ATLANTA – Josh Combs, an associate in Troutman Pepper’s nationally recognized Energy practice, has been named among Emory University’s 40 Under Forty list highlighting pioneers in their fields. Each year, Emory reviews hundreds of applications to recognize those outstanding young alumni who represent the best in achievement and service.
Combs, a 2015 Emory University School of Law graduate, counsels energy clients on complex state regulatory issues at every phase of the regulatory and administrative litigation process. He offers strategy-focused advice to help clients execute strategic initiatives and meet operational goals while carefully balancing issues involving the intersection of politics and business, both public and private.
In addition to his active practice, Combs is involved in several community and industry organizations. He is a member of the Energy Bar Association, American Association of Blacks in Energy, and American Bar Association and a former board member for Advance Atlanta and Emory University’s Annual Giving Board. He also was staff counsel for the Georgia Lawyer Competency Task Force in 2022. At Troutman Pepper, he serves on the Atlanta Recruiting Committee and the inaugural Steering Committee for the Black Affinity Group.
Troutman Pepper’s market-leading energy practices help clients with their most important and complex matters throughout the United States. From renewables to conventional and emerging technologies, the cross-disciplinary team has extensive experience across the energy landscape. The firm regularly advises independent power producers, banks, utilities, private equity funds, and large corporations. Learn more at troutman.com/energy.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
NEW YORK – Troutman Pepper was shortlisted for three Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards in the following categories: Best Use of Artificial Intelligence, Innovations in Pro Bono, and Innovators of the Year- Law Firm (Individual), William Gaus. Presented by Legaltech news, the awards honor individuals and organizations for their achievements in innovation over the past year.
Best Use of Artificial Intelligence
The firm is a finalist in this category for its launch of an AI assistant, Athena, that harnesses OpenAI’s GPT to help attorneys and business professionals safely and effectively use generative AI to improve workflows and enhance overall user and client experiences. In doing so, the firm became of one the first to have a bespoke tool approved for such use. Within 24 hours of its firmwide release, more than 125 different users, including users from all the firm’s practice and administrative departments, engaged the platform in nearly 300 conversations.
Innovations in Pro Bono
Troutman Pepper is nominated here for its ongoing pro bono work with the Education Law Center-PA, Vanguard, J.M. Smucker, and American Legal Claim Services to assist former students of Glen Mills Schools (GMS) in securing compensation from a settlement fund. The Education Law Center and pro bono counsel filed a lawsuit alleging that GMS, a now-closed Pennsylvania reform school, was a site of pervasive abuse and intimidation, which disproportionately impacted Black students and students with disabilities. Chester County Intermediary Unit, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, agreed to a $3 million settlement. Troutman Pepper’s attorneys and professional staff are responsible for notifying students of their rights to compensation, assisting in the submission of supporting affidavits for their claims, and tracking the claims and amounts sought. Troutman Pepper is coordinating its work with J.M. Smucker and American Legal Claim Services, which are determining eligibility and administering the settlement fund. The project has many innovative aspects ranging from a bespoke platform created by the firm’s Innovation team to enable multi-stakeholder collaboration and an AI program used to convert scanned images to text.
Innovators of the Year- Law Firm (Individual), William Gaus
Troutman Pepper’s first Chief Innovation Officer Will Gaus is up for the Innovators of the Year award recognizing individual law firm practitioners who have spearheaded initiatives or introduced new solutions to creatively address legal problems through technology. In the last year alone, Gaus has guided several marquee innovation projects and initiatives, including launching the firm’s AI assistant, Athena, and heading the firm’s Generative AI Task force. He also led best-in-class data analytics projects, helped to optimize internal firm processes through technology, and managed technology-supported engagement projects like the firm’s award-winning employee engagement app, MobileOne.
An external judging panel will next determine the winners, which will be announced at a January 29 awards ceremony during the 2024 Legalweek conference in New York.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
RICHMOND, Va. – Brooks Smith, managing partner of Troutman Pepper’s Richmond office and a leader in the firm’s Environmental and Natural Resources Practice Group, has been named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s inaugural list of “some of the best-known and hardest-working managing partners of law firms in the Commonwealth.” Smith is among two dozen attorneys to be recognized in the publication’s Managing Partners Spotlight.
The list highlights “those attorneys who stay in the trenches, maintaining their practices and meeting with clients while keeping an eye on the firm’s bottom line and the day-to-day needs of the office.” In selecting the managing partners, editors sought attorneys who exemplify the diversity of Virginia’s legal profession, focusing on excellence in leadership.
Smith has led Troutman Pepper’s Richmond office since 2019. The full-service office comprises more than 150 attorneys catering to clients in virtually every sector with local, national, and international reach. Attorneys are well-connected to local businesses, governmental circles, economic development, culture, arts, and charitable organizations.
