Nudging Local Lawyers Aside, White Shoe DC Law Firm Takes Control Of Project Jupiter Case Before State Supreme Court
In What Some See as an Over-the-top Play, Project Jupiter Backers Bring in Powerful and Connected Global Legal Firm to Press Case Before the New Mexico Supreme Court
It did not take the backers of Project Jupiter very long to hire some big legal guns to make their case before the New Mexico Supreme Court opposing an emergency stay and a request for Writ of Mandamus requested by environment and consumer advocacy group New Energy Economy last month.
New Energy Economy (NEE) filed its pleadings seeking a temporary stay of what it argued is a rushed and unfair permitting process favoring the interests of Project Jupiter developers who have had the help of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the state’s Environment Department.
NEE has been joined in the arguments before the Environment Department and the Supreme Court by the Center For Biological Diversity, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, and a group of New Mexico legislators who are members of the Conservation and Environmental Caucus.
On August 31, 2026, about a week after the Supreme Court unanimously issued a temporary halt on hearings and related filings as NEE had requested, a new set attorneys from a global law firm filed Project Jupiter developers’ opposition to the stay and the Verified Petition for Writ of Mandamus.
Kirkland and Ellis LLP, is one of the largest law firms in the world providing corporate representation.
Christopher Michel and Rex Manning of Kirkland and Ellis are listed in a lead position in the filings for Project Jupiter. They operate out of the nation’s capitol.
Christopher Michel’s biographical page on the firms website describes him as “a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C., office and the leader of the Firm’s Supreme Court and appellate practice.”
The bio continues, “… Chris has distinctive insight into the Supreme Court, having served over five years in the Office of the Solicitor General at the Department of Justice and clerked for both Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He has also served in the Office of the Attorney General, the White House Counsel’s Office and the White House Speechwriting Office, where he drafted more than 500 speeches (including five State of the Union addresses) for President George W. Bush. …”
Michel also represented Elon Musk before the Delaware Supreme Court in a matter related to Musk’s compensation.
Rex Manning’s biographical page on the same website states he is a “…partner in the Houston and Washington, D.C., offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice focuses primarily on appeals as well as critical motions and legal issues in the trial courts.”
As if adding Michel and Manning to bolster the efforts of the local attorneys on Project Jupiter’s legal team wasn’t sufficient, five more Kirkland and Ellis attorneys from the firm’s Texas, New York, and Tennesse offices have been listed in an affidavit seeking “Pro Hac Vice” admission to practice for the matter before the New Mexico Supreme Court. (Pro Hac Vice is process by which visiting attorneys, not licensed in the venue, are given permission to partner with a local attorney who is licensed.)
[Prior to Kirkland and Ellis lawyers joining the Project Jupiter developers’ team, Jennifer Bradfute of Bradfute Sayer, P.C. (Santa Fe), and Edward Ricco and Jocelyn Drennan of Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin and Robb, P.A. (Albuquerque), were the New Mexico attorneys representing Project Jupiter developers.]
Kirkland and Ellis notes on its website that it represents hundreds of “private equity clients around the globe, our practice generates the largest deal flow of any law firm.”
It is an international law firm serving “a broad range of clients around the world in private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions; investment fund formation and alternative asset management; restructurings; high-stakes commercial and intellectual property litigation; and white collar and government disputes…”
That is a lot of legal firepower being aimed at the efforts of local people who are seeking a fair fight and transparency in the permit process.
Thousands of New Mexico residents have already expressed that they feel Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, her Environment Secretary James Kenney, and powerful legislative leaders have paved the way for the corporate interests of Project Jupiter, with little regard for the public being able to get a fair shake.
It will be interesting to see how flexing so much legal muscle fares before New Mexico’s Highest Court.