Data Centers, Digital Infrastructure, and Powering AI

With offices and practitioners across the country and a comprehensive global network of allied professionals, Taft is able to swiftly coordinate and deploy its data center and digital infrastructure capabilities wherever they are needed. Our end-to-end services include:

Site Selection and Acquisition
Contact: Graham Grady

Taft assists clients with identifying and acquiring property suitable for data center and digital infrastructure use and development, paying particular attention to key considerations like power availability, water availability, environmental risks, incentives, and land use regulations. We have experience with complex site acquisitions that involve assembling land from several sellers. We have experience in all aspects of real estate legal services required to bring a data center project to fruition.

Utilities: Energy, Water, and Telecommunications
Contacts: Elizabeth Brama, Chris Miller

Our attorneys provide counsel to data center developers and owners, gas and electric utilities, broadband and telecommunications companies, water suppliers, and other utility clients with respect to the necessary electricity, gas, water, broadband/telecommunications, and other utility resources required for data storage and digital infrastructure development and operation. We pay particular attention to AI and high-performance computing (HPC) needs. We have experience in the negotiation and development of a variety of agreements, including but not limited to electric generation agreements, interconnection agreements, wireless connectivity contracts, indefeasible rights to use fiber, dark fiber and conduit lease agreements, and water/sewer services.  We also develop strategies around service agreements, permitting, transmission line routing, self-generation, and other regulatory approvals necessary to support these facilities. With experience spanning large-scale operators to privately held facilities, we help clients secure or provide the resources necessary to build, operate, and protect high-performance, mission-critical data centers and other digital infrastructure.

Zoning, Land Use and Entitlements
Contacts: Graham Grady, Kathryn Arnold Kovitz

Taft works with municipalities, planning commissions, public and private providers to secure permits, zoning variances, local licenses, and development approvals. We are also adept at managing any related regulatory issues.

Economic Incentives and Tax
Contact: Regina Staudacher

Taft assists clients in securing federal and state economic incentives to support capital investments in various types of real estate and development projects, specifically data centers. This includes sales tax exemptions available in many states, including Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, and Texas, as well as income tax credits in states like Illinois and Kentucky, and various negotiated state programs that provide capital, equipment and job training reimbursements, and favorable low-interest loan programs. Taft also evaluates other sources of financing through federal agencies such as the Department of Energy or Defense and the USDA to maximize the incentive benefits for our clients. Creating a smart incentive strategy during the early planning stages of the project can significantly improve the return on investment for the entire project.

Environmental
Contact: Will Gardner

Taft helps clients identify and manage environmental risks associated with siting, constructing, and operating data center and digital infrastructure facilities, including concerns about water and wildlife resources, wastewater, brownfield sites, and air emissions and climate issues. Taft’s environmental attorneys have experience in all aspects of data center development, including structuring transactions to minimize and allocate environmental risks; guiding clients on pre-construction due diligence, environmental assessments, and permitting analysis; navigating environmental issues related to large scale construction projects, including at brownfield sites; and advising clients about ongoing environmental regulatory and compliance issues related to operations.

Construction Agreements
Contact: Peter Hahn

Taft’s construction attorneys advise owners, developers, and contractors on the structuring, drafting, and negotiation of complex construction agreements for data center and digital infrastructure projects. Our practice is focused on the unique legal, technical, and commercial issues inherent in fast-paced, mission-critical developments. We bring years of experience in design-build, EPC, and hybrid delivery models and work closely with project teams to deliver contract frameworks that support speed to market, cost control, and reliable project execution.

Licensing
Contact: Jeffrey Kosc

Taft’s team of technology and intellectual property attorneys cover every stage of the commercialization process and serve our data center clients on the full spectrum of technology transactions, including agreements for infrastructure procurement, connectivity, managed services and professional services. We provide essential technical, product and competitive insight and strategies to secure optimal results for our data center clients. Our team negotiates and manages agreements for the procurement and offering of software, hardware, and operational technologies to reduce risk while maximizing operational and commercial value. Taft offers the highest standard of legal and technical skills to ensure that our clients’ IP and IT assets are both protected and leveraged. Taft’s data center clients rely on us to properly secure their IP and IT infrastructure and ensure compliance with industry regulations, while also strengthening their competitive advantages and business goals.

