Miles Plaskett

Partner

  • Miles Plaskett
  • Phone: +1 305 960 2243

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  • Duane Morris LLP
    201 S. Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 3400
    Miami, FL 33131-4325
    USA

Miles L. Plaskett focuses his practice on corporate, municipal and project finance, with an emphasis on renewable energy, infrastructure and development projects in the U.S., the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Caribbean and Latin America.  Mr. Plaskett represents corporate, municipal, utilities and private and sovereign investor and sponsor clients. He is also a member of the firm's Cuba Business Group and serves on the firm's Professional Standards Committee.

Mr. Plaskett is a member of the American Bar Association and the National Association of Bond Lawyers. He is a 1988 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and a graduate of Georgetown University.

Representative Matters

  • Represented a public employee’s retirement system pension fund in connection with its existence as a corporate entity pursuant to Section 501(c)(25)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code and such entity’s ownership of a large upscale shopping mall in the State of Florida; advised regarding corporate governance issues, including the payment of dividends and appropriate corporate structure; advised and prepared documentation for the conversion of a Florida corporation to a Florida limited liability company.

  • Underwriter's Counsel to Jefferies LLC with regard to its underwriting of a $50 million bond financing deal for the U.S. Virgin Islands Port Authority.

  • Negotiated a PPA on behalf of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority for procurement of power from a cogeneration plant.
  • Virgin Islands Counsel to Goldman Sachs Lending Partners in a $700 million Senior Secured First Lien Term Loan Facility and $50 million Senior Secured First Lien Revolving Facility together with other security, credit, hedging and financing, resulting in an aggregate principal financing estimated to be $1.1 billion, with funding to be used to restart an oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  • Negotiating PPAs on behalf of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority to procure electricity from two large-scale solar projects with two developers.

  • Prepared and negotiated PPA on behalf of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority for procurement of electricity from a biofuel generating plant.

  • Advised a large institutional investor in its $1.3 billion investment in Freeport LNG's $4 billion construction project to build the first two trains of its natural gas liquefaction and LNG loading facility on Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas.

  • Provided corporate and real estate advice on Texas law with respect to a $1.3 billion equity funding for proposed natural gas liquefaction and a LNG loading facility.

  • Represented the City of Chicago as disclosure counsel in connection with the issuance of $833,420,000 City of Chicago General Obligation Bonds, Project and Refunding Series 2014A and 2014B. The proceeds of the bonds are being used to pay for capital projects, equipment and infrastructure improvements, and to refund and restructure existing debt. The offering is the largest general obligation bond offering ever by the City of Chicago. Wells Fargo Securities was the lead manager for the underwriting syndicate.

  • Underwriter's Counsel to Citigroup Global Markets Inc with regard to its underwriting of $94 million in rum tax-based Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority Revenue bonds.
  • Underwriter's Counsel to UBS with regard to its underwriting of approximately $220 million in gross receipts tax-based Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority Revenue Bonds.
  • Counsel to a major New York investment bank with regard to its underwriting of approximately $460 million in rum tax-based Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority Revenue bonds.

Areas of Practice

  • Corporate Law
  • Municipal Finance
  • Corporate Finance
  • Commercial Finance
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Private Equity/Venture Capital

Admissions

  • Virgin Islands
  • Florida

Education

  • Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1988
  • Georgetown University, B.S., 1985

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association
  • National Association of Bond Lawyers
  • Virgin Islands Bar Association
  • Florida Bar

Honors and Awards

  • Named to Lawyers of Color's Inaugural Nation’s Best List, 2019

  • Listed in Chambers Global, 2018-2023

  • Recipient, Top Dealmaker of the Year Award, Daily Business Review, 2016

  • Recipient, American Lawyer, "Global Finance Deal of the Year in Project Finance," Global Legal Awards, New York, 2015

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "Negotiating a Financeable Power Purchase Agreement for Renewable Energy," Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC), Webinar, March 16-17, 2021
  • Moderator, "Impact of COVID-19 on the Energy Industry: Preparing for the Aftermath," Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC), Webinar, May 7, 2020
  • Speaker, "The Business Dialogue," Rebuild, Rethink, Resilience: Lessons for Economic and Security Partnerships after the 2017 Hurricane Season, Washington, D.C., March 6, 2018

  • Presenter, "Leveraging the Benefits of Project Finance in Public: Private Energy Projects," Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC) 2016 CEO's and Finance Conference, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, May 18, 2016
  • Co-Presenter, "Resources Available to SME's for Doing Business with the Caribbean Basin," 36th Annual Conference on the Caribbean & Central America, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 29, 2012