In September, Smith was recognized among the Commonwealth’s top leaders by Virginia Business. That same month, Virginia Lawyers Weekly recognized Troutman Pepper in its inaugural Law Firms on the Move program, which highlighted 11 Virginia law firms for their embrace of innovation in firm management and legal practice, growth strategies, new practice areas, community outreach, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Smith is involved in cutting-edge environmental and natural resources proceedings in Virginia and around the country, including litigation, enforcement defense, project development and compliance counseling. In addition to the recent recognition, he has been honored by several leading industry authorities throughout his career, including Chambers USA, the National Law Journal, and Thomson Reuters, among many others.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
NEW YORK — The stars may finally be aligning to enable the build out of significant new transmission capacity in the U.S. energy market, according to the latest industry insight report from law firm Troutman Pepper.
The report, Unlocking U.S. Transmission Upgrades – Are We on The Cusp of Real Progress? (available here), launched today, reflects upon the views of a range of market actors seeking to plan, build or benefit from new transmission infrastructure. It argues that recent legislative reforms, funding opportunities, and improved state-federal coordination have created an opportunity for energy companies and regulators to converge on solutions and remove long-standing roadblocks to new transmission.
Chris Jones, Partner at Troutman Pepper, explained: “The traditional gap between federal planning standards and state siting and permitting processes has unquestionably impeded efforts to upgrade U.S. transmission infrastructure. But there are signs these previously divergent processes can begin pulling in the same direction. If the energy sector and its regulators are able to seize the moment, we could see a step change in building out the low carbon grid the U.S. so urgently needs.”
Having interviewed transmission experts tasked with delivering transmission upgrades, as well as energy companies dependent upon their success, the report finds four major obstacles to progress:
- Planning: The unpredictability of interconnection queues remains a severe headache for project developers. But transmission planners also suffer from the uncertainty created by speculative generation projects.
- Permitting: Without a major streamlining of processes across state and federal jurisdictions, grid upgrades simply take too long to permit.
- Practicalities: A shortage of skilled people and essential equipment threaten to present future pinch points unless addressed today.
- Paying for upgrades: The build-out of new transmission capacity is capital-intensive and the industry will need to clearly communicate the benefits while passing a fair proportion of cost to consumer bills.
Despite these obstacles, the report finds that recent and ongoing regulatory reforms paint a compelling case for optimism:
- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is seeking to increase certainty for transmission planners, most notably through its recent rule, Order No.2023.
- The Federal Government is looking to boost FERC’s leadership role, with the notion of one agency in overall charge being well supported on Capitol Hill.
- The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act have both provided legislative vehicles to stimulate multi-agency coordination, backed up by a raft of new programs, initiatives, and grants from DOE.
- FERC has begun to engage with state policymakers and regulators, most notably through the ‘Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission.’
Bridging the traditional gap between planning and permitting holds the key to unlocking U.S. transmission upgrades. Having found this to be well underway, the report concludes that, with a continued commitment to coordination from all parties, the prospects for a low carbon U.S. grid may never have been higher.
Unlocking U.S. Transmission Upgrades: Are We on The Cusp of Real Progress? can be downloaded here.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper’s market-leading energy practices help clients with their most important and complex matters throughout the United States. From renewables to conventional and emerging technologies, the cross-disciplinary team has extensive experience across the energy landscape. The firm regularly advises independent power producers, banks, utilities, private equity funds, and large corporations. Learn more at energylawinsights.com.
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
BOSTON – Ten Troutman Pepper attorneys have been named to Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers list. The annual list recognizes nearly 1,000 legal professionals, as voted by industry peers and compiled in partnership with DataJoe.
Honorees by Category
Bankruptcy And Workout
Todd A. Feinsmith
Criminal Defense/White Collar
Corporate Law
Commercial Litigation
Corporate Law
Intellectual Property Rights
In compiling its Top Lawyers guide, Boston magazine invited lawyers in the area to nominate up to three of their peers in a select number of specialties. The top vote-getters in each specialty were then reviewed by an advisory board of distinguished lawyers who finalized the list.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
BOSTON – Troutman Pepper client Apnimed, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing oral pharmacologic therapies for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and other sleep disorders, announced a new joint venture with Shionogi & Co., Ltd., a leading global research-driven pharmaceutical company based in Japan, to develop novel pharmacologic therapies to treat OSA and other sleep disorders. Shionogi also made an equity investment in Apnimed. Read a company press release about the joint venture.
Apnimed is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company working to transform the treatment of sleep apnea based on a simple idea – patients with obstructive sleep apnea could benefit from treatment with a safe and effective oral medication dosed once daily at bedtime. Apnimed’s lead development program targets the neurologic control of upper airway muscles to maintain an open airway during sleep.
