Christina Hightower

Owners and developers of large-scale energy, power generation, data center, and infrastructure projects rely on Christina Hightower to structure, negotiate, and execute major capital investments. She serves as project counsel and outside general counsel to companies navigating multibillion-dollar construction programs, complex commercial relationships, and significant disputes. Drawing on both in-house and private-practice experience, Christina approaches each matter with an understanding of the commercial, operational, financing, and schedule considerations driving the business.

Christina’s transactional practice centers on helping owners and developers structure and negotiate the agreements necessary to move major capital projects forward. She advises on EPC and procurement strategy, contract structuring, risk allocation, and project execution, including the negotiation of complex commercial terms for LNG, data center, and power generation projects. Christina negotiates agreements across the full lifecycle of a project—from land and site rights, electric service arrangements, and equipment procurement and supply agreements to service agreements, interconnection agreements, and other commercial transactions supporting power purchase agreements and EPC contracts. She also advises clients on permitting challenges, including successfully resolving a challenge to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit by working alongside environmental counsel and bringing her litigation experience and business perspective to the strategy.

Christina has extensive experience serving as project counsel for the development, procurement, and construction of power generation facilities and related infrastructure supporting hyperscale data center developments. In this role, she has negotiated billions of dollars in agreements supporting the facility’s development, construction, and operation, with particular experience developing and negotiating procurement terms and conditions and aligning them with EPC and other project-level requirements.

Clients rely on Christina as a trusted advisor who can coordinate across commercial and technical teams, work directly with executives and boards, and translate complex legal risks into practical recommendations that support informed business decisions. Clients appreciate her clear judgment, disciplined strategy, and unwavering focus on outcomes to move negotiations forward and advance their broader business objectives. When issues arise, Christina finds creative contractual and business solutions to keep the project moving while protecting the client’s interests.

Christina’s role does not stop once the contracts are signed. Clients regularly integrate her into their commercial, legal, procurement, and project teams throughout the project to identify issues early and secure resolution. Christina stays involved after EPC execution to help manage contractual performance, working with commercial and technical teams to review and respond to contractor claims and proposed change orders and to address schedule and scope changes, performance issues, and disputes. She helps clients evaluate their contractual rights, develop and negotiate resolution strategies, and manage claims while keeping the broader project, financing, and offtaker context in view.

As outside general counsel, Christina counsels energy and infrastructure companies and their senior leadership on a broad range of commercial agreements, corporate governance, compliance, operational policies, claims and disputes, and day-to-day legal matters. She serves as corporate secretary and advises boards on fiduciary obligations and strategic risk management. Her clients value her ability to become fully engaged in their businesses, understand the practical considerations behind their decisions, and get important matters across the finish line.

Earlier in her career, Christina served as commercial counsel to a publicly traded LNG developer constructing a multibillion-dollar pipeline and terminal project. As primary counsel to the pipeline business, she worked directly with its president, commercial executives, and department leaders, coordinated cross-functional teams, and negotiated major project agreements. Her in-house role gave her deep knowledge of the LNG sector and firsthand insight into how legal strategy must align with commercial execution, risk allocation, project schedules, and investor expectations.

Christina’s substantial complex commercial litigation and arbitration experience directly informs her transactional and counseling work. Having represented clients in high-value EPC and other commercial disputes, she understands how contractual language and project decisions are tested when projects go wrong. She brings that perspective to negotiations by anticipating potential problems and contractor claims, developing workable protections, and focusing on the provisions that matter during actual project execution. At the same time, Christina’s litigator’s perspective is balanced by her in-house experience and recognition that decisions about risk acceptance ultimately belong to the business. She clearly presents the risk profile, her recommendation, and alternative paths forward, then works with commercial teams to implement their informed decisions. Her disputes practice has also given her significant midstream experience, including crude oil transportation arrangements and pipeline interconnections from the Midland Basin to the Houston market, delivery into Magellan East Houston, and matters involving crude quality specifications.

Christina has represented clients in construction, commercial, and fiduciary disputes in Texas state and federal courts, on appeal, and in arbitration, including claims involving fraud, misrepresentation, deceptive trade practices, and breach of fiduciary duty. She has also represented creditors in bankruptcy-related investigations and claim development arising from a major nationwide bankruptcy settlement.