Tracey Read
December 26, 2025
Paul Weiss Grows Corporate Team With Project Finance Attys



3 min

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AI-made summary
- Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP has hired Kelann Stirling, formerly of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, as head of project finance and development, and Jamie Franklin, previously at White & Case LLP, as corporate partners in New York
- Stirling brings over 20 years of experience in energy and infrastructure financing, while Franklin specializes in domestic and international project finance
- Their start dates have not been determined
- The firm also recently added three corporate finance partners from Sidley Austin LLP.
Kelann Brook Stirling Jamie Franklin Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP announced Thursday it has hired two more corporate partners in New York, including a former Kirkland attorney who will serve as head of project finance and development.
Kelann Stirling has more than 20 years of experience advising clients on energy and infrastructure financing within and outside the U.S., most recently as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
Jamie Franklin, who focuses on domestic and international project financing for liquefied natural gas, natural resources and clean energy projects, among other areas, arrived from White & Case LLP.
"Kelann and Jamie are among the top project finance lawyers in the market and will be invaluable resources to our clients," Scott A. Barshay, chair of the firm's corporate department, said in a statement. "We are thrilled to welcome them to our team."
Paul Weiss Chair Brad S. Karp added, "As investment in energy and infrastructure, in particular digital infrastructure, continues to surge, Kelann's and Jamie's expertise will enable us to advise our clients on the most ambitious, transformative projects in the market."
The start dates for the new partners have not yet been determined.
Stirling advises clients on senior secured project financing, holding company loans, back leverage financing, development capital and private placements, as well as the development of large-scale infrastructure projects, the firm highlighted. Her practice encompasses conventional power, solar, wind and battery storage; carbon capture and sequestration; LNG; midstream gas gathering and processing facilities; energy transition technologies; and digital infrastructure.
She recently advised Global Infrastructure Partners on its investment in Rio Grande LNG's $18.4 billion Phase I development and project financing; Intersect Power in obtaining a revolving credit facility to support the development, construction and operation of clean energy projects across the U.S.; and SunPower Corp. and certain of its subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 cases, according to the statement.
Prior to her private practice experience, Stirling was a director and corporate counsel for InterGen, a power generation company. She had also held legal roles at Latham & Watkins LLP and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, and previously clerked for U.S. Circuit Judge Richard A. Cardamone of the Second Circuit.
In 2019, she was named a "Law360 Rising Star" for project finance. Stirling is a magna cum laude graduate of Cornell University Law School and holds an English degree from Boston University.
Franklin has worked on multiple "first-of-their-kind project finance transactions," according to Paul Weiss' statement. He handles multi-source project financing, holding company and hybrid financing structures, project bonds and private placements, structured financing platforms, and other debt-structured products and equity financing. In addition, Franklin advises on joint ventures and project development matters.
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Tracey Read
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