Law firms responding to deals—and price upheavals—in the energy market continue their hiring spree for attorneys active in the sector, Bloomberg reported Feb. 22.
Sidley Austin LLP last week announced that it had expanded its energy and M&A practices with the hiring of three partners in its Washington office.
Other firms that have added lawyers with this expertise since the beginning of the year include Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Baker & Hostetler LLP, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP.
Whether it’s counseling on M&A or restructuring debt in light of the drop in oil prices, it’s an active time for these lawyers.
Clients now “may need to restructure a credit facility, right-size their labor force and look for new markets as they balance against prices that can be off by 40 to 50% in some cases,” said Kenneth Irvin, who left Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, along with Karen Dewis and Daryl Rice, to join Sidley.
Irvin’s last day at Cadwalader was Feb. 13. But the Washington-based attorney didn’t lose any time, because he was representing Mexico’s electric utility, Comision Federal de Electricad, in contracting to have a natural gas pipeline built that will run 182 miles (293 km) from the Waha area in Texas to the border with Mexico.
It was a six-month process, Irvin said in a phone interview from Houston, where he traveled to oversee the Feb. 20 closing of the agreement.
He had helped the utility, known as CFE, draft the request for proposals as well as the contract for the winning bidders, a group consisting of Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE: ETP), Mastec Inc. (NYSE: MTZ) and Carso. And Irvin shepherded the deal through even as he was working on his own deal to move firms.
Because of ethical rules, he couldn’t tell CFE he was leaving until he alerted his partners. It’s a risk that they could remain but, he said, “in my case, the relationship with CFE was one of personal trust, so I was hopeful they would follow.”
Cadwalader spokeswoman Kara Fitzsimmons said in an e-mail that “the firm is actively growing its market-leading energy practice and we are confident we will continue to produce superior results for our many clients in Houston and globally.”
California, Colorado, Texas
Other firms are hiring as well.
Manatt Phelps hired Charles Schwenck as a partner in the energy and natural resources practice in Los Angeles. He was previously a partner at K&L Gates LLP, which he joined in 2013.
Schwenck, according to a statement from the firm, has more than 40 years of experience in the energy, infrastructure and natural resources industries and advises on development projects involving power plants and other energy production facilities, pipelines, transmissions lines, industrial facilities and public works.
Bracewell & Giuliani hired Gavin Hill as a litigation partner in Dallas. He advises energy, technology, telecommunications and other companies. He was previously at Godwin Lewis PC.
Lino Mendiola III joined Sutherland Asbill as a partner in the firm’s energy, environmental and commodities practice group in Austin, Texas. Before joining Sutherland, Mendiola was a partner in the Austin office of Andrews Kurth LLP.
Mendiola counsels clients in both transactional and litigation matters involving energy and regulatory law with a focus on the Texas electric energy and natural gas markets, the firm said in a statement.
In November, Willkie Farr opened an office in Houston with three partners—current partner Bruce Herzog, along with Michael Piazza, who joined from Bracewell & Giuliani, and Angela Olivarez, who previously worked at Jones Day.
Earlier this month, Willkie hired Michael Niebruegge, who had joined Bracewell & Giuliani last July. He represents financial institutions, hedge funds and borrowers in energy transactions, the firm said in a statement.
Baker Hostetler hired energy attorney and geologist Michael Joy as a partner in its litigation group and energy and shale team in Denver. Joy had been a partner in the Pittsburgh office of Reed Smith LLP.
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