James "Jim" A. Stuckey
Partner
Jim's more than three decades of service to the real estate and financing communities has given him an extraordinary grasp of every area of law that affects transactions. His breadth of knowledge is more than a match for the most sophisticated matters our clients require, whether they involve complex project development transactions or securitized public utility financings.
When it comes to helping clients achieve strategic goals, Jim is tirelessly focused on making deals happen. From preliminary brainstorming sessions until well after deals close, he helps ensure that strategies make sense in the context of the company's business decisions, future objectives, competitors' actions and market trends. Business owners and developers, as well as city, state and foreign governments depend on Jim's unique blend of pragmatism and big-picture perspective in:
- Asset sales and acquisitions
- Commercial loans
- Construction and project finance development
- Lease and utility securitization financings
- Real estate transactions.
Experience
- Advised Fortune 500 utility company in a $3.2 billion securitization financing, helping the client recover substantial restoration costs incurred from multiple hurricanes and winter storms from 2020-2021. In addition to work on the transaction documents, the Phelps team drafted the necessary legislation enacted by the Louisiana Legislature in 2021 to allow the new financing structure to be used, drafted the financing order subsequently issued by the Louisiana Public Service Commission to approve the financing, and rendered three required federal and Louisiana constitutional law opinions.
- Wrote the Louisiana legislation that enabled utilities to access securitization financings of $687 million, $278 million, $244 million, $468 million, $98 million and $180 million for hurricane costs repairs and $200 million for utility cancelled project costs.
- Negotiated a 20-year lease development contract for a foreign shipper tenant of a 415-acre container terminal inside the Port of Long Beach, CA.
- Represented the purchaser of a $305 million electric generation facility in Louisiana.
- Helped the Port of New Orleans acquire the railroad that serves the port from the City of New Orleans, ensuring uninterrupted service at reasonable rates.