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Robert Seber is head of our Investment Management practice. He is highly experienced in the full cycle of private equity funds – including fund formation, carry and equity arrangements, governance, investments, and exits – and has a profound knowledge of market trends. He has formed multiple energy and infrastructure funds with innovative terms that reflect the nuances of investments in these industries. Robert also represents companies and investors in financial services industries.

Doug Bland works with the development, purchase and sale of energy-related projects and assets. For more than 35 years, he has represented private equity firms and large and small companies in the upstream, midstream, downstream and renewable energy sectors in a variety of transactions, including joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, as well as project financing for everything from pipelines to power plants. In the midstream sector, Doug structures transactions involving refining and petrochemicals; natural gas gathering, processing, storage and transportation; and oil and condensate transportation, storage and terminalling. He works in the upstream space facilitating large shale development joint ventures, and acquisitions and sales of oil and gas properties. Doug also handles transactions involving renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power in addition to other electric power projects. Though his practice is based largely in North America, his matters have also taken him around the world, from Argentina to Turkmenistan. Throughout his career, Doug has been recognized by multiple legal publications, including Chambers USA, where a reviewer called him “smart and thoughtful” and a “zealous advocate for his clients.”

Jim is a trial attorney with more than 35 years of experience counseling clients with wide-ranging business litigation needs. His practice encompasses lawsuits, appeals, and domestic and international arbitrations across multiple industries.

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.

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.

Ryan Carney serves as Head of the firm’s Tax practice. He is a leading tax lawyer who advises partnerships (public and private), MLPs, and corporations on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, public offerings and other domestic and international transactions. Ranked in Chambers USA since 2011, Ryan is known for his practical approach and his ability to reduce the complexities of tax law into language any professional can understand. Ryan is among the country’s best-known tax legal advisors to MLPs. In addition to representing numerous MLPs, he served as tax counsel to the Master Limited Partnership Association (MLPA) during its lobbying efforts with respect to tax reform that resulted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Eric Groten is an accomplished Clean Air Act practitioner with nearly 35 years of experience navigating state and federal air quality laws. His work covers the full array of legal work generated by air quality laws, including defending enforcement actions, applying for the permits they require, transacting emissions rights, counseling clients on compliance and lobbying to change rules and the laws themselves. He has represented upstream, midstream and petrochemical facilities, power generators, and extractive industries in enforcement actions brought by EPA, by state agencies and by citizen groups.

Jamie Tabb has a full-service government contracts practice, in which he represents contractors in bid protests, contract disputes, and other litigation. While focused primarily on federal contracts, Jamie also has experience at the state and local level. For over 16 years he has litigated bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Court of Federal Claims (COFC) and filed claims and prosecuted appeals at the Boards of Contract Appeals and COFC.

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.

David Peck serves as head of V&E’s Tax & Executive Compensation & Benefits Department. He has more than 20 years’ experience advising companies on tax planning and structuring related to complicated transactions, leveraging his deep understanding of tax law to develop smart strategies to save his clients tax dollars.

Chris Strong is an accomplished member of V&E London’s Energy Transactions & Projects practice who represents corporate clients around the world on transactions in the energy and natural resources space.

Vanessa is General Counsel of Vinson & Elkins and a partner in the Firm. Vanessa was appointed as General Counsel following a twenty-five-year career as an employment litigator and counselor, representing clients in all aspects of employment law. Prior to assuming her role as General Counsel of the Firm, Vanessa served as Deputy General Counsel.

An accomplished lawyer with more than 30 years of experience, Paul is a partner in the Restructuring and Reorganization practice group. During his career, Paul has handled a multitude of complex chapter 11 bankruptcy cases and out-of-court restructuring matters. He regularly represents public and private companies, and advises their respective board of directors and senior management on developing solutions for reorganizing capital structures and business operations. His clients include companies in a range of industries, including cryptocurrency, energy, distribution, manufacturing, renewable power, retail, and telecommunications.

Shane advises employers, executives and management teams on the tax and securities law implications of compensatory arrangements for a range of clients, with a special emphasis on private equity sponsored work and the complex tax issues associated with golden parachute payments and transfers of property for services. He also guides boards of directors and compensation committees on executive compensation matters, and assists public and private partnerships, corporations and REITs in designing, drafting and implementing severance and retention plans and equity-based compensation arrangements.

