Sidley Austin dealmaker joins Simpson Thacher amid energy infrastructure boom

U.S. law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett on Monday said it hired Katy Lukaszewski as a partner for its energy and infrastructure practice in Houston.

Lukaszewski, who is joining from Sidley Austin, is the latest in a string of energy and infrastructure-focused dealmakers to switch firms in recent months. Last week Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison picked up a top Latham & Watkins energy and infrastructure partner.

Law firms are responding to an uptick in energy work that's been spurred in part by the Biden administration's $430 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which includes tax credits and other provisions to promote cleaner domestic energy production and manufacturing.

More than 270 new clean energy projects have been announced since the law's passage last year, with investments totaling some $132 billion, according to a Bank of America analyst report.

Lukaszewski helped shepherd a joint venture between Marathon Petroleum Corp and Finnish refiner Neste for Marathon's renewable fuels project in Martinez, California.

Neste is expected to contribute a total of $1 billion, including half of the total project development costs projected through the project's completion. Sidley represented Neste in the deal, with Lukaszewski co-leading the team.

Lukaszewski also co-led the Sidley team that represented insurer American National Group when it was bought by Brookfield Asset Management for about $5.1 billion in an all-cash deal in 2021.

Lukaszewski's practice “will seamless align with the team,” David Lieberman, managing partner of Simpson Thacher's Houston office, said in a statement.

A Sidley spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.