Privacy, Security and Artificial Intelligence
Contacts: Scot Ganow, Nick Brankle

Taft advises data center and digital infrastructure operators and clients on data privacy, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance, helping protect sensitive information such as personal data, trade secrets, intellectual property, and other confidential information. We draft and negotiate co-location, SaaS, and service agreements, develop privacy policies and procedures, and guide clients on state, federal, and international regulations on privacy, data protection and artificial intelligence. Our attorneys assist with privacy program implementation, risk assessments, incident response, regulatory and law enforcement inquiries and actions, and data security incident management, as well as providing ongoing guidance on cybersecurity best practices and emerging privacy and data governance requirements.

Intellectual Property and Technology Contracts
Contact: Marcus Harris

We work closely with data center and digital infrastructure clients to protect the technology, processes, and proprietary systems that underpin their facilities. We assist with drafting and negotiating agreements, such as MSAs and online terms of service, co-location agreements, managed services agreements, service agreements for circuits, fiber/telecom agreements, data center leases, and various other technology or software-related service agreements. We also advise our clients on policy development and implementation, including privacy policies, data processing agreements, biometric policies, DMCA compliance, and other regulatory requirements. Additionally, our Technology and AI team works closely with our Intellectual Property attorneys to develop proactive strategies to address novel and complex issues involved in the development and use of AI and HPC technology.

Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement
Contact: Marc Kessler

Our litigation team brings deep, cross‑disciplinary experience to the full spectrum of disputes that arise in the data center and digital infrastructure industry. We understand the operational, technical, and commercial pressures unique to the development and management of these facilities and assets, and we help owners, operators, developers, manufacturers, investors, and hyperscale tenants navigate conflicts that threaten timelines, capital investments, and long‑term performance, including matters involving:

• Interpretation, enforcement, and defense of declarations, covenants, easements, and other real‑property restrictions;
• Construction and development disputes;
• Power‑availability and utility‑service disputes;
• Lease, colocation, and service‑contract litigation;
• Land‑use, zoning, and permitting challenges;
• Environmental, noise, and water‑use disputes;
• Equipment, vendor and supply‑chain litigation; and
• Cyber‑incident, data‑handling, and operational‑resilience disputes.

Government Relations and Public Policy
Contact: Terrance Carroll

Taft’s Public Affairs Strategy Group advises data center and digital infrastructure clients on legislative, regulatory, and policy matters at the local, state, and federal levels. Our team engages in strategic lobbying and proactive stakeholder engagement to help shape favorable tax incentives, regulatory frameworks, and development policies. We work closely with elected officials, regulators, community leaders, utilities, and advocacy groups to address key issues such as energy usage, zoning, infrastructure capacity, and community impact. By combining legal expertise, targeted public affairs strategy, and meaningful stakeholder collaboration, Taft helps developers and operators navigate complex policy landscapes, mitigate risk, and advance responsible, sustainable growth.

FinTech
Contact: Richard Levin

FinTech is reshaping how data centers support the financial services ecosystem by demanding secure, low-latency, and highly scalable infrastructure for digital transactions and analytics. Taft advises fintech companies focused on the development of blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, data centers, high-frequency trading, machine learning, and quantum computing, helping clients manage regulatory risk, protect sensitive information, and maintain operational resilience in a rapidly changing environment.

Financing
Contacts: Seth Miller Gabriel, Umer Yaqub

Taft attorneys advise data center developers, operators, lenders and investors on both traditional bank and public-sector bond transactions used to finance data center projects and the public infrastructure required to support their development, including power generation and transmission, water and wastewater systems, roadways, and other utility assets. Through Taft Infrastructure Advisors, a specialized infrastructure financial advisory firm, we bring direct experience in Northern Virginia, the nation’s leading data center market. Our team has structured financial solutions for land acquisitions, powered shell facilities, and large-scale campus expansions with significant power commitments. This engagement in the industry’s most active region and in emerging areas positions us to anticipate the capital requirements, infrastructure dependencies, and market dynamics that shape data center projects from initial positioning through operational maturity.