Ben represents clients in complicated environmental disputes, drawing on his more than 20 years of experience to guide companies through civil litigation, civil and criminal enforcement defense, and administrative hearings. He also advises companies regarding complex site remediation issues, internal investigations, responses to catastrophic incidents, and regulatory issues. In the ESG space, Ben has advised an international mining company regarding important sustainability issues, most notably in the development and implementation of a major new international standard for mining operations.

Described as “commercial and brilliant from a technical perspective,” Doug is a nationally recognized attorney with an extensive corporate practice, advising on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and other strategic transactions. Doug’s clients classify him as “one of the preeminent energy lawyers across capital markets” having “…seen every type of transaction.” (Chambers USA, 2023) He is one of a few attorneys in the country to be recognized by Chambers USA for both capital markets and corporate M&A.

David D’Alessandro is head of the Executive Compensation and Benefits practice, where he advises companies on the implementation of executive contracts with a particular focus on the tax and securities issues arising from executive compensation arrangements. David’s clients include both private and publicly traded companies in a wide range of industries, from energy to financial services. His practice entails both mergers and acquisitions work and day-to-day counseling. He regularly advises clients on matters involving stock options, restricted stock, profits interests, performance-based compensation arrangements, golden parachutes, 409A issues and Securities Act and Exchange Act compliance as well as the structuring of employment, change in control and severance agreements.

Nick is a trial lawyer who represents and advises clients in both litigation and arbitration.  Nick has tried a range of commercial cases and, in recent years, he has obtained jury verdicts of $96 million (net) and $60 million (net) and a take-nothing arbitration award on multi-million dollar claims for energy industry clients.

Quentin is a commercial litigator who focuses on business, energy, and petrochemical disputes.

Nick is a Leading Individual in the Legal 500 UK 2024 Construction rankings and is ranked in Band 1 for International Arbitration, Construction, in Chambers 2024. He has been described by Chambers UK as “one of the most important construction lawyers in the world” and “a truly exceptional and very determined lawyer” who “you underestimate at your peril”.  Nick has also previously been described in Chambers as “widely regarded as a market leader in international construction arbitration”, a “construction law heavyweight”, and a “brilliant strategist”.

Mike is a financial lawyer with a broad range of experience, primarily helping commercial lenders, investors and borrowers negotiate private credit transactions and bank loans.

Jeremy is an appellate litigator, with a focus on constitutional and administrative law, including environmental and pipeline litigation. His practice involves both civil and criminal matters in the Supreme Court, and federal and state appellate and trial courts, as well as regulatory and legal counseling.

Andrew advises on project development and finance, primarily in the energy and infrastructure sectors. He has extensive experience in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts.

T. Mark Kelly, Mark Kelly

Marisa Giles is an experienced lead litigator who represents businesses and individuals in high-stakes disputes, including contract suits, construction litigation, securities litigation, tax controversies, restructuring litigation, and complex indemnity and insurance matters.

Vinson & Elkins is saddened to announce that our beloved colleague Glen Rosenbaum passed away peacefully in his sleep on February 28 at the age of 75.

Marie Yeates is one of the country’s leading appellate lawyers. Over the course of a nearly four-decade-long career at V&E, Marie has presented more than 130 appellate oral arguments in federal and state appellate courts across the country. She has argued dozens of cases in the Texas Supreme Court. A graduate of Louisiana State University School of Law where Marie was first in her class, and admitted to the Louisiana Bar in 1980, she has significant experience arguing appeals in Louisiana courts.

George is Co-Head of the firm’s Tax Controversy Practice. During his more than three decades with V&E, George has tried cases in the United States Tax Court and Federal District Courts and handled many appeals. While he has been involved in many high-profile court cases, often establishing key precedents along the way, George is equally proud of the more numerous matters that never made headlines — ones where solutions were reached after sometimes tough, but always civil, debate with the government. By developing strategy early, preparing cases meticulously, and negotiating firmly, he and his team have frequently resolved their clients’ IRS audits and appeals on a cost-effective basis, avoiding court proceedings altogether.