Partner
Commercial & Business Litigation
Chambers USA, 2019–2026
Craig is a trial lawyer and co-head of the firm’s Securities Litigation practice. His practice focuses on representing companies and their directors in lawsuits brought by Delaware stockholders, alternative entity investors, and deal partners.
Craig has significant experience in a variety of M&A litigation matters, including lawsuits alleging breaches of fiduciary duties, partnership/LLC agreement duties, merger agreements, and federal securities laws. Craig has represented energy businesses, financial institutions, technology companies, agribusinesses, retailers, and many others.
Craig was one of five attorneys on Law360’s nationwide “Rising Star Trial Lawyers” list for 2021. He has been Chambers-ranked since 2019 for “cultivating an impressive and wide-ranging securities litigation practice.” One Chambers referee explained that Craig “shows a keen awareness of the laws and how to resolve complex [matters]. He is very responsive and makes himself available at all-hours. His ability to handle…opposing counsel and in-house counsel are uncanny.”
Obtained post-trial opinion permitting Energy Transfer Equity, LP to terminate its $38 billion merger agreement with The Williams Companies based on failure of condition precedent relating to the provision of a tax opinion; the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the decision. The Williams Companies, Inc. v. Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., 2016 WL 3576682 (Del. Ch. June 24, 2016), aff’d , 159 A.3d 264 (Del. 2017)
Obtained post-trial judgment in favor of defendants in a $2 billion class action lawsuit alleging that a midstream MLP’s general partner had breached its duties when agreeing to merge the MLP with an affiliated energy company; the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the decision. Dieckman Regency GP LP, 2021 WL 537325 (Del. Ch. Feb. 15, 2021), aff’d, 264 A.3d 641 (Del. 2021)
Obtained take-nothing post-trial judgment in a class action lawsuit seeking to rescind a midstream energy company’s $1 billion securities issuance in the Delaware Court of Chancery; the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the decision. In re Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. Unitholder Litig., 2018 WL 2254706 (Del. Ch. May 17, 2018), aff’d, 223 A.3d 97 (Del. 2019)
Obtained post-trial success in a private arbitration brought by an LLC investor alleging a breach of the parties’ LLC agreement; following a two-week arbitration hearing, a retired Delaware judge awarded the investor less than 1% of its alleged damages
Secured reversal of an injunction issued by the Delaware Court of Chancery against an oilfield services company and its directors in a fiduciary duty lawsuit; the Court of Chancery subsequently granted defendants’ motion to dismiss and denied plaintiff’s motion for fees, and the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal. C&J Energy Services, Inc. v. City of Miami Retirement Trust, 107 A.3d 1049 (Del. 2014), on remand, 2016 WL 4464274 (Del. Ch. Aug. 24, 2016), aff’d, 158 A.3d 885 (Del. 2017)
Obtained pleadings-stage dismissal of securities fraud class-action filed after a pipeline leaked oil in the Pacific Ocean; Plaintiffs challenged the pipeline company’s disclosures regarding its operations and maintenance efforts; the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal. In re Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Sec. Litig., 307 F.Supp.3d 583 (S.D. Tex. 2018), aff’d, 777 Fed. Appx. 726 (5th Cir. 2019)
Obtained pleadings-stage dismissal of securities fraud claims arising after a sudden drop in a company’s stock price; the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal. Anderson v. StoneMor Partners, L.P., 296 F. Supp. 3d 693 (E.D. Pa. 2017), aff’d, 927 F.3d 710 (3d Cir. 2019)
Obtained pleadings-stage dismissal of federal securities lawsuit challenging the proxy disclosures in a private equity firm’s acquisition of a publicly traded financial services company. In re Focus Financial Partners Sec. Litig., 2025 WL 961488 (D. Del. Mar. 31, 2025)
Obtained pleadings-stage dismissal of derivative lawsuit challenging the compensation paid to a CEO who controlled the company. Eckert v. Hightower et al., 2025 WL 93078 (Del. Ch. Mar. 24, 2025)
Obtained pleadings-stage dismissal of claims brought by an investor alleging breach of an LLC agreement in connection with a securities offering; defendants represented by other counsel were not dismissed in full. CC Strategies Fund, LP v. Fairwood Peninsula Energy Corp. 2022 WL 1104921 (Del. Ch. Apr. 11, 2022)
