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Steven R. Miles
Senior Counsel

Overview

Steven Miles is a Senior Counsel at the global law firm of Baker Botts, L.L.P., and a Fellow at the Baker Institute's Center for Energy Studies at Rice University.  He is a frequent speaker and author on energy transition and climate issues, with a focus on LNG, natural gas, biofuels and renewable energy.

Steven was a Partner at Baker Botts from 2000 until 2020. During that time, he served as the firm's Energy Sector Chair, was a member of the firm's Executive Committee from 2012-2018, and headed the 50+ lawyer LNG Practice. He established the firm's Saudi Arabia office, resided there, and then headed the Middle East practice for two law firms for more than a decade. Over his career, his practice focused on the energy sector in the United States and internationally, particularly in the liquefied natural gas (LNG), natural gas, electric power and renewable energy industries.

Mr. Miles has conducted business in 35 countries, having worked on over 100 energy projects worldwide. He assisted clients in launching leading-edge projects such as the first new LNG export project in North America in 40 years (Cheniere's Sabine Pass LNG project), the first LNG project in South America, one of the first LNG projects in sub-Saharan Africa, some of the first floating LNG-to-Power projects worldwide, and the first LNG imports into new terminals in Brazil, China, India, the E.U., the U.S. and several other countries.

In addition to receiving top national and international rankings as one of the leading professionals in his field, Steven led the Baker Botts LNG team to the highest ranking awarded by Chambers USA in the LNG field for every year in which the award has been given for the past decade. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), as well as Co-Chair of the 200-member AIPN LNG Committee, which published a Model LNG Master Sales Agreement for use by the LNG industry. He has served as a member of the Program Committee for LNG 20, 19, 18 and 17 (the triennial LNG conferences in St. Petersburg in 2023, Shanghai in 2019, Perth in 2016, and Houston in 2013), and as a member of the Advisory Board for Energy Law360. He is an officer and member of the Board of Directors of the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of the Sudans, which focuses on children’s education, disaster relief, and trauma healing.

Steven graduated with his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Cornell Law School in 1984, and his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from the Cornell Graduate School of Business in that same year. He served as an Editor of the Cornell Law Review, where he published on the topic of electricity prices and renewable energy in 1983. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Psychology from Union College in 1980 where he graduated summa cum laude.

Admissions & Affiliations

  • District of Columbia Bar
  • Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), Director, 2010-2014; LNG Committee, Co-Chair, 2005-2016
  • American Bar Association, Committee on International Energy and Resources, Vice Chair, 2001; Saudi Arabia Country Coordinator, 1996-1997
  • District of Columbia Bar, Committee on International Trade and Investment of the International Law Section, Vice Chair, 1997-1998
  • Member, Editorial Advisory Board - <em>Law360/Energy</em>
  • J.D., Cornell Law School 1984
    Editor, Cornell Law Review
  • M.B.A., Cornell University 1984
  • B.A., Economics & Psychology, Union College 1980
    summa cum laude
    Phi Beta Kappa

Experience



Awards and Community

Received the highest ranking by Chambers USA for fifteen consecutive years (2005-2020, Band 1 LNG); ranked in Chambers Global, 2010-2024 (Band 2, global Energy & Projects)

Selected for the "Hall of Fame" for Energy Transactions by The Legal 500 U.S., 2018-2023, and recommended as a "Leading Lawyer" 2013-2017

Recognized as a "Global Elite Thought Leader" by Who's Who Legal-Energy, 2018-2019; Selected as a "Leading Practitioner" 2016-2017

Selected more than ten times as one of the leading project finance lawyers worldwide by Expert Guide: Project Finance, 2007-2017; Banking, Finance and Transactional Attorneys, 2012, 2015 & 2016, 2018; Energy & Natural Resource Lawyers, 2010, 2012 & 2015; and Energy and Environment, 2017-2018

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward White, Inc.), 2007-2018; The Best Lawyers in America -Oil and Gas Law, 2016 & 2019; PLC Which Lawyer? (Highly Recommended - Energy; Recommended - Banking & Finance), 2008-2009; PLC Cross-border Finance Handbook, 2009-2010; and Washington D.C. Super Lawyers(Thomson Reuters), 2009-2018