Partner
Labor & Employment
“In today’s landscape, it is easy for employers to be overwhelmed by the ever-evolving aspects of employment law at the federal, state and even local level. Relying on my years of experience addressing unique labor and employment topics for employers in multi-state jurisdictions and across industry sectors, I enjoy helping clients navigate employment matters with a level of confidence that, not only are they acting in compliance with applicable law, but also in a practical and efficient manner from a business perspective.”
Rebecca (Becky) Baker is a partner in the firm’s labor & employment group. She counsels and represents employers in all aspects of the employment relationship. Becky devotes a significant part of her practice to the management of the labor and employment aspects of complex business sales, acquisitions and other transactions. She has extensive experience drafting employment provisions in transaction documents, managing employment diligence, assisting with post-transaction employment integration, including transition services agreements, and drafting executive employment and retention agreements. Her work in this field spans a variety of industries, including energy, manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare, and banking. With her depth of experience in the transactional employment support space, Becky enjoys guiding her clients through the intricacies presented by these deals.
In addition, Becky provides day-to-day advice and counsel to help employers address issues related to the hiring, management, retention and termination of employees. Her experience includes matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower protection, wage and hour issues, employment, severance and non-competition agreements, occupational safety and health, and large-scale reductions in force. She has successfully resolved countless demand letters, EEOC charges of discrimination, and lawsuits alleging various employment claims. In addition, Becky assists clients with respect to employment matters implicated in Environmental, Social and Governance topics, such as the intersection of ESG initiatives and employment laws, the ESG rating process as it relates to employer policies, and the employment aspects of sustainability-linked loans. She also takes an interest in studying emerging workplace topics, such as vaccine policies and remote work implications highlighted by the COVID pandemic, the prevention of violence in the workplace, and the impact of Dobbs on employer policies and benefits.
As one Chambers USA source reported, “She is highly responsive and practical. She explains what the regulations mean practically for our business and assists with the implementation of her guidance.” The following experience was completed prior to joining Vinson & Elkins.
Realignment of Phillips 66 in its economic and governance interests in DCP Midstream, LP and Gray Oak Pipeline, LLC through the merger of existing joint ventures owned by Phillips 66 and Enbridge Inc.
Advised on labor and employment aspects, including transition services and retention matters, in connection with Eni Petroleum US LLC’s acquisition of 30 percent interest and a follow-on deal for remaining 70 percent and operatorship of the Oooguruk oil field in Alaska from Caelus Natural Resources Alaska, LLC
Project sponsors in forming a consortium of investors that secured one of six leases in the New York Bight offshore wind auction
Alinda Capital Partners in the $1.89 billion sale of SourceGas Holdings LLC to Black Hills Corp.
Acquisition of Bison Midstream, LLC, a gas gathering system in North Dakota, from Summit Midstream Holdings, LLC for a total cash consideration of $40 million
Managed employment aspects related to Pioneer Natural Resources Company’s acquisition of 28,000 acres in the Midland Basin from Devon Energy Corporation for $435 million
Sale of Midland Basin assets to Laredo Petroleum Inc. for $606 million in cash and $2.507 million shares of Laredo’s common stock
Advised The Robert A. Welch Foundation in the creation and funding of The Welch Institute, a $100 million joint venture with Rice University that will combine fundamental chemistry and materials science with the latest in machine learning and artificial intelligence to accelerate the discovery, design and manufacture of the next generation of materials with applications to new energy systems, sustainable water, space systems, telecommunications, manufacturing, transportation, security and more
Pioneer Natural Resources Company’s agreement with undisclosed buyer to sell all of its assets in the West Panhandle field in Texas for $201 million (2018)
Alinda Capital Partners in the $1.89 billion sale of SourceGas Holdings LLC to Black Hills Corp.
