Holland & Hart LLP

Holland & Hart leads the market in connecting project developers with practical legal solutions to overcome the challenges facing any major project from inception through financing and long into the construction and maintenance phases.

Whether negotiating complex contracts (e.g. DBOM, PPP(s), design build, design bid build, or EPC) or multinational agreements; shepherding project phases through charged city council hearings; or resolving contractor disputes that threaten project timelines and deliverables, our lawyers have the experience, attitude, and resources to get large-scale work done.  

• Hospitals and Health Care Facilities
• Manufacturing and Industrial Buildings
• Mining and Natural Resources
• Mixed-use Developments
• Oil, Gas, and Traditional Electricity
• Renewable Energy
• Resorts and Casinos
• Stadiums and Event Centers
• Telecoms and Public Utilities
• Transportation
• Water and Wastewater Systems

Major Works in a Modern Age
Major works require sophisticated resources and cross-disciplinary knowledge, but most of all, they demand creativity. Projects face legal challenges, financial complications, logistical hurdles, and must satisfy policy and political demands. Holland & Hart lawyers excel in precisely these situations.

With extensive experience in project development and finance, construction, M&A, tax, real estate, natural resources and environment, governmental affairs, Native American lands, intellectual property, crisis response and emergency management, and litigation, Holland & Hart lawyers bring the deep resources and broad coordination to support our clients in their endeavors.

Experience
PIPELINES

Represented governmental agency in connection with design and construction of a $1 billion water pipeline project. Project development legal support required drafting complete contract and procurement package including design agreements for 10 design phases, construction manager agreement for agency CM, construction agreements for all construction packages, purchase agreements for large turbine equipment, and integration risk support agreements.

Lead counsel in connection with the development of a major interstate crude oil pipeline in Wyoming and Colorado. Holland & Hart's work assisted in acquiring all easements, procuring local government permits in ten separate jurisdictions, clearing and permitting for environmental matters, and managing the project.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Distributed Energy
Lead counsel to purchaser in connection with an approximately $115 million asset purchase of 53 MW of Ice Bear energy storage, the largest purchase of distributed energy storage in the United States. Also advised client in connection with a related maintenance and verification service agreement.

Hydroelectric
Advised client in connection with the purchase of a 13.6 MW hydroelectric generation facility in Yakima County, Washington, and an approximately 22 mile, 115 kV transmission line from the facility to the PacifiCorp Tieton Substation. The assets were purchased with the proceeds from the sale of $33.7 million of notes.

Geothermal
Lead regulatory counsel to developer of more than 10 completed geothermal facilities with total combined output in excess of 200MW.

Lead real estate and regulatory counsel to developer of one production facility and three development stage facilities with total expected output of over 100MW.

Local counsel to developer in connection with a $350 million Department of Energy loan guaranty.

Solar
Lead counsel in 200 MW concentrated solar electric generation facility in Saguache County, Colorado. Holland & Hart attorneys handled land acquisition, mineral rights, utility coordination, water rights, environmental issues, government entitlements, public hearings and negotiated a comprehensive development agreement for the project. We are also assisting the developer with utility, water rights and environmental issues related to the project.

Lead real estate counsel to developer of three utility-scale solar projects with total expected output of approximately 400MW, including the largest existing solar PV project in North America.

Lead regulatory, water rights, and real estate counsel to developer of 110MW concentrated solar power facility located primarily on federal lands.

Local counsel to developer in connection with a $737 million Department of Energy loan guaranty.

Wind
Lead counsel to offtaker in connection with a prepaid, 20-year power purchase agreement for the output of a 262 MW wind generation facility in Klickitat County, Washington. In what the client refers to as "one of the most significant prepay power purchase agreement transactions in the United States," the project financing employs a combination of over $170 million in federal stimulus funding (Treasury grant) and tax-exempt bonds, used to prepay for a portion of a 20-year block of energy worth over $500 million, covering the cost of construction.

90 MW Wind Farm in Ector and Winkler Counties, Texas; also negotiated related hedge. May be the first direct sale of renewable energy (as opposed to the sale of renewable energy credits) to a retailer. The purchase powers an estimated 15% of Walmart stores, Sam's Club warehouses, and distribution centers in Texas.

Lead counsel in second phase of a 250 MW wind farm in Weld County, Colorado, which, together with the first phase, is currently the largest wind energy generation facility in the state. Holland & Hart lawyers negotiated with county staff and at public hearings leading to the issuance of land use permits and subdivision approvals, and drafted and negotiated landowner agreements.

