Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that David E. Kronenberg has joined the firm as an energy finance partner in the Finance, Restructuring, and Bankruptcy practice group and as a member of the firm’s cross-practice Energy Industry Team, and will be based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati, OH, offices. At Blank Rome, David will focus his practice on the intersection of energy hedging, financing, and bankruptcy law, representing energy companies, financial institutions, hedge funds, and private equity firms. David joins from Sidley Austin where he served as counsel in the firm’s energy group.
“We are delighted to welcome David to our firm’s leading finance practice, which recently added partners Cassandra K. Mott and Sarah H. Frazier in our Houston office, further enhancing the group’s ongoing strategic national growth,” said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Rome’s Managing Partner and CEO. “His extensive experience in the energy sector will significantly strengthen our bench of experienced attorneys in the finance and restructuring markets, ensuring that our clients receive optimal results.”
David regularly provides energy clients such as commodity hedge providers, pipeline operators, oil and gas producers, retail energy providers, power plant operators, and renewable energy providers with a range of legal services, including the structuring and negotiation of physical and financial commodities transactions, the structuring and analysis of secured energy transactions, and the use or trading of renewable energy credits, carbon allowances, and offsets. He also has a strong background in distressed energy M&A, helping energy companies buy and sell businesses. Additionally, David provides his energy clients with counsel on bankruptcy-related issues, including the enforcement of energy contracts and other creditor rights issues in chapter 11 proceedings and related litigation, and the application of the Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbors to energy derivatives and other contracts. In 2021, David assisted companies with bankruptcy matters and restructurings following the tragic Winter Storm Uri.
“David’s significant experience working in major energy corridors on the East Coast and in the Midwest will provide our clients with valuable counsel as well as the benefit of strong relationships built over many years of operating in these markets. Additionally, his experience with carbon markets and renewable energy credits will further expand our service capabilities and reach,” said Lawrence F. Flick II, Blank Rome’s Vice Chairman and Chair of the firm’s Financial Services industry group. “We are thrilled to welcome David to the group, as his financial capability and notably deep background in the energy sector will expand our growing practice.”
“Blank Rome has outstanding finance, energy, and bankruptcy practices and I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues across the country to serve clients from the Blank Rome platform. It is exciting to join a firm that has active practices and track records of success in every legal discipline and geographic area in which my practice is focused,” Kronenberg shared. “Plus, I will be reunited with some former colleagues of mine, including partners Brendan Delany, Jason Eig, and Ryan Craig, with whom I look forward to working alongside once again at Blank Rome.”
David is also active in pro bono efforts, frequently working on immigration and asylum cases. One of his more significant pro bono matters was representing various former appellate judges as amicus curiae in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Williams v. Pennsylvania. He also assisted President Obama’s Clemency Initiative.
David earned his J.D., cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School and his B.A., cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis.