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John Lynch focuses on federal income tax aspects of domestic and international transactions, primarily those involving energy and infrastructure.

Chris’ practice involves all aspects of commercial lending and financing transactions. Chris has been active, both globally and domestically, on behalf of commercial banks, private equity funds, retailers and energy companies. His work includes the financing of energy assets, real estate and nonperforming loans, retail businesses, and the development and financing of energy and infrastructure projects.

W. Creighton Smith advises clients on a broad range of private investment transactions, including private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, line of equity investments, and general corporate matters. These clients include private equity funds, their portfolio companies, public and private companies, management teams, family offices and high-net-worth individuals.

Pat Breeland is a leader in the field of advising institutional investors on alternative investments. Since 2002, Pat has represented institutional investors in more than 650 investment transactions. In addition, he has supervised other attorneys as they handled hundreds of investment transactions.

Alex Msimang has around 30 years of experience advising clients on the full range of energy-related projects and transactions and he has worked on all sides of the table. Alex focuses a majority of his work on global energy M&A – principally in the oil and gas sector – with the balance made up of project development and regulatory advisory work. Over the course of his career, Alex has come to appreciate how the different pieces of his practice inform and strengthen each other. Alex advises clients across the globe. In the UK, he helps them navigate the highly sophisticated and regulated energy market and he brings that experience to bear on projects across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe.

Paul’s practice focuses on real estate, private equity, and general business transactions. His experience includes representation of a wide variety of clients engaged in many types of real estate, financing, and other business transactions, as well as institutional lenders, investors, and public companies in the acquisition and disposition of commercial property of all product types. Paul also has experience in commercial leasing, including sale-leasebacks and build-to-suit leases, lease disputes, and general corporate representation. He currently represents several large nationwide real estate private equity funds in various acquisitions, financing, development, workout, and sale transactions. Paul also represents institutional landlords and tenants across the country.

Pat is an accomplished trial lawyer, representing clients on both sides in commercial litigation (jury trials, bench trials, and arbitration) and the defense side of multi-district tort litigation. He is one of a handful of lawyers in Texas who is a member of all four of the prominent national trial lawyer organizations: he is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the International Society of Barristers. Clients note that Pat “is an excellent lawyer [and] he’s very comfortable in court,” and “is a great trial lawyer with a strong state and national reputation.” (Chambers USA 2023).

For more than 25 years, trial lawyer Don Griffin has represented his clients in multimillion-dollar lawsuits in Texas state and federal courts. He is a trial lawyer with extensive courtroom experience and numerous jury trial verdicts. His practice focuses primarily on assisting property owners and developers subject to condemnation by government authorities. Don has appeared before the Texas Supreme Court multiple times on behalf of his clients, most recently in February 2018 (W.A. “Andy” Meyers v. JDC/Firethorne, 548 S.W.3d 477 (Tex.2018)). Among his most high-profile verdicts was a February 2018 judgment against the State of Texas that resulted in an amount 1,837% above the State’s $1,300,000 compensation number after a three-week jury trial in Harris County — the largest reported jury verdict ever on behalf of a property owner in a Texas condemnation case. On May 28, 2020, the Houston First Court of Appeals issued a unanimous opinion affirming in all aspects the $28.8 million jury verdict obtained for his client CC Telge Road, L.P. See State v. CC Telge Road, L.P., No. 01-18-00416-CV, 2020 WL 2782370 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] May 28, 2020, n.p.h.).

Jay advises natural gas and liquids pipeline and storage clients on various complex regulatory issues, regulatory compliance matters, and federal energy policy trends. He also focuses on administrative litigation, representing regulated pipelines and storage companies before various federal and state agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in rate cases, certificate proceedings, complaint proceedings and audit and investigation matters. Jay advises clients regarding the jurisdictional and regulatory landscape for energy asset mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other business combinations. He also counsels clients regarding contracting for the transportation, purchase and sale of energy commodities.

David represents issuers and underwriters in connection with capital markets financings, with a focus on high-yield and other debt securities offerings. He also has significant experience in convertible debt and equity offerings, and related equity derivative products. David has particular experience in the energy industry, having worked on numerous transactions involving oil and gas companies, midstream companies, refiners, and oilfield service companies. He also has significant experience in the chemical, shipping, automotive, homebuilding, electronics, and airline industries.

Mike Telle is a seasoned corporate lawyer who focuses on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and other transactions for a variety of clients in the energy sector.

James heads our International Dispute Resolution practice, and focuses his practice on the arbitration and litigation of international commercial and investor-state disputes, and counseling in matters involving public international law and treaties. He acts both as counsel and as arbitrator.

Casey advises and represents clients in a wide variety of matters relating to environmental laws. In transactional contexts, he has structured allocations of liability in mergers and acquisitions, assisted clients in creative approaches to restructuring environmental requirements, and led the conduct of diligence and negotiations on environmental requirements in connection with asset sales and project financings within the United States and internationally.

