US law firm Snell & Wilmer has formed a data center practice comprised of an interdisciplinary group of attorneys from across the firm’s various offices.

It said the team’s range and depth of experience enable it to advise and represent those who impact and are impacted by data center infrastructure, including developers, investors, lenders, owners, tenants, users, contractors, engineers, consultants and a variety of other entities.

Snell & Wilmer said data centers have become central to today’s business infrastructure, as reliance on networked technology affects information retrieval and sharing in virtually every facet of commerce and society.

It said as the amount of information grows and explodes via websites, social networks and over smartphones and laptops, organizations face increasingly complicated financial management, regulatory and compliance requirements.

In addition, the advent of cloud computing means that data centers offering this service are rapidly evolving to become mass scale computing environments.

Energy to power the server equipment, and for the cooling and the backup systems, is another compelling factor it said affects data center efficiency and profitability. From onsite energy generation to smart-grid applications to renewable energy solutions, the selection and use of energy is a significant part of today’s data center modeling, financial planning, tax and environmental considerations.

“To properly address the unique business challenges inherent in the data center industry, legal professionals must have a deep understanding of the myriad of issues involved,” said Bob Bates, a partner at Snell & Wilmer and chair of the firm’s data center industry group.

Founded in 1938, Snell & Wilmer is a full-service business law firm with more than 400 attorneys practicing in nine locations throughout the western United States and in Mexico, including Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Los Angeles and Orange County, California; Denver, Colorado; Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Los Cabos, Mexico.