The Houston-based team at Winston & Strawn LLP continues to handle a wide range of cases, including breach of contract, class actions, and enforcement actions. The firm’s energy and infrastructure industry group is jointly led by Mike Pikiel and Rich Shutran, both based in New York, and Houston’s Mike Blankenship, while Denise Scofield chairs the firm’s litigation department, consistently representing energy clients in complex litigation, internal investigations and other commercial and environmental matters. Further key contacts within the team are oil and gas litigation expert Paula Hinton and Casey Berger, whose focus is on securities, antitrust, consumer fraud and class actions. Counsel Brandon Duke is noted for assisting oil and gas clients with a variety of transactional disputes, contractual indemnities, and industry standard compliance. All practitioners are based in Houston unless otherwise stated.
Key clients
- U.S. Well Services
- Schlumberger Limited
- Cameron International Corporation
- Banco San Juan International, Inc. (BSJI)
- NGL Energy Partners
- Occidental Petroleum
- Pioneer Natural Resources USA, Inc.
- Aspen Midstream
- American Petroleum Institute
- Whitney Oil & Gas, LLC /Trimont Energy (NOW), LLC
- Golden Pass LNG Terminal LL
Work highlights
- Represented U.S. Well Services against competitor Halliburton in the Western District of Texas involving key patents covering electric fracturing.
- Represented Pioneer Natural Resources in a high-stakes breach of contract case brought by MIECO LLC, alleging failure to supply natural gas during Winter Storm Uri.
- Represented Golden Pass against Sierra Club’s motion to reconsider the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s (FECM) decision to allow Golden Pass to increase exports of LNG from its facility in Sabine Pass, Texas, to non-free-trade countries.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Mike Blankenship, Rich Shutran, Mike Pikiel