Former White House Adviser Joins Kirkland in Washington, D.C.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that Ali Zaidi has joined the Firm’s Washington, D.C., office as of counsel in the Corporate Practice Group.

Mr. Zaidi focuses his practice on identifying, mitigating, and managing climate and environmental risks, primarily as they arise in the context of corporate transactions, governance, and crisis response. He has advised clients on a range of matters in connection with equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, asset purchases, securities offerings, and joint ventures, and assisted clients with strategic decision-making, including on matters related to impact investment, integration of sustainability and ESG, and multi-jurisdictional compliance issues. Mr. Zaidi also counsels clients on complex regulatory matters related to energy, water, and mobility technologies, including on standards governing artificial intelligence and autonomous systems like drones and driverless vehicles.
 
Before starting in private practice, Mr. Zaidi served in the U.S. government for eight years, including as Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy, and Science in the White House Office of Management and Budget, and, before that, as Deputy Director for Energy Policy in the White House Domestic Policy Council. He joins Kirkland from the Washington, D.C., office of Morrison & Foerster LLP, where he was of counsel.
 
“Ali is a rising star with extensive experience in the energy and environmental space and a strong understanding of related policy and technology,” said Brian Land, a partner in Kirkland’s Washington, D.C., office. “We’re thrilled to add another top-notch attorney to our premier energy and environmental regulatory and transactional practice as it continues to grow to meet client demand.”
 
Mr. Zaidi holds a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College. He serves as Precourt Energy Scholar and adjunct professor at Stanford University and as a non-resident fellow at Columbia University.
 
Kirkland’s Environmental Transactional Practice Group consists of 21 attorneys based in Washington, D.C., Houston and San Francisco and is the largest such group in the country. The group’s lawyers are well-trained, highly accomplished and are known for taking a deal-savvy, pragmatic, problem-solving approach to transactions. The team provides comprehensive support to buyers, sellers, lenders, underwriters and investors involved in transactions throughout the United States and overseas, in a broad range of matters including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, securities offerings, corporate restructuring/bankruptcy matters, energy and real estate investments and financings.
 
About Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis is a global law firm with 2,200 attorneys representing clients in private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions, litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, restructuring, and intellectual property matters. The Firm has 14 offices around the world: Washington, D.C., Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Shanghai.