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George has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil trials, litigation, and related appeals and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in Bet-the-Company Litigation, Legal Malpractice Law, Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property, and Securities Litigation. His practice involves a broad range of matters with particular emphasis on complex civil litigation, including lender liability, securities litigation, technology matters, and the defense of professional liability claims involving attorneys, accountants, and officers and directors.

Chris is a Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity-focused partner with more than 20 years of experience leading difficult, interdisciplinary corporate transactions. Chris frequently guides financial sponsors and operating companies through the enterprise life cycle – the initial formation, management team arrangements, bids and acquisitions; capital build-up through private equity and debt capital financings; development of pre-IPO governance structures; and private or public exit transactions. Chris works closely with V&E’s Capital Markets, Corporate Governance, Finance, Tax and other specialty teams. Chris has worked on transactions for more than a dozen leading private equity firms and family offices, involving more than 100 private equity-related transactional matters across many industry sectors. Chris is a leader of Vinson & Elkins’ working groups focused on Electric Power for Power Transmission Transactions, and for Renewable Fuels, which are part of the Firm’s focus on Energy Transition.

Matt Strock is the co-head of V&E’s Corporate practice. He advises private equity firms and their portfolio companies on investments, acquisitions, financings and divestitures. His clients are engaged in a wide range of industry sectors including midstream, upstream, oilfield services, manufacturing and technology.

With more than 40 years’ experience, Jim Lee is a pioneer in his field. Jim began his career as a general commercial litigator in the 1970s, but after repeatedly collaborating with bankruptcy attorneys, pursued what was then considered a novel path: building a practice that combined his skills as a litigator with his deep knowledge of bankruptcy law.

Steven Abramowitz’s practice focuses on restructuring, bankruptcy and transactions involving leveraged or financially distressed companies. He draws from his more than 25 years of experience to help businesses, creditors, investors and other clients navigate the opportunities and risks of pursuing acquisitions, divestitures, financings and other deals with companies that have either entered formal bankruptcy proceedings or face other challenging circumstances.

Stephen M. Gill is Co-Head of V&E’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets practice group. He is an accomplished corporate lawyer who leads Vinson & Elkins’ public company mergers & acquisitions practice. Steve advises both acquirers and targets involved in high-profile transactions across industry sectors. Some of his notable representations include advising RSP Permian in its $9.5 billion sale to Concho Resources, which created the largest unconventional shale producer in the Permian Basin, and advising Maxar Technologies in its $3.6 billion merger with DigitalGlobe, which produced a leading provider of satellites, earth imagery, geospatial data solutions and analytics.

Shay Kuperman advises on mergers and acquisitions, strategic joint ventures and investments, and project development for many energy companies, chemical companies and financial investors. With each matter, Shay aims to negotiate deals that satisfy multiple stakeholders and help clients solve problems efficiently while also accomplishing their larger goals.

Todd advises clients on the tax aspects of complex domestic and cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, partnership and other joint venture arrangements, project development, and capital markets and private financing transactions. During his nearly 20-year career at Vinson & Elkins, he has worked extensively within a variety of industries, including natural resources (upstream and midstream), renewable power generation and storage, real estate, and technology. In addition, Todd has represented numerous private equity funds and other pooled investment vehicles in connection with capital formations, acquisitions, and divestitures.

Matt Moran is an accomplished trial lawyer who represents plaintiffs and defendants in a wide array of complex commercial disputes. He serves as head of V&E’s Restructuring Litigation Practice Group and Co-Head of V&E’s Professional Liability practice.

Sean Becker is the head of the Employment, Labor and OSHA practice and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. He brings a unique perspective to his work advising clients on day-to-day employment issues and transaction-related employment matters: As an experienced employment litigator, he can identify and navigate potential liabilities that might otherwise go unnoticed. It’s a skill that has proved invaluable as Sean has managed a variety of sensitive employment-related matters and managed the labor and employment aspects of hundreds of acquisitions, divestitures and other transactions.

George is Co-Practice Group Leader of V&E’s Condemnation and Land Use Litigation practice group. Selected as Best Lawyers of America’s Houston Eminent Domain Lawyer of the Year for 2019, George’s trial practice is principally focused on the representation of private property owners involved in eminent domain lawsuits wherein the State, counties, municipalities, and other government authorities seek to acquire his clients’ property. He has extensive first chair jury trial experience confirmed by his invited membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). George has represented owners of properties of all types, including retail, commercial, industrial, and residential properties. George has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the publications Best Lawyers in America and by Texas Super Lawyers for his extensive experience in Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law.

Robert Kimball advises public and private companies on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance matters. In a career spanning more than three decades, Robert has counseled clients on domestic and cross-border transactions across a wide array of industries including airlines and aviation, computer and information technology, energy, finance, life sciences, manufacturing, and telecommunications.

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

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.

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.

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.