O’Melveny & Myers LLP is pleased to announce that a group of leading finance and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lawyers is joining the Firm from Dewey & LeBoeuf. Richard Shutran, Junaid H. Chida, Arthur V. Hazlitt, Mark Caterini, and Dev R. Sen will be partners in O’Melveny’s New York office.
These lawyers collectively possess a broad set of skills in the areas of finance, development, and M&A that have enabled them to successfully represent investors, lenders, and sponsors in a wide variety of large-scale, sophisticated energy, infrastructure, and other transactions. Their sponsor clients include utilities, oil companies, airlines, railroads, and other industrial entities; their investor and lending clients include banks, pension funds, insurance companies, other institutional investors, and focused private equity funds. They bring vast experience that will significantly enhance the scope of O’Melveny’s finance, infrastructure development and M&A offerings globally.
“The group’s arrival, together with our other recent lateral hires, will further strengthen our New York Transactions capabilities, grow our finance, development, and M&A practices, and complement our existing project finance and other practices,” said Bradley J. Butwin, chair of O’Melveny. “This is a great group of lawyers whose practices align nicely with our strategic priorities and who fit in well with our culture.”
“We saw a great opportunity at O’Melveny, not only to help deepen the Firm’s transactions capabilities in New York and elsewhere, but also to join an excellent team of lawyers whose values are consistent with our own,” said Shutran.
“O’Melveny’s platform, with first-rate project finance and M&A teams on both coasts, affords us the opportunity to serve energy, infrastructure, and other clients with even greater geographic reach,” said Chida. “We’re very excited to become part of the O’Melveny community.”
Richard Shutran joins O’Melveny’s M&A practice group. Shutran was most recently chair of Dewey’s Firmwide Corporate Department and chair of its Global Finance Practice Group. His practice focuses on advising companies and investors in leveraged finance and project finance matters, mergers and acquisitions, and restructurings, especially in the energy, mining, and infrastructure areas. Shutran is a highly respected boardroom-level advisor to his clients and serves as general outside corporate counsel to several corporate clients. Fluent in Spanish, he has practiced extensively in Latin America. Shutran received his B.A. in 1974 from Trinity College and a J.D., cum laude, in 1978 from New York University School of Law. He is a member of the New York Bar and is admitted to practice before the US District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York. Shutran will join O’Melveny on May 14.
Junaid Chida joins O’Melveny’s Project Development and Real Estate practice group. Chida was most recently the managing partner of Dewey’s New York office and co-chair of the firm’s Renewable and Clean Energy Industry Sector. He represents both sponsors, lenders, and investors in the financing and development of energy and infrastructure facilities (such as oil and gas facilities, power plants, renewable energy facilities, pipelines, and transportation systems). Much of his practice focuses on representing lenders and other investors in “tax equity” transactions in which investors participate in the equity ownership structure of these types of facilities with associated tax benefits. He earned his B.B.A., cum laude, in 1978 from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, and a J.D., cum laude, in 1983 from the University of Wisconsin Law School where he was editor of the Wisconsin Law Review. Chida is a member of the New York and California Bars. He joins O’Melveny on May 10.
Art Hazlitt joins O’Melveny’s Tax group. Hazlitt was previously chair of the LeBoeuf Tax Department and has extensive experience structuring, planning, and negotiating all aspects of US and international taxable and tax-free mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, and joint ventures for clients ranging from multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 companies to small start-up ventures. He has significant experience working with utilities and energy industry clients with respect to mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, and the purchase, sale, and structuring of projects involving renewable, clean, and alternative energy sources. Hazlitt earned a B.A., summa cum laude, in 1980 from St. John’s University and a J.D., with honors, in 1983 from St. John’s University School of Law. He is a member of the New York Bar. Hazlitt joins O’Melveny on May 10.
Mark Caterini joins O’Melveny’s Tax group. Caterini has extensive US federal tax experience in corporate and partnership tax planning and structuring, including taxable and tax-free corporate mergers, spin-offs, stock, asset and joint venture acquisitions, and related financing representing a large number of sellers, acquirers, investors, lenders, and underwriters. He has also worked extensively on joint venture formation and investment including renewable and alternative energy projects, project finance, and securitizations. Caterini received a B.A. and a B.S., summa cum laude, in 1985 from Boston College and his J.D. in 1991 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He joins O’Melveny on May 10.
Dev Sen joins O’Melveny’s Project Development and Real Estate practice group. Sen works primarily on US and international project finance transactions, investment fund and private equity deals, and US and international capital markets matters. He has represented project lenders as well as project sponsors and project companies in all aspects of project financing transactions. Sen has also had principal roles in various banking matters, including secured and unsecured loan transactions, and has advised on international joint ventures, mezzanine financing transactions, and general corporate matters. Sen represented a leading insurance company in the divestiture of a large portion of its private equity investments and commitments following the financial crisis. He earned a B.A., with first class honors, in 1984 from Presidency College, Kolkata and a B.A., with honors, in 1987 from the University of Cambridge. Sen then attended the Inns of Court School of Law in London and received an LL.M. in 1989 from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the New York Bar. Sen will join O’Melveny on May 14.
