Data Centers & AI Cloud Infrastructure

Our leading AI Practice spans the full stack — from the chips, power, and infrastructure that fuel AI to the models that run on it. We help clients build and finance data center assets; provide counsel on training, licensing, and distribution of the models; and represent clients before global regulators and in court. We collaborate across teams to support every participant building, investing in, providing services to, or operating data centers, hyperscale campuses, chip fabrication facilities, or adjacent digital infrastructure.

We structure and negotiate the full suite of data center technology and commercial agreements, including:

• AI training and inference cloud compute and storage service agreements
• Tailored service level arrangements (SLAs) and master service agreements
• Colocation, interconnection, and licensing agreements
• Customer and supplier procurement agreements
• GPU and equipment purchase agreements
• Operations and maintenance (O&M) agreements 

Working closely with our Privacy & Cyber team, we help embed security by design while ensuring regulatory compliance.

Our global M&A team offers unparalleled experience advising on AI, cloud infrastructure, and data center matters. Drawing on deep market and product knowledge across energy, infrastructure, technology, and real estate, we guide clients through: 

• Negotiated acquisitions and dispositions
• Strategic mergers-of-equals
• Joint ventures (JVs) and strategic alliances (YieldCos, DevCos, PowerCos)
• Equity and minority investments
• Private fund formation and secondary transactions
• Real estate acquisitions and dispositions 

We deliver comprehensive financing advice across the full capital stack — equity, debt, and hybrid structures — across jurisdictions and governing laws. We help clients design capital strategies that manage construction and operational risk, align stakeholder interests, and maximize long-term returns. We structure and negotiate complex, multi-source financings for data centers — bringing together senior debt, subordinated debt, and equity from the full range of capital providers. 

On the debt side, we advise on project finance, private credit, construction loans, real estate finance, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), asset‑backed securitizations (ABS), and investment-grade corporate bonds. We have particular depth advising lenders, sponsors, and developers on hybrid arrangements, project finance structures, and real estate financings tailored to the capital-intensive build cycles these projects demand. We pioneered the market’s first data center securitization and helped shape documentation and structures now considered cross‑border market standard.

On the equity side, we form and structure joint ventures, advise on REIT‑related matters and real estate investments, and address tax considerations. We also support private capital sponsors and private equity firms across fund formation, fundraising, and portfolio‑level matters tied to AI, cloud infrastructure, data centers, and other digital infrastructure. 

We help clients secure and deploy the assets that extend beyond the physical walls of a data center — providing integrated transactional, finance, and regulatory guidance across power procurement, infrastructure development, real estate leasing, land use, environmental permitting, construction, and compliance.

Power: We help power companies and operators plan and negotiate physical and virtual power purchase agreements (PPAs), hedging arrangements, utility supply contracts, and other offtake structures to meet surging power‑load demands. We also counsel on the critical adjacencies that enable data center operations — including substation development, on-site power generation, grid interconnection, and fiber infrastructure. We help clients address the siting, permitting, and project development challenges these assets present.

GPUs: As the scale and complexity of GPU transactions continue to evolve, our team offers unmatched advisory services for GPU leasing and financing, tailored to meet the unique demands of high-performance cloud computing clients. We help clients structure GPU lease agreements that optimize deployment and utilization, and help clients explore various financing models in the deployment and acquisition of GPU infrastructure. 

Real Estate: We advise on strategic site selection and acquisition, as well as approvals, including zoning requirements, applicable land use regulations, leasing, and related commercial data center real estate issues. We structure and negotiate data center leases and other real estate agreements across the full spectrum of tenants, including hyperscalers, neoclouds, and AI platform companies. We develop fit-for-purpose deal structures, including build-to-suit powered shell and turnkey leases, colocation arrangements, sale-leasebacks, land sales paired with development management arrangements, and multi-level lease transactions. We also regularly navigate complex credit support structures in which hyperscalers provide credit enhancement for other users. 

Site Selection and Land Use: We guide clients through optimal site selection and help clients navigate complex, multi-agency permitting processes and address local opposition to expedite project timelines. We counsel on environmental due diligence, resource compliance obligations, and access to power and water, as well as on the full range of land use and construction approvals. 

We help clients reduce carbon and water footprints across construction and operations — from advising on alternative backup and primary power solutions to reclaimed water and advanced cooling strategies. We align projects with climate commitments, ESG disclosure requirements, and net‑zero objectives. We guide clients through:

• Environmental impact assessments and sustainability certifications
• Air and water permitting
• Endangered species compliance
• Community engagement strategies
• Defense of environmental approvals, when challenged

We help data center investors, developers, operators, and lenders develop proactive liability management strategies to mitigate risk and minimize exposure. We help clients across jurisdictions navigate the complex regulatory landscape of local zoning ordinances, moratoriums, and permit approvals, helping to establish vested rights and challenging municipal actions that unlawfully delay or obstruct project review. When disputes arise, we move efficiently and decisively so clients can meet deadlines and maximize value.

We also help identify, allocate, and insure against risk across the lifecycle — structuring indemnities, limitations of liability, force majeure provisions, and SLA remedies to align with coverage and avoid gaps. We assess outage, supply‑chain, and construction‑delay exposures to craft practical, insurance‑backed solutions.