Data Center Lawyers

Maximizing essential infrastructure

The accelerating demand for digital infrastructure, driven by high-performance computing, evolving technology, and strategic transformation, is reshaping the data center landscape.

As limited supply, power constraints, regulatory complexity, and rising costs present both challenges and opportunities, our team delivers forward-looking legal solutions across the full lifecycle of data center development and operations.

Complex data center projects and operations span a range of legal issues, from mergers and acquisitions (M&A), investments, financing, and real estate to planning, regulatory, and day-to-day operations.

Our team advises across the full lifecycle of data center development, helping companies structure and execute transactions with precision and foresight. We leverage deep experience in joint ventures, incentive and permitting strategies, entitlements, construction, leasing, and long-term asset performance. This includes engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and design-build agreements for data center facilities and supporting power infrastructure, as well as financing and regulatory strategies that support long-term performance. We coordinate each phase to align with our clients’ commercial objectives.

Building on this foundation, we advise on the delivery of digital infrastructure across large-scale, co-location, and multi-site campuses. Our work goes beyond conventional legal support, engaging directly with the operational complexities of data center environments. This includes structuring resilient energy solutions and power procurement strategies that align with local grid dynamics, regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions, and the high-availability demands of hyperscale deployments, often supported by robust construction and equipment procurement contracts.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles are embedded throughout our approach, from site selection and permitting to long-term operations and investment strategy, enabling clients to proactively manage regulatory exposure, reputational risk, and sustainability targets.

We lead negotiations for service agreements, service-level agreements (SLAs), interconnection arrangements, and leases with hyperscale tenants and critical service providers, helping ensure scalable, secure platforms that can drive digital transformation and maintain operational continuity.

Operating through a powerful global platform, our team combines international reach with nuanced local insight to deliver seamless support wherever our clients build and operate. With decades of experience and deep sector knowledge, we address companies’ most pressing issues with no learning curve required.

Recognition

Ranked Band 1 in USA, Technology Sector (International & Cross-Border), Chambers Global 2025
Ranked in Technology, Chambers USA 2025
TMT: Information Technology, Multi-Jurisdictional, Band 1, Chambers Global 2025
Privacy & Data Security: The Elite, Chambers Global 2025
Ranked Tier 1 in Land Use / Zoning, The Legal 500 US 2025
Ranked Tier 1 in Real Estate, The Legal 500 US 2025
Ranked in Project Finance: Energy, Power & Infrastructure and PPP, The Legal 500 US 2025
Top tier for Infrastructure, Legal 500 UK, 2024
Ranked first for advising on energy transition deals globally (by volume), inspiratia 2021-2024

