Wes Strickland is a water project and finance attorney based in Austin, Texas and Los Angeles, California, with the international law firm of Ashurst LLP. His clients include US-based and multinational water companies and financial institutions that develop and manage water resources and infrastructure. He has been involved in many of the largest and most significant water development projects in the United States for the past 20 years, across multiple states and regions, with a strong focus on California, Texas and the West. The value of his past projects has exceeded $12 billion.

Typical projects and transactions for which Mr. Strickland is engaged include:

• development of new water supplies, especially using new technology, recycling or desalination
• formation, management and adjudication of surface water and groundwater rights
• ideation and negotiation of sustainable resource management plans
• conservation, marketing and transfer of water rights
• acquisition, disposition and consolidation of water systems and supply projects
• formation, merger and acquisition of private and governmental entities
• planning and development of new certificated service areas for investor-owned utilities
• governance of California mutual water companies, Texas water supply corporations and similar entities
• negotiation of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operating agreements
• multiple-sponsor projects, public-private partnerships and projects accomplished using project finance

Mr. Strickland frequently advises international companies pursuing business opportunities within the U.S. His clients have included companies based in North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Asia and Australia. He has participated in select projects located outside the US.

Mr. Strickland is a regular writer and speaker on water resources and the private sector. He has been quoted by numerous media, including Bloomberg, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Debtwire, Circle of Blue and Global Water Intelligence, for which he also serves as the US legal columnist. Earlier in his career, Mr. Strickland served as a captain and judge advocate in the US Marine Corps, where he handled water right matters for the western US and the US Department of Defense utilities privatization initiative.