With the rise of remote work, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, data centers have become a critical piece of the digital economy. These facilities require reliable, high-quality electrical power, efficient cooling systems, robust physical and cybersecurity measures, and scalable infrastructure. With a dedicated team and offices in key markets across the United States, Saul Ewing attorneys provide the sophisticated representation that data center clients require.
We bring together attorneys with experience in real estate, real estate finance, infrastructure, energy, environmental, information security, corporate, private equity, and tax law to assist businesses or investors with the planning and operation of data centers. Our clients include investors, owners, operators, tenants and developers of enterprise and colocation data centers. In addition, our team is well-versed in issues critical to data hubs, such as energy procurement, digital infrastructure, and interconnections with public utilities or the regional grid. This enables us to frequently serve as local counsel to other national and international law firms in support of their clients’ needs in this area.
We provide comprehensive services throughout the lifecycle of data centers:
- Real estate acquisitions/dispositions, including advising on purchase agreements, and due diligence relating to survey and title issues, permitting and environmental studies
- Land development
- Land use, zoning, easements, subdivisions, condominium regimes and other governmental approvals
- Financing
- Construction
- Digital infrastructure development
- Interconnections with public utilities, including through substation facilities
- Leasing, sub-leasing, colocation master services and licensing agreements
- Power purchase agreements
- Cybersecurity and data privacy issues
- Review and assessment of state regulatory and subsidy programs relating to the purchase, sale and transmission of energy and energy attributes (e.g. RECs) and laws and regulations that may pertain to the acquisition, transmission or co-location of energy generation and data center facilities
- Tax incentives, including sales and use tax exemptions and opportunities related to development of blighted or contaminated property
- Corporate law issues, such as creation of special purpose entities to own, lease, use or finance property
- Sustainability planning, policies and procedures
View a selection of our data center representations:
- A hyperscale data provider with data center development in Virginia including parceling units into condominiums, cross-easements and leasing issues.
- A financial services group in complex data center lease amendments as well as the sale of a data center in Illinois including segregation of a portion for the client’s use.
- A public utility in working with a data center developer on easements and land use issues in connection with the construction of a transmission substation which will provide power for a data center campus in Maryland.
- A wireless communications infrastructure owner/operator with the purchase of a data center in Illinois.
- A real estate investment company in analysis of zoning regulations governing potential data center use for a property in Pennsylvania.
- A real estate investment trust in negotiating a lease agreement on behalf of a landlord for general office and data center space in Pennsylvania.
- A public utility cooperative in negotiating data center colocation and service agreements in Maryland.
- A university in a large commercial dispute arising from the unsuccessful development of a $1.3 billion data center and power plant as part of the redevelopment of a former auto manufacturing plant into a science and technology campus.
- A data provider with a data center development in suburban Chicago, Illinois including parceling units into condominiums, cross-easements and leasing issues.
- A public university in Illinois in negotiating a ground lease for construction of a data center on campus.
- A large investor in undertaking a multi-state review of state-level energy transmission and public utility regulations, as well as available subsidies, to assist in locating optimal opportunities to co-locate data centers and/or co-locate data centers with power generation facilities (to leverage “behind the meter” pricing and other subsidies).
- An energy development company seeking to pair battery storage with a data center in Maryland County in an environmental and regulatory permitting analysis.
- Multiple companies exploring the development of data centers in Maryland and Northern Virginia as Maryland local counsel, advising on due diligence and land use.
- Clients regarding lobbying in Maryland on policies involving energy generation, energy storage and connection between energy and data centers.
