A team of nearly a dozen energy and project finance lawyers have left EY Law, the legal services arm of Ernst & Young, to join Hunton Andrews Kurth in London. 

Partner Charles Morrison, the former head of EY’s energy services, has joined the US firm alongside partners Dimitri Papaefstratiou, Simon Collier and Harry Brunt, counsel Joseph Lam and five associates. The team is completed by consultant Grant Henderson. 

The team focuses on transactions in energy sectors including oil and gas, renewable and thermal power, as well as emerging technologies including carbon capture, hydrogen and energy storage, Hunton Andrews Kurth said in a statement. 

Commenting on the new team, Hunton Andrews Kurth managing partner Sam Danon said the group “aligns well with our international growth strategy, which is focused on ensuring that we’ve achieved critical mass in key practices, in core industry focus areas and in geographies where client demand is strong”.

The firm has added more than two dozen lawyers to its London office since August 2023, including most recently finance partners Alan Cunningham and Richard Skipper, who joined from EY Law in October. The month before it also hired Morgan Lewis & Bockius project finance partners Ayesha Waheed and Seyfi Can Kandemi. 

“Energy sector activity remains incredibly robust, driven by the need for renewable and alternative solutions in support of the energy transition as well as the need for infrastructure and traditional resource development in emerging and mature economies,” said Jeff Schroeder, head of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s energy and infrastructure team. “We are particularly excited about the team’s capabilities to grow the pipeline of complex, cross-border energy projects and adding depth to our global energy practice.”

The team’s move sits against the background of the Big Four’s muted impact on the UK legal services market since they began to gain a significant foothold around a decade ago after the Legal Services Act 2007 allowed non-lawyer ownership of law firms in England and Wales. EY had big ambitions for its UK legal business, which it aimed to grow to 1,000 lawyers, though according to Financial News that figure has gone in the opposite direction, dropping from 200 lawyers in 2022 to 160 this year. 

The firm cut 24 legal roles in its Financial Services Legal Advisory Services business at the start of the year, just weeks after the Financial Times revealed the accountancy giant was set to close its Manchester-based low-cost legal services arm, EY Riverview Law, with a reported loss of 55 jobs.

Financial News also reported in October that EY was exploring a joint venture for its UK legal business after scaling back its ambitions amid a challenging market for consultancy firms. 

EY’s UK net revenue grew by 3% in the year to 30 June 2024, while a reduction in large cross-border transactions meant fee income dipped slightly from £3.76bn last year to £3.7bn. 

EY declined to comment on the team’s departure.