Global law firm Dentons has appointed Rome-based partner Carsten Steinhauer as Co-head of the Europe Energy group. In this new role, he will serve alongside existing Co-head Christian Schnell, a partner sharing his time between Warsaw, Bucharest and Munich working on energy transactions in Central and Southeastern Europe. Together, they will lead Dentons’ Energy sector group of 140 lawyers across 18 countries in Continental Europe and Central Asia.


Carsten Steinhauer is a highly regarded transactional lawyer, who assists Italian and international clients in project development, acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, and financing transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors. He also has in-depth knowledge and experience in structuring power purchase agreements (PPA). His clients include project developers, EPC and O&M contractors, manufacturing companies, banks, asset managers, private investors, and investment funds. Dual qualified, he has been admitted to both the Italian and German bar. He is recognized as a leading energy lawyer by international legal directories such as Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, and The Legal 500 EMEA.


“I am honored to have been chosen to co-lead the Energy sector group in Europe together with my colleague Christian Schnell,” said Carsten Steinhauer. “Europe’s energy sector is at a critical moment of transition with billions in investment expected over the coming years. Our clients are increasingly looking to Dentons for full scope advice across jurisdictions to help them grow their portfolios strategically and navigate the jungle of local, national and supra-national regulation.” 


Tomasz Dąbrowski, Chief Executive Officer of Dentons Europe, commented, “The Energy sector is a top priority within Dentons’ strategy, both globally and in Europe.  Under the leadership of Carsten and Christian, I am confident that our leading Energy team on the Continent will continue providing top quality, multi-disciplinary strategic help to our clients.”


Christian Schnell, Co-head of the Europe Energy Group, commented, “Carsten and I have both worked for investors and financial institutions investing in energy transition projects in Europe for 25 years. With strong teams in both CEE and key Western European markets, our Energy team is very well positioned to support clients on cross-border transactions across Europe. Together, we will focus on further strengthening the team to deliver added value to our clients.”


Dentons’ global Energy group has more than 1000 lawyers worldwide, who provide transactional and regulatory advice across the entire energy value chain from oil majors, renewable energy suppliers, independents, power generators and utilities, financial institutions, and large customers.