Sara K. Orr

Sara Orr, counsel in Latham’s Environment, Land & Natural Resources Department, advises clients on a range of environmental, health and safety, and corporate sustainability issues.

Ms. Orr works with financial institutions, private equity firms, and corporate clients to assess and manage environmental, health, and safety risks. She regularly advises clients on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in corporate and transactional matters in the oil and gas, power and renewable energy, petrochemical, metals and mining, manufacturing, food and beverage, and real estate sectors. She also represents both sponsors and lenders in connection with project  financing, and has particular experience with international ESG standards including the Equator Principles. 

Ranked Tier 1 in the Environmental: Transaction category by The Legal 500 US, Ms. Orr has worked on hundreds of complex projects and transactions around the globe, including:

• Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
• Project finance
• Securities offerings (IPOs)
• Corporate finance matters
• Real estate matters (REITs)
• Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
• Corporate restructurings

Complementing her transactional experience, Ms. Orr provides insights gained from more than a decade of Washington, D.C. experience to advise clients on federal environmental and energy policy, including natural resource matters. 

As a member of Latham’s ESG Taskforce, she advises clients on corporate sustainability issues and is a thought leader on ESG, including as a co-author of “Introduction to Corporate Sustainability” Practical Guidance at Lexis Practice Advisor.

Leadership

Ms. Orr has held several firm leadership positions. She is a member of the firm’s global Training & Career Enhancement (TACE) Committee, ESG Task Force, and Well-Being Working Group. She previously served as the Washington, D.C. office representative on Latham’s global Pro Bono Committee, Associates Committee, Mentoring Committee (as Local Office Chair), Knowledge Management Committee, and Green Committee.

Ms. Orr’s complex cross-border transactional experience includes advising:

• Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and TOTAL in connection with the financing of the development of an LNG Project in Mozambique, with estimated costs of US$26 billion
• The underwriters in the US$240.6 million initial public offering for Beyond Meat
• Goldman Sachs in multiple financings of various natural resource extraction companies
• A major mining company in connection with the development of a new US phosphate mine, including counseling on public lands management issues, NEPA, and litigation strategy
• The sponsor, Sasol Chemicals (USA) LLC, in connection with the development and project financing of a multi-billion dollar petrochemical project in Louisiana that Infrastructure Journal Global and Project Finance International magazines named America’s Petrochemical Deal of the Year 2014
• Bass Pro Group, LLC in its completed US$5 billion acquisition of Cabela’s Incorporated
• The underwriters in the US$1.57 billion initial public offering of Antero Resources (named Best Financing of the Year by Oil and Gas Investor magazine) and in the US$1 billion and US$600 million notes offerings of Antero Resources
• The underwriters on the US$582.9 million financing of BlackRock and NextEra Energy Partners’ acquisition of a portfolio of wind and solar projects from NextEra Energy Resources that Project Finance International named North America Power Deal of the Year 2018
• An ad hoc group of secured noteholders and debtor-in-possession lenders led by DDJ Capital Management in the Real Industry, Inc. bankruptcy cases, including the acquisition by the noteholders of substantially all of the company’s assets valued at US$450 million
• Private equity firm Arclight Capital Partners in a number of transactions, including its acquisition of offshore oil and gas assets from BP and its acquisition of Hovensa’s terminal facilities
• UBS in its offering of US$100 million for a limited partnership interest in Gaslog Partners LP
• LS Power in the financing of a transmission line in Clark County, Nevada that IJGlobal named North America Transmission/Distribution Deal of the Year 2018
• The lenders and noteholders in a bank and private placement financing of the Texoma portfolio of wind projects owned by Duke Energy 

Speaking Engagements

Ms. Orr’s lectures include:

• Session Panelist, Women Corporate Directors (WCD), “Climate Change: Finding the Opportunities” (September 2020) 
• Moderator, “Risk Hidden in Plain Sight: Exploring and Understanding the Corporate Supply Chain,” 4th Annual Sustainability Investment Leadership Conference (May 2019)
• Session Chair/Moderator, Latham & Watkins Academy of Project Finance – Paris, Panel Discussion: Environmental and Social Hot Buttons (March 2019)
• Session Panelist, EMLF Special Institute on Petrochemicals, “Forecasting Petrochemical Industry Legal Issues” (April 2018)
• Session Panelist, Sustainable Investment Leadership Counsel, “Reputation and Sustainability” (November 2017)
• Session Moderator, American Bar Association 42nd Spring Conference, The Rapidly Expanding Natural Gas Market: How Will It Change Your Life? (March 2013)
• Conference Planning Committee, American Bar Association Standing Committee on Environmental Law, “Navigating the New Green Economy: The Challenges of Climate Change and the Opportunities for Clean Energy” (May 2011)    
• Conference Coordinator, American Bar Association 38th National Spring Conference, “The Environment: Chemicals Regulation – Reaching for TSCA Reform” (June 2010)

• Equator Principles Transition: How EP4 Will Impact Projects in High-Income Countries -  December 23, 2020
• Corporate Sustainability -  September 24, 2020
• Green Bond Impact Reporting Under Securities Law -  June 10, 2020
• Equator Principles Update: EP4 and Projects in High-Income Countries -  June 10, 2020
• Companies Should Consider ESG Supply Chain Issues -  September 10, 2019
• Why the UN Sustainable Development Goals Matter to Clients -  September 14, 2018
• Companies Can Consider UN Sustainable Development Goals When Defining Sustainability Commitments  -  September 07, 2018
• Corporate Sustainability -  June 08, 2018
• Trump Administration Mandates Critical Minerals Development Strategy  -  January 29, 2018
• Interior Department Excludes Incidental Take Liability Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act -  January 16, 2018
• Climate Action 100+: Global Investors Continue Focus on Climate Change Disclosure  -  December 20, 2017
• Introduction to Corporate Sustainability -  January 24, 2017
• US Fish and Wildlife Service Finalizes Eagle Rule Revision  -  January 05, 2017
• Clean Energy Law Report: The Department of Energy’s Simplified IIP Process Goes Into Effect in November -  November 17, 2016
• Clean Energy Law Report: US Fish and Wildlife Service Moves Forward With Proposed Eagle Rule Revision -  September 28, 2016
• Clean Energy Law Report: White House Issues Final NEPA Guidance on Climate Change -  August 04, 2016
• US FWS Announces Record of Decision Streamlining Wind Energy Permitting for the Upper Great Plains -  July 21, 2016
• Court Strikes Down BLM Hydraulic Fracturing Rule -  June 23, 2016
• Clean Energy Blog: US FWS Releases Draft Midwest Wind Energy Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan  -  June 21, 2016
• Clean Energy Blog: 6 Key Takeaways from the FWS’s Proposed Update to the Eagle Act Rules  -  May 09, 2016
• Voluntary Sustainability Disclosure and Emerging Litigation -  November 01, 2015
• EPA Expands Air Quality and Climate Change Regulations -  October 08, 2015
• Clean Energy Law Report: Court Limits Migratory Bird Treaty Act Applicability to Incidental Take  -  September 17, 2015
• Clean Energy Law Report: Court Rejects 30 Year Eagle Permit Rule on NEPA Grounds -  August 19, 2015
• The Legal Risks Associated With Corporate Sustainability Reporting -  July 23, 2015
• Drilling Down On DOI's Oil And Gas Regulatory Agenda -  July 21, 2015
• Clean Energy Law Report: Nine Western States Throw Their Support Behind Case Challenging Reach of the Endangered Species Act  -  June 08, 2015
• Emerging Trends in Corporate Sustainability Reporting -  February 24, 2015
• Hydraulic Fracturing Update: Legal Developments and Trends - Q&A -  April 7, 2014
• Agency Sets The Stage For Fracking's Future In Calif. -  December 06, 2013
• California Agency Releases Draft Rules for Fracking, Begins to Implement Recent State Legislation -  November 25, 2013
• Extra Layer of Rules on Fracking on Federal, Tribal Lands -  June 14, 2013
• BLM Issues Revised Proposed Rule on Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Tribal Lands -  June 04, 2013
• The Rapidly Expanding Natural Gas Market -  May 01, 2013