Energy specialists Geoff Hewitt and Gordon Clark are joining leading law firm Charles Russell.
Their appointments further extend the firm’s services for clients in the energy sector, which already includes mining expertise.
Both Gordon and Geoff, who previously worked at Morgan Cole, will be based at Charles Russell’s office in London.
Gordon’s initial energy experience was gained during two years at energy giant TXU, where he dealt with a wide range of energy business, including electricity trading issues, electricity supply matters and TXU’s exploration and production interests. Since September 2002, he has been part of Morgan Cole’s energy team, where he led a team working on a major outsourcing for BP, and more recently has advised a consultancy company on the restructuring of a national electricity market in the EU.
Geoff is a barrister and has worked in the energy sector for almost 28 years, having started in the Department of Energy. He was in-house counsel at Santa Fe Exploration (later known as Saga Exploration) for 19 years, which had both an oil and gas contracting business, as well as exploration and production interests. From 1983, Geoff focused on the oil and gas exploration part of the business. He has been at Morgan Cole since 1999, as part of their energy team, working on a power project for the State of Lagos in Nigeria, and for PetroKazakhstan Inc. on a review of its crude oil and sales and distribution systems. Geoff has also been working on a significant North Sea project for US company Kerr-McGee, which has worldwide operations and assets of $10 billion.
Geoff and Gordon said: “We are very much looking forward to working at Charles Russell, and helping to build the firm’s energy capability. We believe our expertise coupled with the full range of services and resources at Charles Russell, such as the excellent corporate finance practice, will offer a very attractive service to clients in the energy sector.”
David Berry, Partner at Charles Russell, said: “We are delighted that Geoff and Gordon are joining us, as part of the firm’s strategy to expand into new markets. Their experience and reputation in the energy sector provides Charles Russell with an influential presence in that market, concentrated in London and supported by a wide range of other services.”
Geoff will work as a Consultant, and Gordon will be an Assistant Solicitor, and both will start at Charles Russell on April 5 2004.
