Chapman and Cutler LLP announced that David Sykes rejoined the firm earlier this month as a partner in thce San Francisco office, adding to the firm’s renewable energy and securitization practices.
Sykes concentrates his practice the representation of lenders, lessors, issuers, and investors in renewable energy and fintech transactions. He has extensive experience in matters involving debt and equity finance transactions (including tax equity transactions), securitizations, joint ventures, asset acquisitions, and divestments.
Sykes started his legal career at Chapman and most recently served as general counsel of Renew Financial, an originator of novel financial products, including consumer and commercial PACE assessments and unsecured loans, to finance energy efficiency improvements. He has managed the legal and compliance functions at several VC-funded start-ups that originated innovative consumer and commercial loan, lease, and PPA products via technology platforms — from these roles, Sykes gained deep experience in enabling the development, deployment, and servicing of technology-enabled lending products and the creation of systems that aggregate the resulting facilities and financial assets into portfolios that can support more-efficient capital structures.
“We are very excited to welcome David back to Chapman,” said Melanie Gnazzo, Chapman’s San Francisco Office Leader. “David’s unique knowledge and experience complements Chapman’s practice in a number of areas, including securitization and structured finance, renewable energy, fintech, and lease and project finance.”
“I’m pleased to rejoin Chapman because of the firm’s culture and focus on the US financial services marketplace,” said Sykes. “Chapman offers a strong platform for my practice with the firm’s market-leading securitization practice and broad, interdisciplinary renewable energy practice.”
Attorneys in Chapman’s renewable energy practice regularly provide a wide spectrum of legal services to investors, lenders, developers, owners, contractors, equipment suppliers, and utilities in the renewable energy sector. The practice is comprised of an interdisciplinary team of lawyers with extensive experience in the areas of energy, finance, real estate, construction, energy regulation, environmental, tax, corporate, and other relevant areas of the law. The firm’s asset securitization and structured finance practice has grown to be among the largest in the US. Handling structured transactions involving financial assets and asset-backed financings with unusual revenue streams is a hallmark of Chapman’s structured finance practice. Chapman has also been at the forefront of the developing fintech sector, most notably in marketplace lending and online payments and processing.