Global law firm Shearman & Sterling today announces the appointment of Julia Derrick as a Project Development & Finance partner, based in London.

Julia specializes in mergers and acquisitions, project development and commercial contracts in the oil and gas sector, with a particular focus on upstream oil & gas, LNG and the energy transition. She has significant expertise acting for buyers and sellers on mergers and acquisitions at both corporate and asset level (including farm-in arrangements), advising on LNG liquefaction and regasification projects (including floating LNG regasification and small-scale LNG projects) and LNG sales and marketing arrangements. Julia has extensive experience acting for clients in relation to investments and acquisitions in the UK, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

“Julia’s deep expertise in the energy sector, particularly across oil & gas, augments our market-leading capabilities in this area. Her practice highly complements our business and client base, and her appointment is indicative of our commitment to growing our London offering,” said David Beveridge, Senior Partner at Shearman & Sterling. “Julia’s addition is part of our ongoing strategy to align with market opportunities with the greatest potential for the firm, reinforcing our position as a global elite law firm.”

Commenting on Julia joining the firm, Ben Shorten, Global Project Development & Finance Practice Group Leader, said: “Julia’s appointment is part of our ambitious growth strategy in the energy sector, both in London and globally. Her focus on cross-border investments and transactions coupled with her strong client relationships will be a great asset to our team. I am confident that her arrival will help us to take full advantage of the market opportunities we are seeing in the energy and infrastructure sectors.”

Julia Derrick added: “I’m excited to be joining a firm with a market-leading practice and strong global platform. I look forward to working with Ben in London and the team globally, advising clients on some of the most high-profile and strategically important projects and transactions.”

Julia is Shearman & Sterling’s sixth strategic lateral hire in London this year, following the recent appointment of partners Michael Mountain (M&A), Shameer Shah (Leveraged Finance), Phil Baynes (Funds), Matthew Skinner (International Arbitration) and Maegen Morrison (M&A).

Julia Derrick joins Shearman & Sterling from Ashurst.