Pictured: Senior Partner Andrew Whitehead
Birmingham and London law firm, Martineau, has opened in
Brussels as part of a strategic collaboration with German law firm,
Becker Büttner Held (BBH).
Both firms boast specialist energy practices with a pan European
client base, and Martineau has joined BBH in taking a new Brussels
office at a time when EU law and policy developments are affecting
national energy markets like never before.
The so-called 3rd Package of European energy legislation came
into force earlier this year, and aims to offer European consumers
more choice, investment and security of supply. It will have a
growing impact on Martineau's UK energy clients, as well those of
its industrial clients who are heavy energy users - typically
manufacturers who still make up a large proportion of the firm's
traditional Midlands client base.
The Brussels office - based in the city centre and close to the
EU institutions - will be staffed by a team of energy and
competition law specialists from Martineau, led by the firm's
senior partner and renowned industry expert, Andrew Whitehead with
support from Martineau partners Peter Manford and James
Dilley.
The team will work alongside their German colleagues from BBH on
key issues affecting clients operating across the European energy
markets. The BBH team in Brussels is led by Dr Dörte Fouquet -
an industry-leading German energy lawyer with a strong reputation
across the EU and vast experience in both energy and environmental
law.
Andrew said: "The European energy market is evolving rapidly
across Europe, with developments underway which will see greater
interconnection between Great Britain and mainland Europe, both in
physical terms as new interconnectors get built but also as trading
platforms integrate and consolidate. The pace of change is
increasing, and we need to be at the centre of things to engage
with the policy makers and help our clients understand what changes
are planned .
"The ability to work with Dr Fouquet and her colleagues to offer
a truly pan-European perspective is also going to be a key benefit
of opening a Brussels office. To strengthen the ties between
Martineau and BBH, we have even exchanged lawyers. We are currently
hosting a German lawyer in our energy team in Birmingham, with one
of our energy lawyers working at BBH in Berlin."
Martineau's UK energy practice consists of 10 dedicated lawyers.
As well as advising National Grid, the Great Britain
electricity and gas system operator, Martineau's energy clients
include energy suppliers such as Npower and EdF, as well as
European power exchange operator APX, and a variety of key players
in the renewables field.
Last month, Martineau announced the completion of one of the
largest private equity investment programmes in the UK solar
sector, acting for established City-based fund manager Octopus
Investments. The firm also advised client Toyota Manufacturing UK
on one of the largest solar installations in the UK manufacturing
sector, and the first large scale solar array for the UK car
industry.
Chambers' Guide to the legal profession describes the team as
offering an 'impressive range of expertise', and rank Martineau as
a top tier law firm in the energy sector.
With UK offices in both Birmingham and London, Martineau is a
key member of the Associated European Energy Consultants (AEEC) -
an association comprising independent law firms across Europe well
known for their energy and climate change knowledge and expertise.
The AEEC enables regular dialogue regarding the rapidly-changing
legal and economic world of the energy sector, at European
level.