Lead counsel to Cook Inlet Region, Inc. in connection with both the development and the financing of the 17.6 MW first phase of the Fire Island Wind Project, the first utility-scale wind generation project in Alaska.

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation Hub Redevelopment
Represented a consortium of state, regional, and local agencies in the initial phase of development and financing planning for the multibillion dollar Denver Union Station transportation hub and mixed-use redevelopment project. Our lawyers worked with developers, financiers, regulators, and stakeholders to unite diverse interests and advance the project.

Passenger High Speed Rail
Outside general counsel for the passenger high speed rail project connecting Las Vegas, Nevada, to Southern California. Representation of owner includes providing legal support for all phases of NEPA work, regulatory advice (local, state and federal), Surface Transportation Board representation, financing, land acquisition, permitting, construction contracts and negotiation, procurement, and policy.

Municipal Roadway Extension
Advised Colorado town on an environmental assessment for a project to extend a municipal road and connect it to two major U.S. highways.

Comprehensive Highway Construction Counsel
Provide legal support, counsel and representation to state agency (owner) in major, multiyear $700m construction/project management program, including contract/transactional work; construction claims; right-of-way acquisition; and environmental permitting, compliance, and litigation.

WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEMS

Water Importation Project
PPP involved in a water importation project to the urban areas of Washoe County, Nevada, including virtually all development aspects of the NEPA process, local land use, intergovernmental issues, and State Engineer hearings and approvals.

Wastewater Facility
Represented a land developer in the first public-private infrastructure agreement in Colorado Springs history. Holland & Hart lawyers drafted and negotiated the agreement with the city that ultimately led to construction of a $200 million wastewater facility servicing 24,000 acres; 76,000 residential units; and 79 million square feet of commercial, retail, and industrial development.

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS

Sports Arena and Stadium
Representation of city on its arena and stadium project supported by private financing, public bonds, and public land leases. Responsible for legal support during development phases, drafting development agreements, operating leases, and construction contract approvals.

Transmission
Holland & Hart served as lead counsel to Cook Inlet Region, Inc. in the development and financing of the submarine and overland transmission line to connect the Fire Island Wind Project to mainland Anchorage.

Holland & Hart's Statement of Commitment to Diversity
We are proud of our tradition of fostering and maintaining a work environment in which the diversity of each individual is valued and celebrated. We believe that the contributions of each individual are essential to our continued growth and to our ultimate goal of providing excellent quality legal services to our clients, with greater creativity and innovation. We are committed to taking full advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of our people and to promoting a greater diversity whenever and wherever possible.

Diversity Pledge
Holland & Hart is committed to promoting diversity by:

• Making every possible effort to recruit, hire, retain, and promote diverse persons at all levels of employment.
• Promoting greater sensitivity to the value of racial, ethnic and other forms of diversity, through diversity and sensitivity coaching or training for law firm members.
• Inviting to partnership diverse attorneys who meet the requisite criteria.

Diversity Initiatives
The following are additional examples of our commitment and efforts toward supporting and achieving diversity:

• We make a conscious effort to ensure that women and diverse attorneys are included as voting members of our committees of importance within the firm.
• We work closely with law school deans and placement directors in an effort to identify women and diverse law students who are interested in working at Holland & Hart.
• Holland & Hart offers medical and other benefits to partners of gay and lesbian employees on the same terms as it does to spouses of employees.
• We created an Indian Law Practice Group and actively recruited Native American law students and lateral hires.
• Each year we contribute to such scholarship funds as the Colorado Native American Indian Scholarship Fund, the Sam Cary Scholarship Endowment Fund, the Colorado Asian American Bar Scholarship Fund, the Colorado Hispanic Bar Scholarship Fund, and the Colorado Women's Bar Association Scholarship Fund.
• In partnership with the University of Idaho School of Law, we sponsor a "Law by Day, Jazz by Night" each year for undergraduate minority students who have an interest in law.
• We took a leadership role in organizing and supporting the Colorado Pledge Group's Minority First Year Law Student Summer Clerk Program. Through this program, law firms agreed to add at least one diverse first year law student to their summer clerk program.
• We were involved in the creation of the Cross-Professional Business Networking Group, where diverse attorneys in our community can meet and network with non-attorney professionals of color. We view this as a way to help diverse attorneys increase their business development possibilities.

For more information regarding Holland & Hart's commitment to diversity, please contact Peter Houtsma at (303) 295-8259.