Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has been named Legal Adviser of the Year in North America, with judges impressed by the breadth of deals and infrastructure sectors on which the firm advises.

One judge said: “Orrick is doing great things, particularly in the pure infrastructure space.”

Orrick said since 2021, its global M&A platform has guided clients through more than 680 deals worth $131 billion, including, more than 250 energy and infrastructure sector transactions valued at $42 billion.

The submission said: “With trillions needed to address climate change, our team is built for climate tech investors and entrepreneurs. Built on the strengths of our tech and E&I practices, we are advising investors, funds, corporate VC and developers, including 250+ climate tech companies driving the transition to clean energy.”

Judges were also impressed with Orrick’s program which is seeing it pilot the newest generative AI tools that have the potential to reduce hours for a range of transactional tasks.

The submission said: “We developed bespoke contractual structures for large-scale, long-term M&A infrastructure projects across asset classes, including roads, toll roads, airports, hospitals and social infrastructure. Over the past year, we advised multiple equity investor consortia with differing investment horizons including strategic operators for P3 transportation/transit delivery projects nationwide.”

During the judging period, Orrick was involved in a number of high-profile transactions, that have also been recognized at the IJInvestor Awards 2024.

Orrick advised Vinci Concessions on the 100% acquisition of the company holding the P3 concession contract for Denver’s Northwest Parkway, a crucial 8-mile tolled road, for approximately $1.2 billion. The Parkway, a vital gateway to Denver International Airport, the sixth busiest airport globally, saw 7.2 million transactions in 2023, up 6% from 2022 and 17% from 2021, demonstrating its importance and revenue growth potential.

The firm also advised on the Ardian’s first US transaction, the acquisition of CampusParc, the concessionaire that manages, operates and maintains the parking facilities at The Ohio State University’s (OSU) campus in Columbus, Ohio. 

The submission said: “CampusParc marks Ardian’s inaugural transportation investment in the US, aligning with the objective of its Ardian Americas Infrastructure Fund V to expand assets under management. The concession operates under a 50-year lease agreement, with 39 years remaining. Ardian will collaborate with management to enhance CampusParc’s operations, focusing on delivering parking solutions and asset maintenance. Ardian will apply digital strategies from its infrastructure portfolio to optimize operations and performance and leverage its ESG expertise to implement sustainability initiatives.”