Orrick Expands Chicago Data Center Practice With New Hire

The firm adds a partner to support the rapid infrastructure development required to fuel large-scale artificial intelligence.

Updated on Oct. 26, 2026 in Data Centers

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of industrial power conduits and cooling structures, representing high-density infrastructure for data center development. — Orrick Herrington and Sutcliffe has hired partner TJ Kuban in Chicago to expand its legal practice focused on large-scale data center infrastructure. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Orrick Herrington and Sutcliffe has hired TJ Kuban as a partner in Chicago to bolster its data center legal practice. This expansion comes as hyperscale cloud providers intensify their search for energy and infrastructure capacity to support artificial intelligence workloads.

Why it matters

Law firms are scaling their infrastructure practices to keep pace with the rapid development cycles of data centers. As artificial intelligence models demand unprecedented compute, firms are prioritizing expertise in the energy and power-access agreements essential for hyperscalers.

The firm added expertise in high-value infrastructure transactions, including the $40 million acquisition of a data center operator completed in July 2026. These complex legal structures are necessary for hyperscalers to secure the power required for compute-heavy AI.

The players

Orrick Herrington and Sutcliffe

A global law firm that provides legal counsel for technology, energy, and infrastructure clients.

TJ Kuban

A partner specializing in data center legal practice who previously served at Kirkland and Ellis.

Kirkland and Ellis

A law firm with an extensive practice in private equity, restructuring, and infrastructure investment.

The details

Data center development requires navigating energy grid interconnection, site acquisition, and regulatory approval processes for large-scale power consumption. By hiring from Kirkland and Ellis, Orrick aims to manage these capital-intensive deals where legal speed is tied to the commercial timelines of cloud and infrastructure providers. The process involves coordinating between energy suppliers and technology companies to ensure power delivery for high-density AI clusters.

July 2026: The partner oversaw a $40 million purchase of a data center operator.
October 26, 2026: Orrick announced the hire of TJ Kuban.

The Tech Race

This hire places Orrick in direct competition for legal market share in the rapidly expanding data center sector. The move mirrors a broader industry pivot toward building dedicated infrastructure teams capable of supporting the accelerated timelines of hyperscale AI deployments.

This change affects developers and site operators looking for legal support during energy-intensive data center site acquisitions in the Chicago area. The expanded practice is available to clients effective immediately.

The takeaway

The firm is prioritizing specialized infrastructure counsel to match the accelerated pace of AI-driven data center development. Watch for future practice expansions or deal announcements from the Chicago office as firms race to secure legal capacity for hyperscalers.