james a. baker, IV

Jamie Baker is a senior partner and the partner in charge of the Washington office of Baker Botts, where his practice concentrates on international commercial and trade-related matters and transactions.

Concentration
International commercial transactions and contract negotiations involving both inbound and outbound investment and advising U.S. and non-U.S. companies with respect to compliance obligations under U.S. trade and transactional regulations

Summary
Jamie Baker is a senior partner and the partner in charge of the Washington office of Baker Botts, where his practice concentrates on international commercial and trade-related matters and transactions. His transactional practice relates principally to the energy and natural resources, telecommunications and technology sectors of the economy and involves contract negotiation and documentation of investment vehicles, business combinations, divestitures and operations and various forms of corporate and project finance.

Mr. Baker's clients include both foreign and domestic publicly traded and closely held companies and venture and private equity investment funds and partnerships and he regularly advises clients in both inbound and outbound international investments.

Mr. Baker's recent representations have included transactions in the Arabian peninsula and North Africa, Central and East Asia, Europe and Russia, many of which have involved negotiations between private concerns and government agencies or state enterprises.

In addition to his transactional portfolio, Mr. Baker maintains an active practice advising U.S. and non-U.S. clients with respect to their compliance obligations under U.S. trade and transactional regulations, including U.S. sanctions programs, Patriot Act compliance, export controls, the Exon-Florio amendments to the Defense Production Act and the associated CFIUS review process, anti-boycott compliance and other U.S. laws affecting foreign investment.

From 1982 to 1985, prior to joining Baker Botts, Mr. Baker served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is currently co-chairman of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce and he serves on the advisory board of Blackstreet Capital Management, a Washington-based investment firm.

Representative Engagements

• Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (2005-2006) – various aspects of its development of the Oyu Tolgoi copper/gold mining project in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, including negotiation of a stability agreement with the government of Mongolia and advice concerning various investment treaty considerations
• Smart Hydrogen Corp (2005-2006) – advice in its U.S. regulatory clearances relating to a $250 million equity infusion into Plug Power Inc., a U.S.-based technology development company and producer of hydrogen fuel cells
• Interros Holdings (2006) – advice to the $9.5 billion Moscow-based private investment firm in the creation of IST Capital Partners, a $2 billion private equity fund in which Interros is the anchor investor
• BGR Holdings (2003-present) – general corporate representation of the Washington-based government affairs and strategic advisory firm and its various affiliates
• Duncan MacNeill Group (2006) – representation of the British-Indian investment firm in joint venture negotiations with Australian-based oil and gas exploration company and in the subsequent listing of the latter on the Australian Stock Exchange
• East Mediterranean Gas JSC (1999-2005) – development and construction of a subsea gas pipeline transporting natural gas from the Sinai peninsula in Egypt to Israel
• Hyundai Motor Company (2001-2002) – representation in the siting and construction of its first U.S.-based production facility in Montgomery, Alabama, a factory that currently manufactures 300,000 vehicles per year
• Norilsk Nickel (2002) – representation of the Russian mining giant in its landmark acquisition of a controlling interest in Stillwater Mining, a U.S.-based publicly traded (NYSE) mining company, the first such acquisition by a Russian company
• PepsiCo, Inc. (2001) – negotiation of a dispute settlement involving the company's decision to terminate its relationship with its local bottler in Saudi Arabia
• Aventis (1999-2003), successor to the merger of Rhone Poulenc and Hoechst and a major European pharmaceutical manufacturer – postmerger counsel in the divestment of various non-core businesses
• Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) (1997-1999) – development of the BTC Pipeline transporting oil from the Caspian Sea at Baku to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Turkey
• Ministry of Energy and Water of the Republic of Lebanon (2004) – advice in the formulation, drafting and implementation of a legislative and regulatory framework for the exploration and development of domestic gas and oil reserves, both onshore and offshore
• U.S. chemical manufacturing company (2005) – advice regarding its efforts to license a patented process involving the national petrochemical company of a sanctioned country through the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC)
• Large U.S. casualty and liability insurance company (2006) – advice concerning its creation of an internal compliance program intended to ensure compliance with Patriot Act requirements and OFAC sanctions programs

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

Publications

• The Middle East Power Sector: Poised for Growth," Power Economics, January 2001 (R. Thomas Amis, co-author)
• "Oil and Gas Production Sharing Agreements," Investment Guide to Azerbaijan, United States- Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, 1998 (Natik Mamedov, co-author)

Speeches and Presentations

• "Tax Legislation: The More Things Change..." Houston Estate and Financial Forum, Houston, January 2003"
• The New Great Game: Political Risk Management in Central Asia," Harvard Asia Business Conference, Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 1999

Education and Honors

Editorial Board, Texas International Law Journal

B.S., economics, Cornell University, 1977

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2005 - 2010

Named a "Washington D.C. Super Lawyer" by Law & Politics, 2007 and 2009

Court Admissions and Affiliations

District of Columbia Bar

State Bar of Texas

United States District Court for the District of Colorado