Shearman & Sterling has had its fair share of critics in the past few years, but a number of big-ticket deals and a breadth of practice areas are evidence of its continued success in the energy arena. While doubters suggest the firm is losing its foothold in the Middle East and point to partner losses […]
White & Case has a long and illustrious history, but although during 2011 the ship has been steadied, 2010 was a year its energy practice would prefer to forget. After a mass exodus of partners from its Middle East network to Latham & Watkins – a firm that also had its eye on one of […]
Weil Gotshal & Manges’ focal point in the global energy market, which even its own lawyers would admit is not a core sector for the firm, has traditionally been private equity. That approach is likely to continue to be its strategic driver for the foreseeable future, although the firm is looking to make inroads in […]
When it comes to potentially tricky public company M&A, the number one firm to turn to in the US – maybe the world – is Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. And that blunt assessment is as true in the energy and natural resources sectors as it is in any other. Not that that means Wachtell […]
Vinson & Elkins is one of Houston’s – and therefore the US’s – oil and gas big two. Along with Baker Botts, the firm dominates the local Houston and US domestic market while, thanks to its decades-long track record in advising on energy deals, features equally prominently in the global sector. According to Thomson Reuters […]
SNR Denton’s high-profile transatlantic merger last September heralded a new era of increased global prominence for both legacy firms. US-based Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal brought additional litigation capabilities to the table, while UK-based Denton Wilde Sapte offered an established network of offices in the UK, Middle East and Africa. But practice heads on both sides […]
Simpson Thacher blindsided most in the legal market when, as exclusively revealed in The Lawyer, in April this year it unveiled plans to open an office in Houston with the hire of Vinson & Elkins banking partner Robert Rabalais. The move underlined Simpson’s ambitions of raising its profile in oil and gas circles, a sector […]
A glance at the revenue per lawyer (RPL) rankings will tell you that, firmwide, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is not among the global elite. Compare its $855,000 RPL figure with any of The Lawyer’s Sweet Sixteen’s. And while it’s true that 2010 was a record year for the firm financially, with average profit per equity […]
The reputation of Morgan Lewis & Bockius in energy circles has historically lain in its regulatory practice. Traditionally the firm has focused its practice out of Washington DC and New York. As Houston partner David Asmus points out, that approach has changed significantly recently with a concerted push to target the deals side of the […]
Of all The Lawyer’s Sweet Sixteen firms it is Latham & Watkins that has made the most explicit push into tapping the global energy transactional market recently. The firm’s entry into the Houston market last year, with partners such as Mike Darden, Michael Dillard and Bill Finnegan from local heavyweights Baker Botts, Akin Gump and […]
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher might not be the sort of firm to shout it from the rooftops, but the past year has seen its energy practice steadily pick up momentum with key deals and office expansions. Along with a string of strategic hires in its Dallas, New York and London bases, the firm’s litigation work […]
Its critics might dismiss it as mid-market and one-size-fits-all, but DLA Piper is marching ahead in its quest to plant flags in new jurisdictions and expand its energy practice across the globe. The international firm, which prides itself on a network that reaches deep into Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, says energy has […]