Ashurst U.S. infrastructure specialist Vincent Casey has left the firm's New York office after less than three years.

Casey is rejoining Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe as a partner, after a nearly five-year stint away from the firm.

Casey, whose practice focuses on advising clients on public-private partnerships, left his of counsel role at Orrick in June 2014 to become a partner at Nixon Peabody. He then jumped to Ashurst in October 2016.

Vincent Casey

Casey pointed to the opportunity to work with Orrick's experts in public finance, tax and bankruptcy, all areas critical to success in the P3 sphere.

"The people at Orrick were friends of mine," he said. "They were looking to build out their practice more."

Ashurst had listed him as the "lead contact" for its nine-partner New York office on its website. But a spokeswoman for the firm said that Andy Fraiser, head of energy and infrastructure for the Americas, has managed and will continue to oversee Ashurst's U.S. operations.

"Under the leadership of Andy Fraiser, our U.S. offering continues to perform exceptionally well and has grown exponentially," the firm said.

Like Casey, Fraiser also joined the firm in 2016, coming from Allen & Overy. Since then, Ashurst has refocused its U.S. work on projects and infrastructure, while restructuring its operations in the country. The firm closed an office in Washington, D.C., but has increased its numbers in New York, from four partners in August 2017 to nine prior to Casey's departure.

"We thank Vincent for his contribution to the firm and wish him well for the future," the firm said.

Since Casey's first stint at the firm, Orrick has added an office in Houston as well as a Latin America practice. He said he was eager to work with the Houston team and resume the Latin America work he handled earlier in his career.

More recently, Casey led the financings on several projects, including the $4.9 billion Los Angeles International Airport Automated People Mover project, the I-66 tolled expansion project in Virginia and the Denver Airport Great Hall project.

His clients include the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, toll road operator Cintra, engineering and construction multinational Fluor, and Australian infrastructure investor Plenary.

"Vincent is a practitioner of the absolute highest calibre, with a strong record of getting deals done," Dan Mathews, Orrick's energy and infrastructure sector leader, said in a statement.

"Having worked in this space with him for years, I'm confident that our clients and team will be very well served by adding him to our roster."