Vinson & Elkins LLP

Vinson & Elkins LLP fields a team of ‘knowledgeable and commercial’ practitioners that provide ’excellent advice and judgment’ across an array of important transactions. The firm is a frequent port-of-call to a growing roster of top name clients that include independent oil and gas exploration and production companies, prominent private equity firms, hedge funds, and investment banks, with a notable focus on the upstream and midstream space. Recent work highlights include multi-billion dollar upstream asset acquisitions, midstream joint venture merger transactions, as well as vast company takeovers. The practice is jointly led by Kaam Sahely, Danielle Patterson, and Matthew Strock, with Patterson and Strock particularly singled out for their wealth of expertise pertaining to M&A and private equity. ‘Real thought leaders’ Matthew Falcone and Lande Spottswood are ’terrific’ across the full range of hydrocarbon transactions, with the former especially well regarded for his financial sponsor-oriented work and the latter for her expertise in public company mergers or change-of-control transactions. Bryan Loocke has overseen a multitude of matters involving high quality asset consolidations involving major active basins, particularly the Permian Basin, while Austin’s Douglas Bland focuses on midstream transactions, from pipelines to natural gas storage facilities. Keith Fullenweider has recently been active on multi-billion dollar upstream assets and gathering and processing asset deals. Shay Kuperman also comes highly recommended for his capabilities across the entire oil & gas spectrum. Other than Bland, the team operates out of Houston.