercialization of clean energy technologies
- Practice ranked nationally and in Boston by U.S. News & World Report “Best Law Firms”