Key Takeaways
- • Akin Gump adds two partners—Mitch Holzrichter and Nick Vallorano—to its Chicago energy & infrastructure practice, expanding capabilities in transportation, social and digital infrastructure across project development, finance, public-private partnerships, and M&A.
- • Holzrichter brings Chambers USA recognition in public-private partnerships and deep expertise in airports, roads, data centers, and fiber networks, with additional focus on emerging technologies including autonomous vehicle lanes and vertiport projects.
- • Vallorano strengthens the firm's public-private partnership and project finance capabilities, with specialized experience in revenue-risk concessions, availability payment structures, and design-build transactions for airports, roads, bridges, and social infrastructure.
- • The two partners collectively advise on marquee infrastructure transactions including the first long-term lease of a major U.S. commercial airport, the largest U.S. surface transportation private activity bond issuance, and a $2 billion data center development in Fort Worth, Texas.
- • This hire continues Akin's aggressive Chicago office expansion, which has added nine professionals in the past year across investment management, infrastructure M&A, tax, music practice, and real estate disciplines.
Summary
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld announced the addition of partners Mitch Holzrichter and Nick Vallorano to its Chicago-based energy & infrastructure practice, a move designed to strengthen the firm's market position in complex infrastructure advisory across the full asset lifecycle. The two bring complementary expertise spanning transportation, social infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and capital markets, enhancing Akin's capabilities to serve owners, sponsors, developers, investors, and lenders navigating development, financing, acquisition, and operational phases of infrastructure projects.
Holzrichter's practice centers on infrastructure owners, developers, investors, and lenders involved in complex asset development, acquisition, financing, and sale. He holds recognition from Chambers USA for work in public-private partnerships and maintains specialized focus on transportation, social, and digital infrastructure sectors including airports, roads, data centers, and fiber networks. His advisory scope extends to emerging infrastructure technologies, including autonomous vehicle lanes and vertiport projects—reflecting growing investor and developer interest in next-generation transportation infrastructure. Vallorano brings particular strength in advising government owners, sponsors, investors, lenders, and contractors on public infrastructure financing transactions, with deep expertise in public-private partnerships, revenue-risk concessions, availability payment structures, and design-build delivery mechanisms for airports, roads, bridges, and social infrastructure, plus secondary market infrastructure transactions.
Together, the partners have advised on landmark transactions that underscore their market relevance: the first long-term lease of a major U.S. commercial airport, the largest issuance of surface transportation private activity bonds in the United States, the pioneering use of tax-exempt private activity bonds to finance highway service areas, and the $2 billion data center development project in Fort Worth, Texas. The Fort Worth transaction specifically reflects strong market demand for digital infrastructure financing, a sector experiencing significant growth among institutional investors and sponsors.
The Chicago arrival represents the latest phase of Akin's broader infrastructure platform expansion. In recent months, the firm has added energy tax partner Richard Wright; projects & energy transition partners Ron Erlichman, Nick Atwood, and Chadron Edwards in New York; energy transactions, private equity, capital markets, and projects & energy transition partners in Houston; and energy transactions partner Rob Butler in London. The Chicago office specifically has expanded with investment management partner and office leader Wendy Dodson Gallegos, infrastructure M&A partners Jason Wagenmaker and Joshua La Vigne, investment management partner Jessica Pan, tax partner Christopher Odell, music practice head Rory Wellever, and real estate senior counsel Daniel Pieringer. Akin co-chair Abid Qureshi and corporate practice co-head Zachary Wittenberg characterized the additions as positioning the firm to serve clients pursuing increasingly sophisticated infrastructure investments, particularly in transportation and data center sectors where capital deployment continues to accelerate.
Holzrichter's practice centers on infrastructure owners, developers, investors, and lenders involved in complex asset development, acquisition, financing, and sale. He holds recognition from Chambers USA for work in public-private partnerships and maintains specialized focus on transportation, social, and digital infrastructure sectors including airports, roads, data centers, and fiber networks. His advisory scope extends to emerging infrastructure technologies, including autonomous vehicle lanes and vertiport projects—reflecting growing investor and developer interest in next-generation transportation infrastructure. Vallorano brings particular strength in advising government owners, sponsors, investors, lenders, and contractors on public infrastructure financing transactions, with deep expertise in public-private partnerships, revenue-risk concessions, availability payment structures, and design-build delivery mechanisms for airports, roads, bridges, and social infrastructure, plus secondary market infrastructure transactions.
Together, the partners have advised on landmark transactions that underscore their market relevance: the first long-term lease of a major U.S. commercial airport, the largest issuance of surface transportation private activity bonds in the United States, the pioneering use of tax-exempt private activity bonds to finance highway service areas, and the $2 billion data center development project in Fort Worth, Texas. The Fort Worth transaction specifically reflects strong market demand for digital infrastructure financing, a sector experiencing significant growth among institutional investors and sponsors.
The Chicago arrival represents the latest phase of Akin's broader infrastructure platform expansion. In recent months, the firm has added energy tax partner Richard Wright; projects & energy transition partners Ron Erlichman, Nick Atwood, and Chadron Edwards in New York; energy transactions, private equity, capital markets, and projects & energy transition partners in Houston; and energy transactions partner Rob Butler in London. The Chicago office specifically has expanded with investment management partner and office leader Wendy Dodson Gallegos, infrastructure M&A partners Jason Wagenmaker and Joshua La Vigne, investment management partner Jessica Pan, tax partner Christopher Odell, music practice head Rory Wellever, and real estate senior counsel Daniel Pieringer. Akin co-chair Abid Qureshi and corporate practice co-head Zachary Wittenberg characterized the additions as positioning the firm to serve clients pursuing increasingly sophisticated infrastructure investments, particularly in transportation and data center sectors where capital deployment continues to accelerate.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.