Vinson & Elkins Announces 2026 Class of New Partners and Counsel

The following is a list of the firm’s new partners:

Zach Banks

Finance, Houston

Zach advises borrowers, lenders, agents, and underwriters on complex financing transactions, including project financings, acquisition and leveraged financings, asset-based credit facilities, reserve-based credit facilities, direct lending transactions, restructurings, and tax equity financings. He has deep experience representing private equity sponsors and lenders in energy and infrastructure sectors.

Jordan Fossee

Corporate, Houston

Jordan advises a variety of public and private businesses in connection with strategic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, and structured financings. He works with clients across a variety of industries, including infrastructure, renewable and sustainable energy, traditional energy, technology, and others.

Matt Hortenstine

Investment Funds, New York

Matt focuses his practice on the formation and operation of private investment funds, including private equity, infrastructure, energy, private credit, real estate, and growth equity funds. He also advises fund sponsors and lead investors in secondary transactions, including GP-led secondary transactions and continuation fund deals.

Demi Hueth

Finance, New York

Demi’s practice focuses on aviation, including corporate financings, asset-backed financings, structured financings, asset-backed securitizations, other capital markets transactions, restructurings, and joint ventures. Demi has worked on some of the most complex and innovative financings involving aircraft, including multiple transactions that have been recognized by industry publications as “Deals of the Year.”

David Lassetter

Corporate, Houston

David advises private equity firms and a variety of public and private businesses in connection with strategic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, and equity and debt financings. His work spans a variety of industries, with a particular focus on energy and infrastructure matters.

Sang Lee

Corporate, Dallas

Sang advises private equity firms, their portfolio companies and public and private businesses in connection with a broad range of strategic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and preferred and structured equity investments. His work spans a number of industries, including technology, renewables, and consumer products.

Corinne Snow

Environmental & Natural Resources, Washington, D.C.

Corinne’s practice includes litigation challenging or defending federal regulations, regulatory compliance, internal investigations, and defense against government investigations and enforcement actions. She draws on high level government experience at the Department of Justice to provide clients with practical advice on how to prepare for and shape new regulations.

Bader Thabti

Corporate, London

Bader’s practice covers the full spectrum of private capital deployment in the energy, infrastructure, and natural resources sectors, with particular emphasis on equity, debt, and hybrid investments. He advises state-owned entities, corporates, sovereign wealth funds, private equity sponsors, debt funds, and other institutional and alternative capital providers on cross-border transactions in Europe, the Middle East, and emerging markets.

Austin White

Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity, Austin

Austin works with a variety of public and private companies as well as private equity investors and their portfolio companies in connection with mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, and strategic investments.

Curt Wimberly

Tax, Washington, D.C.

Curt is a transactional tax lawyer who focuses on the U.S. federal income tax aspects of complex domestic and international transactions. He advises public and private companies and private equity funds and their portfolio companies on a wide range of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, public offerings, restructurings, and other domestic and international transactions.

The following is a list of the firm’s new counsel:

Stephen Cohen

Complex Commercial Litigation, Washington, D.C.

Stephen has extensive experience advising clients on a variety of civil litigation and focuses his practice on federal antitrust matters. He represents clients across a range of industries, including domestic and multinational corporations in the healthcare, insurance, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and financial industries.

Rupert Coldwell

International Construction Disputes, London

Rupert has significant experience handling major and highly technical construction, engineering, and energy-related disputes across various industries and for a range of stakeholders within the supply chain. Rupert’s experience in representing clients extends throughout Central and North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australasia.

Joshua Gelnick

Real Estate, New York

Joshua’s practice involves all aspects of commercial real estate law, including the acquisition and disposition of commercial real estate, acting on behalf of borrowers in connection with the financing of commercial properties and the negotiation and formation of joint ventures, and acting for landlords and tenants in the leasing of office, industrial, and retail space.

Jarrod Gutsa

International Construction Disputes, London

Jarrod advises on issues arising out of large scale construction and engineering projects. He has experience in all forms of dispute resolution including: arbitration, expert determination, mediation, adjudication, and litigation. Jarrod also frequently supports clients in risk identification and management and provides project advice to clients across the globe.

Erik Jacobson

Energy Regulation, Dallas

Erik represents energy and utility clients, focusing on eminent domain law and regulatory proceedings. He represents clients before the Public Utility Commission of Texas regarding utility infrastructure, including obtaining Certificates of Convenience and Necessity. Erik also represents utilities in the condemnation process in Texas state courts.

Rimal Kacem

Finance, New York

Rimal’s principal areas of practice are representing tax equity investors, private equity funds, sponsors, lenders, borrowers, and other investors in the financing, acquisition, and development of electric-generating facilities employing renewable technologies, including wind, solar, and battery storage.

David Latham

Corporate, Dallas

David’s practice primarily consists of advising public and private clients in connection with a wide variety of upstream and midstream oil and gas transactions, including private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and securitizations. He previously served as the general counsel and COO of an aggregator of non-operated working interests and minerals in the Permian Basin.

John Sager

Corporate, Dallas

John counsels private equity funds, their portfolio companies, and a variety of public and private companies in connection with strategic investments, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, as well as on general corporate matters.

Will Stripling

Complex Commercial Litigation, Austin

Will represents companies, directors, and officers in shareholder litigation and mergers and acquisitions-related disputes in the courts of the State of Delaware. He also represents defendants in class action suits brought under the federal securities laws and in shareholder derivative suits in courts across the country.

Alex Turner

Corporate, Dallas

Alex counsels private equity funds, their portfolio companies, and a variety of public and private companies in connection with strategic investments, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, as well as on general corporate matters. He regularly works on energy transactions, including upstream and midstream acquisitions and divestitures and asset-backed securitizations.

Guy Waldron

Corporate, Denver

Guy’s practice focuses on project development and construction related matters. His experience includes advising project developers and other participants on the full suite of documentation required for the procurement, delivery, and financing of major energy and infrastructure projects (including mega-projects), as well as private equity clients in relation to key portfolio energy and power investments.

Lincoln Wesley

Complex Commercial Litigation, Washington, D.C.

Lincoln’s practice focuses on antitrust litigation and government investigations. He advises clients in enforcement actions and lawsuits by federal and state authorities, multi-district class actions, and proceedings before foreign regulators, spanning such industries as technology, energy, chemicals, and finance.