LONDON – The Financial Times honored Bracewell (UK) LLP’s excellence in energy transactions and infrastructure by naming the firm a finalist for two awards at the upcoming FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2025. Winners will be announced on September 18, 2025, at the Natural History Museum in London.
Bracewell was named a finalist in the Innovative Lawyers in Dealmaking category for its representation of Trident Energy on three interrelated transactions with Chevron Corporation and TotalEnergies – the acquisition of Chevron’s entire upstream oil and gas business in the Republic of Congo, as well as two asset-level transactions with TotalEnergies. Darren Spalding led the Bracewell team on these deals, which brought together a unique mix of stakeholders, including supermajors, private equity, government entities, lenders, traders and regulators – an unprecedented collaboration in an African upstream transaction.
In addition, the firm was named an Innovation in Infrastructure finalist for its work advising CrossBoundary Energy on the company’s $300 million senior debt commitment from the Standard Bank of South Africa to scale their renewable energy portfolio across the continent. This is the first-ever pan-African senior secured portfolio financing for greenfield assets. Led by Gordon Stewart and Tom Jamieson, this groundbreaking deal – designed entirely for commercial and industrial end users – demonstrated how commercial funders can support renewable energy adoption by businesses across Africa without requiring sovereign guarantees.
Founded in 2006, the FT Innovative Lawyers Europe Awards recognize legal innovation across Europe, honoring firms and in-house teams for leadership in digital transformation, strategy, talent, sustainability and positive change.