Russell Oshman is the Managing Partner of the Dallas office. Russell represents investors and developers in the acquisition, development, financing and disposition of commercial real estate assets. His practice is primarily focused on the representation of investment capital in forming joint ventures and obtaining construction financing in connection with the development and construction of commercial real estate projects, with a particular emphasis on industrial warehouse and logistics projects. Russell also has significant experience in the acquisition, disposition and permanent financing of commercial real estate assets. Russell advises a wide array of real estate clients including public and private real estate investment trusts, private equity investors and real estate developers. While his focus lies in representing clients in commercial real estate transactions, Russell also has experience with the real estate aspects of master limited partnerships, mergers and acquisitions and syndicated financing transactions.

Prentiss Cutshaw represents a broad range of real estate clients, including private equity funds, real estate investment groups and commercial owners in all stages of the real estate lifecycle, from acquisition and development to management, leasing, finance and ultimately disposition of a property. The properties of his clients are located nationwide. Prentiss was chosen by the Legal 500 in Real Estate in 2019.

Based in Houston, David’s practice concentrates on representing property owners throughout Texas in eminent domain and condemnation matters. David has extensive trial experience against both the State of Texas and Harris County in condemnation matters. He has handled cases involving the taking of all types of properties, including retail, commercial, industrial, and residential properties. David has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for his experience in Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law.

Jaren’s practice focuses on the representation of utility and energy clients and eminent domain law. In his utility and energy practice he represents clients before the Public Utility Commission of Texas, other regulatory agencies, and in various courts throughout the state. This work addresses issues involving utility infrastructure, including obtaining of Certificates of Convenience and Necessity, navigating the regulatory approval process for M&A transactions, litigating rate approval for utility assets, acquiring of right-of-way for linear projects through eminent domain and counselling clients regarding state regulatory requirements, the ERCOT process, and a number of other issues. Jaren’s notable work highlights include preparing, processing and obtaining approval for over thirty Certificate of Convenience and Necessity applications for transmission line projects in the State of Texas. In his eminent domain practice, Jaren represents both utilities and landowners in the condemnation process to either acquire land for utility projects or assist landowners to receive just compensation for their property.

Craig is a member of the firm’s Complex Commercial Litigation group and is co-head of the firm’s Securities Litigation practice. His practice focuses on representing companies and their directors in lawsuits brought by Delaware stockholders, Master Limited Partnership unitholders, and deal partners.

Tzvi represents a broad array of corporate borrowers, private equity sponsors and portfolio companies, high-net-worth individuals, financing providers, hedge funds, and other alternative lenders in many types of complex and highly structured debt facilities. He has experience in Term Loan B financings, other syndicated term and revolving loans, unitranche loans, restructurings and debtor-in-possession facilities, acquisition financings, project financings, reserve-based loans, and other asset-based loans, including commodity trading facilities. Tzvi also has experience with financings across a wide range of industries, including shipping, oilfield services, upstream and midstream oil and gas, restaurant franchises, airlines, commodity trading, nuclear materials, power generation, and professional sports franchises.

Brad’s primary area of practice includes all aspects of restructuring and reorganization, including the representation of lenders, buyers, debtors, creditors, and trustees. Brad has extensive experience in advising clients on all aspects of financial distress, including liability management transactions, corporate workouts and restructurings, distressed asset acquisitions and divestitures, bankruptcy litigation, counterparty risk, and reorganization and insolvency proceedings. Brad has worked with clients including banks, syndicated bank groups and agents, private equity funds, public companies, portfolio companies, non-bank lenders, strategic buyers, debtors, and chapter 7 trustees, among others.

Kaam represents investors, developers and other participants in complex infrastructure and energy investments and projects.

Harry is a partner based out of the Houston office, who focuses his practice on national restructuring and reorganization matters. He has extensive experience representing various parties in out-of-court restructurings and complex chapter 11 cases, both as an attorney and as an investment banker/financial advisor. Harry has represented clients in a range of industries, including manufacturing; transportation; upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of the energy industry; oil field services; power; petrochemicals; real estate; retail; sub-prime finance; professional sports; and mass media.

Damien represents companies in the energy industry in transactional and regulatory matters. He has advised clients on numerous transactional and state and federal regulatory issues related to the production, gathering, transportation, and storage of natural gas; the transportation, terminaling, and storage of liquid hydrocarbons; power sales and marketing; and the sale or acquisition of natural gas, oil, and electric power commodities and assets.

Suzanne counsels clients with respect to regulated and unregulated midstream assets. Specifically, Suzanne focuses on FERC regulatory requirements and compliance with FERC regulations, including creation of regulatory compliance and internal audit programs, rate regulation of natural gas pipelines and storage companies, and regulatory requirements at FERC for developing liquids and natural gas pipelines.  Suzanne also works with clients on the negotiations of midstream agreements, including for service on interstate gas and liquids pipelines, gathering pipelines, processing facilities, storage terminal agreements, and agreements for the purchase and sale of commodities.