Phillips 66 Partners LP’s joint venture construction and operating agreements with Andeavor and an equity option with Canadian midstream company Enbridge Inc. in relation to the Gray Oak Pipeline, LLC joint venture, and in a joint venture with Buckeye Partners LP to develop the new South Texas Gateway Terminal at the mouth of Corpus Christi Bay
Advised Pioneer Natural Resources Company with respect to employment aspects related to the sale of its assets in the Raton Basin in southeastern Colorado to Evergreen Natural Resources LLC
NRG Retail LLC on employment aspects of an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the membership interests in XOOM Energy Global Holdings, LLC
PreCheck, Inc.’s sale to Cisive, a global provider of compliance-driven human capital management and risk management solutions
Global Infrastructure Partners on employment aspects in connection with its $250 million preferred equity investment in Caprock Midstream to fund the expansion of Caprock’s natural gas gathering and processing assets in the Permian Basin
Post Oak Bancshares’ acquisition of The State Bank of Texas
Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. in its $70 million sale of St. Lawrence Gas Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries to Liberty Utilities Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.
Pilot Chemical Company’s acquisition of the assets and business of Liquid Minerals Group
Kinder Morgan, Inc. in the sale of 50 percent interest in Utopia Pipeline Project to Riverstone Investment Group LLC
Managed employment aspects with respect to Venoco, Inc.’s Chapter 11 filing and restructuring
Hydro One Limited in its $5.3 billion proposed acquisition of Avista Corporation in an all-cash transaction (terminated)
Following three-day arbitration, obtained complete award for an exploration and production company traded on London and Australian stock exchanges, in response to $6 million breach of contract claim brought by former consultant
Advised a multinational publicly traded energy corporation, obtained summary judgment in U.S. Federal Court, Southern District of Texas on Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower retaliation claim filed by former employee
Advised a Houston area industrial facility in a successfully negotiated settlement with OSHA regarding safety citations
Advised various employers on the successful defense of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other employment claims
Education
Admissions
CLE Events
Sixth Annual Navigating the Annual Meeting and Reporting Season
Join leading practitioners and industry voices for a timely discussion of the legal, regulatory, and governance developments shaping the next proxy season.
November 11, 2026
November 11, 2026 • 1-minute read
Client Alerts
Governance & Sustainability Roundup – June 17, 2026
Welcome to our Governance & Sustainability Roundup — Our regular briefing that gives a quick overview on what has recently …
June 17, 2026
June 17, 2026 • 10-minute read
Client Alerts
On March 26, 2026, President Trump issued Executive Order (“EO”) 14398, titled Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors, directing federal …
April 6, 2026
April 6, 2026 • 5-minute read
Articles
On September 5, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) formally abandoned its efforts to enforce a Biden-era final rule (“Rule”) implementing a blanket ban on most employee non-compete agreements. Instead, the FTC signaled its intent to challenge non-compete agreements on a case-by-case basis. To that end, the FTC announced an enforcement action challenging one company’s non-compete agreements, published a request for information (“RFI”) seeking the public’s input on non-compete provisions, sent warning letters to several health care companies regarding their employment agreements, and announced a future workshop on this subject. Together, these actions could mark the beginning of a new, more targeted enforcement landscape and create new uncertainties for employers on the legality of non-compete agreements.
October 1, 2025
October 1, 2025 • 3-minute read
Client Alerts
On July 29, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum offering specific examples of what the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) considers to be unlawful discriminatory policies and practices under federal civil rights laws, as well as recommendations on best practices for employers to avoid engaging in unlawful discrimination.
August 4, 2025 • V&E Governance & Sustainability Update
August 4, 2025 • 4-minute read
Deals & Cases
Vinson & Elkins advised FTAI Infrastructure Inc. (NASDAQ: FIP) in the acquisition of the Port Arthur Terminal in Port Arthur, …
September 28, 2026
September 28, 2026 • 1-minute read
Deals & Cases
Vinson & Elkins LLP represented an affiliate of AlphaCore Wealth Advisory in its acquisition of Streamline Family Office, a provider …
September 17, 2026
September 17, 2026 • 1-minute read
Deals & Cases
Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P. represented affiliates of Tallgrass Energy, LP, in connection with the entry into a definitive agreement for …
September 10, 2026
September 10, 2026 • 1-minute read
Deals & Cases
Vinson & Elkins advised affiliates of WaterBridge Infrastructure LLC in connection with its entry into a definitive agreement to purchase …
August 6, 2026
August 6, 2026 • 1-minute read
Deals & Cases
Vinson & Elkins Advised EnCap Portfolio Companies in Asset Sales to Matador
Vinson & Elkins advised Paloma Permian, LLC (“Paloma”), a portfolio company of EnCap Investments L.P., in its entry into a …
July 23, 2026
July 23, 2026 • 1-minute read
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