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Prajakt Samant is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP, based in its London office. He is a member of the Energy Group, where his practice focuses primarily on representing banks, hedge funds and energy and commodity companies in a variety of transactional, cross-border regulatory, compliance and risk management matters in the energy sector.
Prajakt has considerable experience drafting, analysing and negotiating both physical and financial UK and European energy commodity agreements in emissions allowances, coal, gas, oil and power for a range of clients. Prajakt has developed an in-depth knowledge of cross-border regulation relating to the marketing, trading and post-trading consequences of energy commodity derivatives trading in a number of jurisdictions outside the UK. In addition, he has advised clients on the initiation and establishment of their energy trading operations in the UK / EU, conducted EU and international energy exchange analyses, along with advising on UK / EU regulations and legislations relating to the energy and financial services sectors.
Prajakt is a member of the ISDA Emissions Working Group and the ISDA Energy and Developing Products Group. He has a particular interest in the Clean Development Mechanism (of the Kyoto Protocol) in India and emerging Asian markets, regulatory and transactional aspects of emissions trading under the EU ETS, and climate change developments in the United States.
Prajakt completed a secondment in the London office of a major international US investment bank, working on energy trading negotiations and documentation, and cross-border regulatory issues in the energy markets. He completed also a secondment to the Firm's Energy and Derivatives Market Practice Group based in the Washington, D.C. office. There, he gained experience of some of the standardised US industry agreements such as EEIs and NAESBs, and also worked on US coal and emissions documentation.
Prajakt has authored numerous articles, including features in the Butterworth's Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, Commodities Now and the Futures Industry Magazine.
Representative Experience
Advising investment banks, hedge funds and energy and commodity companies in developing and drafting their aspirational trading templates, and further negotiating a wide range of energy commodity documentation (ISDAs, EFETs, NBPs, ZBTs, GTMAs, FEMAs and other trading documentation)
Advising investment banks and other clients on their establishment of European commodity trading businesses and their membership (and attendant risk analyses) of the major UK, EU and international energy exchanges and grid/system transmission operators
Advising on UK aspects of, and coordinating, managing and reviewing cross-border aspects of, a multi-jurisdictional project on local law and regulations relating to all aspects of energy commodity trading in over 80 jurisdictions
Advising on and documenting hedging, netting and collateral aspects of trading and risk management
Advising Merrill Lynch in its acquisition of the energy trading business of Entergy-Koch LP
Advising investment bank and hedge fund clients on structured energy transactions involving the acquisition of power assets and complex issues relating to emissions allowances and carbon trading (relating to the Kyoto mechanisms and the EU ETS)
Advising on project participation and documentation in CDM projects in India, Brazil and Argentina
Education
College of Law, London, LPC, 1997
McGill University Montréal, M.A., 1998
College of Law Chester, CPE, 1996
Exeter College, Oxford University, B.A (First Class, Hons.), 1995
Languages Spoken
English
French
Hindi
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