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 , as well as project development, with an emphasis on infrastructure, energy, gaming and commercial development projects in the U.S., the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Caribbean and Latin America. Mr. Plaskett represents and advises lenders and investors, including commercial banks, corporations, municipalities, utilities, other governmental agencies, international financial institutions and development finance institutions, on the strategic development of public private partnerships (P3) for the development and financing of major infrastructure projects. Mr. Plaskett provides high level legal, strategic, regulatory and government affairs advice on such projects to heads of government and agency leaders, utility company C-Suite officers, managing directors of institutional lenders, developer CEOs and investor groups. He currently serves as counsel to the Board of Directors of the Matching Fund Special Purpose Securitization Corporation, based in the Virgin Islands.

Hallmarks of Mr. Plaskett’s more than 25-year practice include:

  • Strategic advice, government relations oversight and policy development for the development and financing of major infrastructure P3, including renewable energy projects.
  • Negotiating and drafting Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for solar, wind and other energy sources in the U.S. Virgin Islands in addition to advising and instructing on negotiating bankable PPAs in St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Cayman Islands.
  • Represents the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC), an association of electric energy solutions providers and other stakeholders operating in the electricity industry in the Caribbean region, Central and South Americas and Globally, on corporate matters. He, along with Duane Morris, are members of the organization.
  • Financing of large construction projects (manufacturing facilities), often in the sectors of energy (power plants, wind and solar farms, liquefaction facilities) or infrastructure (marine ports, airports, roads).
  • Negotiation and drafting of financing documents and including regulatory and policy documents involving multiple entities and governments and government agencies or instrumentalities collaborating on P3 transactions.
  • A significant international bent, including interacting with multinational corporations, sources of private equity, large banks and international government agencies.
  • Cutting-edge projects with new or unusual risk, including credit risk, due to their locations in emerging markets, new technology or the general complexity of the transactions.

Mr. Plaskett is a member of the firm's Project Development and P3, Gaming and Energy Industry Groups and serves on the firm's Professional Standards Committee. He is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, 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

  • Listed in Chambers Global, 2018-2025

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

  • 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