Overview
As a former U.S. Department of the Interior and American Wind Energy Association lawyer and the Head of the U.S Environmental Practice, Lauren assists clients with navigating complex environmental, permitting, regulatory, and compliance issues across all types of projects and transactions, spanning project development, financings and mergers and acquisitions. Lauren has significant experience assisting clients with tracking proposed and final U.S. federal and state laws, policies, programs and initiatives and advising clients on current and forthcoming requirements and risks.
Lauren also has significant experience advising on international environmental and social standards and risk management systems in the context of major energy and infrastructure project financings, such as the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework, IFC Performance Standards on Social & Environmental Sustainability, Equator Principles and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Lauren is an active member of the LGBTQ+ Bar. She has been acknowledged as a Green Ambassador by The Legal 500 Green Guide: United States 2025.
Experience
Project Development, Financing, and M&A
- Project developers: assisting with identifying and obtaining all necessary environmental permits and authorizations for energy, industrial, and chemical projects.
- Renewable energy investors: advising on environmental permitting, compliance, and regulatory risks and requirements for projects, including solar, onshore and offshore wind and carbon capture and sequestration projects; tracking proposed and final regulatory changes and advising clients on the risks for specific projects; modifying and negotiating transactional documents to minimize the risks.
- Project and portfolio acquisitions: advising on environmental permitting, compliance, and regulatory risks for energy, chemical, and industrial acquisitions; modifying and negotiating transactional documents to minimize the risks.
- CCUS sponsors: assisting with preparing Class VI permit applications for carbon sequestration projects; analyzing permitting and regulatory risks associated with CCUS projects based on permitting regime and state liability structures.
Offshore Wind
- New York Project: advised on:
- Preparation of successful New York OREC proposal, which included advising on, among other things, project schedules, permitting plans, interconnection plans, Jones Act compliance, OEM strategies and term sheets, port strategies and leases, and compliance with federal and state laws.
- the negotiation of the OREC Purchase and Sale Agreement with the New York Public Service Commission, which included specific provisions for ITC tax benefits, interconnection requirements, and national and local content requirements.
- Term sheet negotiation of Preferred Supply Agreements for turbine and blade manufacturers.
- Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind: represented lender on multi-billion-dollar deal-contingent hedge, which included advising on federal and state permitting and environmental risks and Jones Act compliance risks.
- Vineyard Wind Partnership Flip Tax Equity Financing: assisted a bank with understanding environmental and permitting risks associated with the Vineyard Wind project; tracking and analyzing the environmental and project risks from the ongoing challenges to the project; and preparing the term sheet and transactional documents to minimize the environmental risks.
International Environment and Social Standards
- Major energy and infrastructure projects: advising on the application of international environmental and social standards and risk management systems in the context of major energy and infrastructure project financings, including a recent US$700M loan into a South American LNG facility and US$308M loan for an expansion of an operational container terminal in Colombia.
- Multiple large multinational financing clients: preparing internal guidelines and policies that comply with applicable international environment and social guidelines and standards, including the Equator Principles, IFC Performance Standards, World Bank Group guidelines and/or OECD Common Approaches; and providing the clients with internal trainings on such guidelines and policies.
- Global financial institutions: advising on U.S. environment and social federal and state legislation, regulation and litigation trends.
Admissions