Original Jurisdiction

News, views, and colorful commentary about law and the legal profession.

Author: David Lat

Original Jurisdiction, a podcast about law and the legal profession, features host David Lat interviewing some of the most interesting, influential, and important people in the world of law. It's the companion podcast to Lat's Substack newsletter of the same name. You can follow David on Twitter (@DavidLat) or email him at davidlat@substack.com, and you can subscribe to his newsletter at davidlat.substack.com. davidlat.substack.com
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Language: en

Genres: Business, Careers, News, News Commentary

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AI Data Center Dealmaking: Steven Messina
Thursday, 11 December, 2025

Every time you ask a question of your AI assistant, it gets sent to a data center, where the response is generated before getting sent back to you. These data centers are critical to the AI revolution. The biggest data-center campuses occupy dozens of acres, span millions of square feet, and cost billions of dollars.And they wouldn’t exist without the work of lawyers. For insight into the complex transactions that bring these data centers into existence, I interviewed Steven Messina, a longtime partner at Skadden Arps and global head of the firm’s banking group (soon to be renamed the finance group, reflecting the evolution of the sector beyond commercial banks).In our conversation, Steve and I discussed how these billion-dollar data centers get financed. But we covered a number of other topics as well, including the evolution of both the finance industry and Biglaw over the past three decades. If you’re interested in technology, business, or law, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.Show Notes:* Steven Messina bio, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP* Hyperscaler Data Centers: Financing Solutions for Large-Scale Projects, by Steven Messina, Aryan Moniri, David L. Nagler, and Jared S. DubPrefer reading to listening? For paid subscribers, a transcript of the entire episode appears below.Sponsored by:NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment@nexfirm.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidlat.substack.com/subscribe