Obtained pleadings-stage dismissal of breach-of-contract claims brought by warrant-holders in connection with a merger. Sudarsan v. Seventy Seven Energy Inc., 2018 WL 1088004 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 6, 2018)
Obtained dismissal of class action challenging an upstream energy company’s disclosures in a merger proxy under the federal securities laws. Braun v. Eagle Rock Energy Partners, L.P., 223 F. Supp. 3d 644 (S.D. Tex. 2016)
Defeated a unitholder’s attempt to enjoin a merger between an MLP and its affiliate under federal securities laws. Greenthal v. Joyce, 2016 WL 362312 (S.D. Tex. Jan. 29, 2016)
After defeating an attempt to enjoin a merger, obtained a favorable settlement for an MLP and its directors in a breach-of-duty lawsuit; Plaintiffs sought approximately $500 million in damages but settled for minimal non-cash consideration on the eve of trial. In re Inergy L.P., 2010 WL 4273197 (Del. Ch. Oct. 29, 2010)
Obtained a favorable mid-trial settlement for a private equity firm in expedited litigation concerning the sale of its interests in an MLP AIM Midstream Holdings, LLC v. High Point Infrastructure Partners, LLC, et al., C.A. No. 8803-VCP (Del. Ch. 2014)
Obtained summary judgment for an MLP and its directors in a breach-of-duty derivative lawsuit in Texas state court
Defeated a shareholder’s attempt to enjoin a merger between two energy companies in Texas state court
Education
Admissions
Client Alerts
Series of Delaware Court of Chancery Decisions Highlights Importance of Earnout Drafting
In recent months, the Delaware Court of Chancery has decided four significant cases regarding merger agreement earnout provisions.
October 21, 2024 • V&E Securities Litigation Update
October 21, 2024 • 9-minute read
Client Alerts
Why Securities Litigators Should Think Broadly Like Trial Lawyers
Stockholder litigation is on the rise both in volume and notoriety.
June 21, 2024 • Published by Bloomberg Law, June 21, 2024
June 21, 2024 • 4-minute read
Client Alerts
Delaware Supreme Court Holds MFW Requires Entirely Independent Committee
Yesterday, in a much anticipated decision, the Delaware Supreme Court held in In re Match Group, Inc. Derivative Litigation that every member of a special committee must be independent in order to satisfy the MFW framework and obtain business judgment deference for a conflicted-controller transaction.
April 5, 2024 • V&E Shareholder Litigation Update
April 5, 2024 • 4-minute read
Client Alerts
A Delaware Court of Chancery opinion issued last week calls into question the common practice of corporate boards approving draft merger agreements.Michael Holmes, Craig Zieminski, Jeff Crough, Christina Peterman
March 4, 2024 • V&E Securities Litigation Update
March 4, 2024 • 6-minute read
Client Alerts
Delaware Supreme Court Decision Shows Continued Momentum for Caremark Plaintiffs
A recent opinion from the Delaware Supreme Court could be viewed by some as expanding plaintiffs’ ability to viably plead a duty of oversight (or “Caremark”) claim against directors.
January 12, 2024 • V&E Securities Litigation Update
January 12, 2024 • 6-minute read
Awards & Rankings
The Legal 500 US 2026 recommended Vinson & Elkins as a leading law firm in 47 practice categories. In total, …
June 10, 2026
June 10, 2026 • 3-minute read
Awards & Rankings
Vinson & Elkins announced today that it achieved 20 Band 1 rankings in Chambers USA 2026: Nationwide: Energy Transition; Energy: …
June 4, 2026
June 4, 2026 • 3-minute read
Deals & Cases
Vinson & Elkins advised the Strategic Alternatives Committee of the Board of Directors of Noble Environmental, Inc. (“Noble”), an industry …
May 12, 2026
May 12, 2026 • 1-minute read
Awards & Rankings
Lawdragon Names 34 Vinson & Elkins Lawyers to Its 2026 500 Leading Litigators in America Guide
Lawdragon has recognized 34 Vinson & Elkins attorneys in its 2026 500 Leading Litigators in America guide.
September 12, 2025
September 12, 2025 • 1-minute read
Awards & Rankings
The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings, LLC) has named 125 Vinson & Elkins lawyers in its “Best Lawyers” category in the 2026 edition. Additionally, 76 Vinson & Elkins attorneys have been named in the “Ones to Watch” category, which recognizes lawyers with 5–10 years’ experience. Some individuals are listed in more than one practice area, giving the firm a total of 305 rankings.
August 21, 2025
August 21, 2025 • 3-minute read
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