Paul J. Pantano, Jr.
Partner
Washington, D.C.
T: +1 202 756 8026
F: +1 202 756 8087
ppantano@mwe.com
Paul J. Pantano, Jr. is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Washington, D.C., office. He is a member of the Firm's Management Committee and co-head of its Client Service Team Program. He also has served on McDermott’s Compensation and Executive Committees.
Paul heads the Firm’s Energy & Commodities Advisory Practice Group, where he focuses his practice primarily in the areas of energy, commodities and derivatives law. Paul represents energy companies, commodity and swap dealers, brokerage firms, trade associations and financial industry professionals in a wide variety of transactional, regulatory, legislative and litigation matters. Paul regularly represents clients in investigations and regulatory matters before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other federal government agencies. Chambers USA has ranked Paul as one of the top energy lawyers in Washington, D.C., and he is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America.
Paul is a member of the CFTC’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee and the editorial board of the Futures & Derivatives Law Report. In addition, he is a frequent speaker at energy and commodity industry conferences.
Paul is the immediate past chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Derivatives and Futures Law. He is a member of the Energy Bar Association and the Law & Compliance Division of the Futures Industry Association. From 1994 through 1997, Paul was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School, where he co-taught a graduate law course on the regulation of commodity and derivatives transactions. Paul is a member of the Duke Law Alumni Board of Directors.
Prior to entering private practice, Paul was a trial attorney in the Division of Enforcement of the CFTC, where he represented the commission in numerous civil and administrative enforcement actions.
Paul is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association.
Representative Experience
Government Investigations
- Represented scores of wholesale energy and commodity dealers, marketers and end users in CFTC, FERC and joint CFTC-FERC investigations, several of which were closed without the initiation of enforcement actions
-
Negotiated many settlements with the CFTC on behalf of energy and commodity trading companies
Acquisitions
-
Represented an affiliate of a financial holding company in numerous joint ventures for the development and implementation of municipal and residential solar energy programs throughout the United States
-
Represented the power marketing affiliate of an international financial institution in connection with the sale of its U.S. power and natural gas trading business to an affiliate of a major international oil company
-
Represented Barclays Bank PLC in acquiring the power and gas, metals and crude oil trading portfolio of UBS AG
-
Represented J. Aron & Company/Goldman Sachs in acquiring the international commodity trading business of Constellation Energy Commodities Group, Inc.
-
Represented Merrill Lynch in negotiating a complex financing and tax-equity investment commitment for the construction of a series of geothermal power plants
-
Represented Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. in their acquisition of Entergy-Koch Trading, LP
-
Represented Morgan Stanley in acquisitions of several portfolios of physical and financially-settled energy commodity transactions
-
Represented Barclays Capital in its acquisition of Duke Energy North America's multi-billion dollar portfolio of physical commodity and derivatives contracts
Structured Commodity Transactions
-
Represented Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. in negotiating a large, structured natural gas swap transaction with TXU Generation Development Company LLC, an affiliate of TXU Corp.
-
Represented Morgan Stanley in connection with a series of hedge transactions with LSP Gen Finance Co, LLC, a special purpose vehicle and affiliate of LS Power
-
Represented several companies in negotiating and documenting highly structured energy management agreements
-
Represented Morgan Stanley in negotiating a series of complex agreements with La Paloma, a 1000 MW gas-fired combined cycle generation power plant
Education
- Duke University School of Law, J.D., 1980
- Trinity College, B.A., 1977
