Sidley Austin has bolstered its West Coast energy offering with the hire of a partner from Allen & Overy (A&O).

Andrea Lucan has joined the top 10 US firm’s energy, transportations and infrastructure group after nearly three years at A&O, where she was office managing partner in Los Angeles. 

Her move comes just a few weeks after partner Greg Lavigne exited A&O to join Sidley’s energy team in New York and comes ahead of the UK firm’s merger with Shearman & Sterling next year. 

Lucan and Lavigne formed part of a highly rated six-partner Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld renewables team which joined A&O in 2021 in a move that also marked the UK Magic Circle firm’s West Coast launch, in Los Angeles. 

Lucan was a partner at K&L Gates and Akin Gump before joining A&O and focuses her practice on companies involved in solar power, wind power, energy storage and alternative energy projects. She advises on project development and financing, M&A, equity and debt financing, equipment purchase and sale agreements, and power purchase agreements. 

“Andrea is a widely recognised leader in the alternative energy space and we are excited to have her join us in Los Angeles. Sidley’s 150 lawyer practice group represents clients at the forefront of the energy transition, and adding Andrea’s expertise and focus on many of the larger alternative energy developers is a great complement to our energy practice,” said Cliff Vrielink, global leader of the energy, transportation and infrastructure practice and a member of Sidley’s executive committee. 

“Andrea and Greg have worked together for many years, and we are proud that they both decided that Sidley is the best place to continue to build and expand their practices,” he added. 

Sidley also hired a five-lawyer team from Weil Gotshal & Manges to bolster its energy, transportation and infrastructure practice in London back in March, which included partners James MacArthur and Ed Freeman.

And despite losing Lucan and Lavigne to Sidley, A&O added to its US energy coverage in August with the arrival of energy transition specialist Kfir Abutbul from Paul Hastings in Houston.

A&O’s merger with Shearman got the go ahead in October when it was approved by 99% of the partnerships at both firms. The combined firm – to be known as A&O Shearman – will have revenue of $3.5bn and nearly 4,000 lawyers across 48 offices. 

Shearman saw a raft of partner departures across the US, Europe and Middle East in the lead up to the announcement of the A&O tie-up and during earlier merger talks with Hogan Lovells, including virtually its entire Germany team for Morgan Lewis. 

A&O, too, has seen departures, including senior fraud partner Andy McGregor’s exit in October only 18 months after he joined the firm for London boutique Enyo.

A&O also said in October that it was spinning out its risk management business aosphere to two private equity groups ahead of the merger. 

A spokesperson for the firm confirmed Lucan’s departure, adding: “We would like to thank her for the contribution she made during her time at Allen & Overy and wish her all the best for the future."