Experience

Affinius Capital and Corscale in a range of strategic data center initiatives, including: (i) zoning and due diligence for the acquisition of two data center developments in Prince William and Loudoun Counties, Virginia; (ii) a lease transaction for up to 54 megawatts of capacity across three buildings in Gainesville, Virginia; and (iii) a joint venture with Ireland-based Echelon Data Centers to develop nine OPTDC buildings, with capacity for at least eight more.
AirTrunk on ts landmark AUD24 billion sale to The Blackstone Group. This is the largest transaction in the data centre industry to date and the largest transaction in Australia in 2024.
Azrieli Group on the NOK7.6 billion (EUR720 million) acquisition of leading Norway-based data centre operator Green Mountain.
The Blackstone Group on the aspects (including all real estate matters) of its USD7 billion joint venture with Digital Realty to develop four hyperscale data centre campuses across three metro areas on two continents, in Frankfurt, Paris, and Northern Virginia.
Chirisa Technology Parks and American Real Estate Partners/PowerHouse Data Centers on the structuring and development of a USD5 billion data center campus in Virginia, including a master and sub-condominium regime and a privately funded USD50 million electric power substation.
CyrusOne on multiple strategic transactions, including the USD670 million sale of four Houston data center assets, the USD490 million acquisition of Sentinel Data Centers, and the USD400 million acquisition of a privately held data center operator.
Edged Energy/EDC Venture on the formation of a joint venture with Stack Real Estate to develop a 26-acre site in Salt Lake City, Utah, into a multi-facility data center campus valued at USD442 million.
Harrison Street Real Estate and American Real Estate Partners in a joint venture for the acquisition and financing of a 48-acre corporate campus in Northern Virginia. The site will be redeveloped into a data center campus valued at over USD500 million. Our Northern Virginia land use team is advising on the rezoning process post-closing.
Macquarie Technology Group on its AUD450 million secured debt refinancing with a group of domestic and international lending institutions. The new debt facility is intended to support and fund the continued expansion of Macquarie Technology Group’s data centre business, including the construction of its IC3 Super West Phase one data centre.
A consortium of investors led by MEAG and Infranity, along with funds affiliated with DigitalBridge Group, on the formation of a EUR2.5 billion investment partnership with Vantage Data Centers, including structuring and documentation of the joint investment platform.
Principal Asset Management on the acquisition of a data centre hub in Düsseldorf for its first European data centre fund. Connecta Park spans 36,429 square metres and is let to multiple tenants, including Digital Realty, Colt, Vodafone, Pluserver, and Zayo.
QTS Data Centers, in collaboration with Compass Data Centers, on securing approvals for a 2,200-acre Comprehensive/Master Plan Amendment and navigating complex rezoning applications for the Prince William Digital Gateway in Prince William County, Virginia. Our team led the multi-year effort to replan and rezone land for over 20 million square feet of data center development near the historic Manassas National Battlefield Park. This USD40 billion initiative has been recognized as the largest master-planned data center campus in the world.
StratCap Data Centers and HMC Capital in their USD712 million acquisition of a data center under construction in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. The facility was acquired from a joint venture between Prologis and Skybox Data Centers.

Key contacts

Partner
Chicago | Los Angeles

Joe Stefano

Partner
Washington, DC

Stephanie Yarbrough

Partner
New York

Data Center Video Series

Welcome to our new video series, Data Center Insights with DLA Piper, offering quick, high-level insights into the latest trends shaping the data center industry.

View the series

Thought leadership

Chile implements its National Data Center Plan: Key points

Diego Peña,

Roberta Andreani,

Martín Villalobos

Chile has begun implementing its National Data Center Plan, which aims to strengthen the country’s data center industry while reducing environmental impact.

27 May 2025

Riding the AI wave: Australia’s booming data centre investment opportunity

Sarah Wilson,

Shane Bilardi

Australia’s data centre sector is booming due to AI, cloud computing, and digital demand. Explore key trends, challenges, and opportunities driving this growth.

31 March 2025

Recent legislative and local actions affecting data center development in Virginia

Brian Clifford,

Brian Winterhalter

Three bills affecting data center development have made it out of the conference committee and will be sent to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin for consideration and signature.

7 March 2025

Navigating Global Growth in Data Centres - Riding the AI Wave

Data centre dealmaking has continued its rapid rise in 2024, and the fundamentals of the data centre market remain robust.

26 November 2024

Powering AI data centers:

Plan to reopen Three Mile Island to provide electricity to AI and cloud computing data centers underscores a fundamental AI policy challenge.

9 October 2024

Chicago advances ordinance mandating data center impact study

Mariah DiGrino

A key Chicago city council committee advanced an ordinance at its meeting today directing city departments to study the environmental and energy impacts of data centers within Chicago.

11 September 2024

The meteoric rise of the data centre: Global data centre investment outlook

Anthony Day

Deal activity in data centre infrastructure has reached unprecedented levels. Our report, The meteoric rise of the data center: Global data center investment outlook, examines the reasons behind this surge in activity and the increasingly significant role ESG has to play when making investments.

13 June 2022

Real Estate Gazette: Data Centers

Susheela Rivers

The last 30 years have been driven by the arrival of new technologies such as the internet and smartphones. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has profoundly changed our professional and personal habits, has also amplified and accelerated the use of technology. Shopping has moved online, business meetings have become virtual meetings and streaming services have replaced going to the cinema. Today, the average number of emails sent per hour across the world is expected to reach 12 billion, and we could reach 48 billion connected objects in circulation by 2025.

28 April 2022

Data Centers

Maximizing essential infrastructure

Related capabilities

Recognition

Experience

Key contacts

Data Center Video Series

Thought leadership

Find a lawyer