The newly formed joint venture, Shionogi-Apnimed Sleep Science, LLC, initially focuses on accelerating the discovery, preclinical and clinical development of novel pharmacologic solutions designed to address the complex pathology of OSA. Shionogi-Apnimed Sleep Science combines Apnimed’s knowledge of OSA, highly experienced clinical-stage drug development team and robust network of sleep medicine clinical sites with Shionogi’s highly efficient small molecule drug discovery engine and proven ability to create best-in-class compounds.
The Troutman Pepper team advising Apnimed includes Dan Sieck, Chris Miller, Judith O’Grady, Saba Ashraf, and Joe Goldman. Apnimed has been a member of Troutman Pepper’s Startup and Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) Program since the company’s inception. The program combines the resources of an experienced, multidisciplinary team into an affordable package for startups, early-stage, and fast-growing companies. Clients receive legal counsel, mentoring, relationship-building opportunities, and more.
The firm regularly advises startup, emerging growth and venture capital clients through every stage of their life cycle. Industries served span software, hardware and other high-technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, financial technology, health care, consumer products, food and beverage, media and telecommunications products and services, and many others.
Visit seed.troutman.com to learn more about Troutman Pepper’s SEED program.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
Washington, D.C. – James Beers, an environmental attorney with extensive litigation experience and significant expertise on Clean Air Act issues, has joined Troutman Pepper’s Environmental + Natural Resources practice as a partner. He joins the firm’s Washington, D.C. office in a move from Preti Flaherty.
Beers brings a wealth of experience in environmental law, particularly in high-stakes environmental litigation, strategic regulatory counseling, permitting, and remediation. Prior to joining Preti Flaherty, Beers served with distinction in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the U.S. Department of Justice for over 13 years. During his public service career, he received numerous awards for his exceptional work, including Department of Justice special achievement awards and EPA Bronze and Silver Medals.
“James is a great addition to our team, increasing our Washington D.C. presence and expanding the scope of the environmental support we can offer clients. We are excited to collaborate with him on ongoing client matters, and to work with him to grow our client roster,” said Andrea Wortzel, Environmental + Natural Resources practice leader. “With James’ deep knowledge of the Clean Air Act, as well as his litigation experience, we will be in a great position to deliver strategic advice and guidance to our clients and assist them in navigating regulatory and litigation hurdles.”
“Growing our presence in D.C. is a key objective for the Environmental + Natural Resources practice, and James is well positioned to support this initiative with his extensive network of corporate, legal, and government contacts,” said Henry Liu, managing partner of Troutman Pepper’s Washington, D.C. office. “His background in both governmental and private practice will be a tremendous asset in navigating the complexities of agency decision-making and government actions.”
“I’m thrilled to be joining Troutman Pepper as it presents an opportunity to work with a very collaborative, forward-thinking team,” Beers said. “I’m excited to capitalize on the deep environmental bench and national platform and utilize the multidisciplinary approach to provide clients with exceptional legal guidance while navigating the dynamic environmental landscape.”
Beers’ previous work has involved cases arising under all major environmental statutes (CAA, CWA, CERCLA, RCRA, OPA), with particular expertise on Clean Air issues. Beers has overseen complex settlement negotiations, led high-profile litigation teams, and guided clients through complex compliance and permitting matters. He also has close relationships in the energy, transportation, chemical, pharmaceutical, cement, and mining industries.
Troutman Pepper’s nationally recognized Environmental + Natural Resources practice helps clients navigate critical environmental issues in the context of complex litigation, compliance, enforcement, and transactional matters. The group, which now includes 40 attorneys with valuable government, industry, and technical experience, provides a unique perspective to address the rapidly evolving federal, state, and local environmental issues that clients face on a day-to-day basis.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
NEW YORK – Troutman Pepper advised in more than 25 capital markets transactions during Q3 of 2023 with an overall deal value of more than $3.4 billion. While transactions spanned across the United States, the firm saw significant success in Canadian cross-border deals.
“We are topping the charts in more than a half dozen categories, with market activity also up from last year over the same period,” said Partner Tom Rose. “We are proud to be the go-to U.S. firm for companies in these matters and remain committed to delivering increased value to clients.”
