Overview

Samara Shepherd is a partner in the Investment Funds practice in the Houston office. Her practice primarily focuses on representing private fund sponsors in the formation, structuring and operation of private equity funds, management companies and other related entities. Samara advises both established and emerging fund managers, including guiding first-time fund managers through the complexities of launching their inaugural funds, offering tailored strategies and practical solutions to address the unique challenges those emerging sponsors face. Her experience spans a broad spectrum of fund sizes, structures, and strategies, including sponsors that are focused on growth and buyout thematic investments. She also advises fund managers on a variety of general corporate counseling matters, management company events, secondary transactions and fund-related aspects of M&A transactions, including co-investment arrangements, and other key operational considerations.

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Experience

  • AEA Investors LP in the formation of AEA Growth Equity Fund, an inaugural $384 million growth equity fund

  • AEA Investors LP in the formation of AEA Investors Fund VII, a $4.8 billion middle market focused private equity fund

  • AEA Investors LP in the formation of AEA Investors Fund VIII, a $5.25 billion middle market focused private equity fund

  • AEA Investors LP in the formation of AEA Investors SBF IV, a $877 million lower middle market focused private equity fund

  • AEA Investors LP in the formation of AEA Investors SBF V, a $1.3 billion lower middle market focused private equity fund

  • Basin Oil and Gas Management, LP in the formation of Basin Acquisition Fund II, a mineral and royalty interests fund

  • Beecken Petty O’Keefe and Company in the formation of BPOC Fund V, a $400 million healthcare buyout fund

  • BPGC Management in the formation of a special purpose vehicle to acquire the Clean Technologies business of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. for $510 million

  • Cibolo Energy Partners in the formation of Cibolo Energy Partners II LP, a $279 million private debt fund focused on providing growth capital to upstream and midstream energy companies

  • Eir Partners Capital, LLC in the formation of Eir Partners Investment Program II, a $496 million middle market private equity investment program focused on healthcare technology and tech-enabled services

  • Frontenac Company in the formation of Frontenac Capital XII, a $520 million middle market focused private equity fund

  • Frontenac Company in the formation of a continuation fund to fund future growth initiatives of portfolio company, Motion & Control Enterprises, a leading industrial distributor and services provider of highly engineered, full lifecycle fluid, flow, automation and air solutions

  • Greenbelt Capital Partners in the formation of a continuation fund vehicle involving an energy producer

  • HF Capital, LLC, the Tennessee-based family office of the Haslam family, on its investment of up to $725 million to launch Ara Energy Decarbonization, an initiative aimed at decarbonizing heavy industry, in partnership with Ara Partners, a global private equity and infrastructure firm dedicated to decarbonizing the industrial economy

  • InfraRed Capital Partners in the formation of InfraRed Energy Transition Fund, an open-end energy infrastructure fund

  • JP Morgan Private Capital in the formation of 270 Life Sciences Private Capital Fund I, an inaugural $500 million biotechnology venture capital fund

  • MFG Partners in the formation of MFG Partners Fund I, a $299 million inaugural private equity fund focused on closely held lower-middle market industrial companies

  • Mountain Capital Management in the formation of Mountain Capital Partners II, a $500 million middle-market energy fund

  • NGP Energy Capital Management, L.L.C. in the formation of NGP Energy Transition Fund IV, a $700 million energy transition fund

  • NGP Energy Capital Management, L.L.C. in the formation of NGP Natural Resources XII,  a $4.3 billion oil and gas fund

  • NGP Energy Capital Management, L.L.C. in the formation of NGP Natural Resources XIII,  a $2.5 billion oil and gas fund

  • NGP Energy Capital Management, L.L.C. in the formation of NGP Royalty Partners II, a $527 million U.S. oil and gas minerals and royalties fund

  • Stronghold Investment Partners in the formation of SRP Ventures 2020, LP, an energy and natural resources fund

  • The Sterling Group in the formation of Sterling Group Partners V, a $2 billion operationally focused middle market private equity firm

  • Ubiquity Management in the formation of a new joint venture with Montage, Generate Capital and others to operate and expand Ubiquity’s sustainable infrastructure business

Credentials

Education

  • Vanderbilt Law School, J.D., 2015 (Vanderbilt Moot Court Board Notes Editor, Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, Law and Business Certificate)
  • Florida State University, B.S., Finance, summa cum laude, 2012 (Honors College)

Admissions

  • Texas
  • Florida

Recognitions

  • The Best Lawyers in America© (BL Rankings, LLC), “Ones to Watch,” Banking and Finance Law, 2027; Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, 2026 and 2027
  • Selected to the Florida Rising Stars list, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2024
  • The National Black Lawyers, Top 40 Under 40, 2019
Insights

Client Alerts

When Regulations Meet Relationships: The Modern Private Fund

The intersection of tightening regulation and evolving investor relationships continued to reshape private fund formation and finance through late 2026. …

August 31, 2026

August 31, 2026 • 1-minute read

Events

Vinson & Elkins Sponsoring and Speaking at Kayo’s 2026 Energy & Infrastructure Summit

Vinson & Elkins is a Silver Level Sponsor of the Kayo Women’s 2026 Energy & Infrastructure Summit, taking place June …

June 23, 2026

June 23, 2026 • 1-minute read

Client Alerts

Supreme Court Holds Investment Company Act Section 47(b) Does Not Create a Private Right of Action

On June 11, 2026, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in FS Credit Opportunities Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, …

June 17, 2026

June 17, 2026 • 5-minute read

Articles

5 Strategies for Operating Hybrid Funds

1. Craft Terms Carefully Hybrid funds often have bespoke, highly variable terms, including for capital calls, liquidity mechanisms, redemption rights, …

March 10, 2026

March 10, 2026 • 2-minute read

News & Achievements