Jorge Kamine is a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, where he co-chairs the Project Finance & Investment Practice Group. His expertise spans a variety of energy and infrastructure transactions, with a focus on the financing, structuring, and acquisition of energy projects, including renewable and conventional power, LNG, and hydrogen. Jorge’s volunteer work with ISLP has centered on connecting his transactional skills to international development efforts in emerging economies, through which he has contributed meaningfully to Fashion Makes Change, aiding in its mission to promote sustainability and social impact in the fashion industry. Read more about Jorge’s experience as an ISLP volunteer below:
Tell us about your volunteer experience with ISLP. What drew you to the volunteer opportunity? What project(s) have you been involved in?
I have had a great experience working with ISLP. Mr. Joe Bell was kind enough to put me in touch with Alejandra Cicero at ISLP several years ago. I had expressed my interest in finding more opportunities to undertake pro bono work related to international development in emerging economies that would allow me to use my transactional skills, particularly with international energy and infrastructure projects and project finance. After various efforts to find a project that I could undertake, Alejandra connected me with Cara Smyth and Frank Zambrelli, the leadership of Fashion Makes Change (formerly NoCO2), who have been pursuing numerous, pathbreaking and innovative efforts and initiatives to make the fashion industry more sustainable and create tools that make sustainability in the fashion industry more transparent for consumers, measure ESG performance and direct funding to programs, and help women working in the garment industry in emerging economies.
Is there a particular moment during the volunteer experience that stood out to you or that you have taken away as particularly significant?
The entire experience has been incredibly satisfying because I have felt that I have contributed meaningfully to the development of Fashion Makes Change as an organization and its work. In addition to helping them with legal questions, I was also able to work with them on strategic issues, project management, and offer a broad range of advice to help the organization continue down a good development path. I am excited to see how it continues to grow and impact the fashion industry in numerous ways.
What impact do you believe your ISLP experience has had? Why is ISLP’s work important?
ISLP’s work is crucial. There’s tremendous need for pro bono support, and not every firm has the resources to connect their attorneys with opportunities that might benefit from their expertise, especially in cross-border contexts. ISLP has amazing contacts and relationships that allowed me to connect with Fashion Makes Change, and there were a number of other meaningful projects and groups that I was not able to work with due to conflicts. It’s clear that ISLP is a great resource for pro bono opportunities of the sort that I was seeking, and all of their opportunities offer the chance to do meaningful pro bono work that will move the needle.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
In addition to great projects, ISLP has a great staff that has been warm, friendly, a pleasure to work with and very committed to ISLP’s work. I’d also like to highlight the other incredible work done by my colleagues at Wilke, including Elizabeth Buckley Lewis, Ingrid Ghanem, Sarah Marmon, Tiffany Lee, Harry Nettlau, VelaSusan Park, John “Jake” Maguire, Blanca Rodriguez, Heather Schneider, Matthew Schrader, Claudius Straub, and Henry Thomas, who have all worked directly on our projects with Fashion Makes Change over the past four years.