McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Carl J. Fleming is the global co-head of our Energy & Project Finance Group, ranked by Chambers as one of the industry’s leading energy practices. He is a trusted legal, commercial, and strategic advisor whose principal areas of practice are energy, digital infrastructure, and critical minerals.

In addition to his transactional work, Carl is also a sought-after policy advisor, having previously served as a direct advisor to the White House and now as a private sector appointed advisor to the Trump 47, Biden, Trump 45, and Obama White Houses. He has led a number of cutting-edge policy and transactional matters for the US government across the energy, digital infrastructure, and critical mineral sectors.

Chambers lists Carl among the best individual energy and infrastructure lawyers in the United States, ranking him for Projects: Power & Renewables: Transactional. Clients reporting to Chambers state that “Carl is exceptionally attentive and proactive with clients.” He is also recognized by Legal 500 as a “Leading Lawyer” for Energy: Renewable/Alternative Power. Additionally, Super Lawyers ranks him as one of the “top 5% of attorneys” globally.

Carl leads a Chambers-ranked team of more than 50 dedicated energy and infrastructure lawyers, one of the largest energy and infrastructure practices in the world. Together, the team guides his clients through the industry’s most sophisticated and headline-grabbing transactions in the US and worldwide. His clients include leading energy developers, prominent data center developers, private equity funds, private credit funds, investment banks, and Fortune 500 companies.

Since the adoption of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the subsequent One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3), Carl and his Energy & Project Finance Group have closed more than 350 post-IRA and OB3 tax credit driven transactions, surpassing the rest of the industry. These include several “first-in-kind” hybrid tax equity investments, tax credit transfers, preferred equity investments, cash equity investments, and debt financings. He and his team have also helped several clients through the energy industry’s “grand re-think” of the finance markets post-IRA and OB3.

Carl’s work and thought leadership are often featured in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Economist, Newsweek, Fast Company, The Washington Post, and Politico, among others. He is also frequently interviewed for his market insights by global media outlets such as Reuters, Forbes, Bloomberg, BBC, and others. He has also been hosted on numerous podcasts, including the Fierce Network’s The Five Nine podcast.

Carl is a frequent speaker and prominent author. He was selected by the White House to address the global delegation at the 29th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) and speaks throughout the US and internationally. He focuses on topics such as energy, digital infrastructure, and critical minerals. He has written, or contributed to the writing of, several books or chapters on project finance. He has lectured at Harvard University, the Georgetown University Law Center, the University of Pennsylvania, and American University.

Carl is based out of the Washington, DC, and New York offices. He also works across our London, Paris, and Milan offices, among others.