Rankings:
Thomson Reuters/Refinitiv – Global Capital Markets Legal Review First Nine Months 2023
Canada Equity & Equity-related (CAL4) Manager Legal Advisor
#3 ranked firm (#1 U.S.-based firm)
Canada Equity & Equity-related (CAL4) Issuer Legal Advisor
#3 ranked firm (#1 U.S.-based firm)
Bloomberg Global Legal Adviser League Tables First 3Q 2023
Canada Equity Offerings: Legal Adviser – Issuer Ranked by Deal Count
#3 ranked firm (#1 U.S.-based firm)
Canada Equity Offerings: Legal Adviser – Manager Ranked by Deal Count
#5 ranked firm (#1 U.S.-based firm)
Canada Equity IPO: Legal Adviser – Issuer Ranked by Volume
#5 ranked firm
Canada Equity and Equity Linked: Legal Adviser – Issuer Ranked by Deal Count
#3 ranked firm (#1 U.S.-based firm)
Canada Equity and Equity Linked: Legal Adviser – Manager Ranked by Deal Count
#5 ranked firm (#1 U.S.-based firm – tied)
Canada Equity, Equity Linked & Preferred: Legal Adviser – Issuer Ranked by Deal Count
#3 ranked firm (#1 US-based firm)
Canada Equity, Equity Linked & Preferred: Legal Adviser – Manager Ranked by Deal Count
#5 ranked firm (#1 U.S.-based firm – tied)
Clients turn to Troutman Pepper for comprehensive, global counsel on investment and operational activities and decisions. The firm handles the gamut of equity and debt transactions, from IPOs and first-time listings to investment-grade debt offerings to equity-linked and preferred and hybrid securities. Troutman Pepper advises on all phases of capital market deals, including structuring and governance; timing and tax planning; negotiating underwriting or purchase agreements, trust indentures, and other documents; preparing registration statements and prospectus/offering circulars; and regulatory and corporate law.
Troutman Pepper’s Canadian Practice Group represents Canadian companies with respect to their U.S. legal needs. The Group includes lawyers with experience in the areas of securities and corporate finance; mergers and acquisitions; energy regulation; energy trading; intellectual property; immigration; tax; government contracts; and complex litigation. The team regularly acts as counsel on U.S. public and private equity and debt offerings for Canadian issuers, Canadian and U.S. underwriters or agents and Canadian and U.S. investors, including assisting Canadian companies with U.S. exchange listings and U.S. periodic reporting obligations.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
PHILADELPHIA – Troutman Pepper client Hamilton Lane recently announced the final closing of Hamilton Lane National Small Business Credit Fund, L.P. and Hamilton Lane New York SBIC Fund II, L.P. (the Funds). Together, the Funds total $290 million in size*, with commitments from leading institutional investors across the United States. Read a company press release about the sale.
Hamilton Lane is one of the largest private markets investment firms globally, providing innovative solutions to institutional and private wealth investors around the world. The firm launched New York SBIC Fund I in 2015, with the goal of identifying opportunities to strategically deploy capital to help drive development and advance small businesses in New York State. Building on the success of the firm’s first SBIC offering, the Funds were launched in 2022. The Funds are part of the firm’s existing credit platform, which has more than a 22-year long history of investing in direct credit and boasts a robust network of sponsor relationships.
The Troutman Pepper Team advising Hamilton Lane was led by Christopher Rossi and Patrick Bianchi, and included Saba Ashraf, Michael Crumbock, Jackson Buday, and Jennifer Prushan.
Troutman Pepper’s national SBIC practice regularly provides cost-effective solutions for SBICs in fund formation, licensing, regulatory matters, and investment activities. As one of the oldest and largest SBIC practices in the United States, the team works closely with the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to constantly improve program policies that the firm helped to create decades ago.
*This includes capital committed to the funds as well as confirmed and anticipated SBA leverage issued to the funds for investments.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.
BOSTON – Troutman Pepper client MVM Partners, a health care investment firm focused on commercial stage companies, recently invested in Gynesonics® Inc., a women’s healthcare company focused on the development of minimally invasive solutions for symptomatic uterine fibroids. MVM Partners joins Amzak Healthcare, Endeavour Vision, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Runway Growth Capital, and Bain Capital in the investment. Read a press release about the financing.
A pioneer in women’s health, Gynesonics focuses on developing and delivering minimally invasive, incision-free, uterus-preserving, transcervical technologies for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Its flagship product, the Sonata System®, is the first FDA-cleared medical device for diagnostic intrauterine imaging and transcervical treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids, a medical condition affecting roughly 80% of adult women.
The Troutman Pepper team advising MVM Partners in the financing included Dan Sieck, Chris Miller, and Alicia Worthy.
Consistently recognized as a top-tier national practice, Troutman Pepper’s corporate attorneys regularly handle transactions ranging in size from tens of millions of dollars to multibillion dollars. Core areas of service include private equity, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions (including cross-border transactions and corporate carve-outs), capital markets and corporate finance, corporate governance, and securities laws compliance. The firm also has particular expertise in advising clients on matters involving fund formation and fund management.
About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from startups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including energy, financial services, health sciences, insurance, and private equity, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.