Global law firm Reed Smith today announces the hire of James Atkin as partner in its global Energy and Natural Resources Group and London office.
Atkin joins from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe where he was Global Head of Oil and Gas. He was previously a partner at Vinson & Elkins for 10 years and has also worked at Baker Botts and Denton Wilde Sapte, where he qualified.
His practice focuses on upstream and midstream oil and gas, particularly liquefied natural gas (LNG), supporting clients across Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, and North and Latin America. He regularly advises clients on large-scale oil and gas projects, LNG sales arrangements and energy-related acquisitions.
Formerly based in Tokyo for over a decade, Atkin has strong links with the Japanese market where he advised some of the region’s leading utility and trading companies.
Praj Samant, chair of Reed Smith’s Energy and Natural Resources Group, said: “We are excited to welcome James to the firm. He is a very talented practitioner with a wealth of experience supporting organisations across the globe with their energy investments.”
“We have recently made significant investments in our LNG capabilities in order to meet growing client demand and evolve with the industry. With James on board we are now even better placed to support our clients.”
Andrew Jenkinson, London office managing partner, said: “James’ arrival further enhances our strong transactional energy offering. He is an excellent addition and we look forward to welcoming him to the firm.”
Atkin said: “I am very excited to join Reed Smith. It has a truly global foot print and a well-established sector focus that ensures its clients receive the highest quality legal advice from lawyers that are embedded in the industries that they serve. I look forward to helping further develop the firm’s LNG offering as part of the ENR group.”
With the hire of Houston based partner Kevin Keenan in September this year, Reed Smith’s LNG team now consists of over 40 lawyers globally.
Reed Smith’s multidisciplinary Energy and Natural Resources Group comprises around 160 lawyers worldwide, combining regulatory, transactional, financial, environmental health and safety, projects and construction, and litigation disciplines.
