BCLP Makes New Leadership Appointments

BCLP announces changes to regional office management in several of its US offices and made new sector leader appointments.

The firm appointed new Office Managing Partners (OMPs) in three of its US offices. The new OMPs are as follows:

Chicago office

Erin Brooks has been named OMP in the Chicago office. Erin has spent her career with BCLP, having started with the firm in 2009 as a Summer Associate in the firm’s St. Louis office. Her national environmental practice focuses on brownfield real estate redevelopment, environmental litigation and emerging areas such as ESG and product environmental compliance. Erin is a member of the firm’s inaugural ESG Action Board. Among other leadership duties at the firm, Erin has served on the Recruiting Committee and the Associate Task Force. She also helped lead an award-winning pro bono partnership with a client’s legal department, which recently expanded to the Chicago office. Erin was named one of the region’s Most Influential Business Women by the St. Louis Business Journal. Erin succeeds Brian Sher, who has been Chicago OMP since 2017.

Denver office

Sean Odendahl has been named OMP in the Denver office, a role in which he will continue to focus on his busy practice. Sean represents businesses across a variety of transactions and regulatory matters and was Co-Leader of the Private Equity Practice from 2012-2020. Among his extensive service to the firm, Sean has been a member of the Recruiting Committee (including serving as Chair), a member of the Partner Advisory Board, a member of the Project Advance Team and served as Chief Transformation Officer on the Leadership Team from 2020 until January of this year. Sean succeeds Paul Lopach, who served as Deputy Managing Partner in Denver from 2015-16, at which point he became OMP.

Los Angeles office

Puanani Norwood has been named OMP of the Los Angeles office in Santa Monica. Puanani has spent her entire career with BCLP, first arriving in 2013 as a 1L Summer Associate in BCLP’s Kansas City office. She is an accomplished negotiator and deal closer with an active practice focused on commercial real estate transactions in the renewable energy sector representing regulated public utility companies, tax equity investors and construction lenders. Puanani relocated to BCLP’s Los Angeles office in 2021. Among her other firm leadership roles, she’s been a member of the Recruiting Committee, Associate Task Force and Global Associate Council. She also currently co-leads the firm’s global Infrastructure Sub-Sector. Puanani succeeds Christopher Dueringer, Managing Partner in Los Angeles since 2019.

Seattle office

Earlier this month, it was announced as part of the combination with Harrigan Leyh Farmer & Thomsen that Tyler L. Farmer will serve alongside Jennifer Campbell as Co-Office Managing Partner in Seattle. 

“Our firm relies heavily on the participation of colleagues willing and able to take on extra duties in addition to being highly involved in their busy practices driving client engagements,” said BCLP CEO Steve Baumer. “Effective leadership is critical to the delivery of excellent service and the achievement of superior results for our clients. This team of outstanding leaders will enable us to accomplish those goals.”

In addition, the firm announced the addition of a new priority sector, Energy Transition, along with new Sector Leader appointments. “Sectors play an increasingly important role with our clients and create greater opportunities for us that cut across the whole firm, growing the universe through which we are serving our clients,” Baumer added.

The new Sector Leadership is as follows:

Financial Institutions

Naveen Vijh – Sector Leader (Global)

Naveen Vijh has spent more than 26 years working in the UK, focused on real estate and finance including property finance acting, acquisition, development and structured financing. He also advises clients on domestic and international property and project finance work bilateral and syndicated facilities, security issues and insolvency work, A/B intercreditor arrangements and debt sell downs.

Paul Donohue – Sector Leader (US)

Paul Donohue concentrates his practice on advising financial institutions in connection with various financing transactions, including structured finance (CRE), securitizations and restructurings.  For over 30 years he has advised a wide range of financial institutions on complex issues in the financial services sector, including during the financial crisis and COVID.  He also regularly represents commercial real estate loan servicers with respect to securitizations, loan administration, and restructuring matters and serves as a relationship leader for several of the Firm’s major bank clients.  Prior to relocating to Charlotte, NC, Paul practiced in New York at several major law firms. 

Energy Transition

Peter Hansen – Sector Leader

Peter Hansen is a partner in the firm's Energy, Environment and Infrastructure Practice. Peter has nearly 30 years of experience working with clients throughout the energy and natural resources sectors, including significant projects in renewable energy, conventional fossil fuels, and mining. Peter's experience includes a decade of service as the General Counsel of ADA Carbon Solutions, LLC, in Littleton, Colorado.

David Blondel – Sector Leader

David Blondel regularly advises global financial institutions, investment funds and private operators, on national and cross-border transactions, in project financing particularly in the field of renewable energies and infrastructure. He also advises on real estate financing transactions. He has more than 30 years of experience including fifteen years in the energy transition sector.

Food and Agribusiness

Jonathan Morris – Sector Leader

Jonny Morris has broad corporate finance experience, including numerous mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and joint ventures on behalf of UK and international companies. He has particular experience in the food & agribusiness, technology, healthcare, betting and gaming, defense and real estate sectors and is Co-Chair of the firm's Israel Group.

Sean Odendahl – Sector Leader

Sean is currently OMP of our Denver office, focusing his busy practice on a variety of industries, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions and relevant regulatory matters. Sean’s client base in the food and ag sector includes private equity and financial investors and strategic operators across the protein supply chain, food and beverage ingredient processors, AgTech, and crop input companies.