Akin Gump advised Blackhawk Midstream LLC in a pair of deals announced in the past week. (more…)
Having recently added a top-flight patent litigation team from Weil Gotshal in Washington D.C., the international law firm Greenberg Traurig grew both its international technology practice and its Texas platform with the addition of Weil Gotshal senior patent litigators Kevin Kudlac and Amber Lee Hagy as shareholders and attorney Rene Anthony Treviño as of counsel. Kudlac joins the firm today; Hagy and Treviño have announced they will join on December 30. The three had worked closely together and will continue to do so at Greenberg Traurig. The move comes shortly after the firm celebrated its 10th anniversary in Texas, where it maintains a strong presence in Houston, Dallas and Austin. (more…)
Locke Lord LLP is proud to announce that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has appointed attorney Nandita Berry as the 109th Texas Secretary of State, effective Jan. 7, 2014. The first Indian-American to fill the post, Berry will serve as the state’s chief elections officer, the governor’s liaison on border and Mexican affairs, and Texas’ chief protocol officer for state and international matters. The Secretary of State’s Office also serves as the formal repository for official and business records, publishes government rules and regulations, keeps the state seal and attests to the governor’s signature on official documents
“Nandita Berry personifies what is possible through hard work and dedication in the State of Texas,” Gov. Perry said. “Arriving from India at the age of 21 with nothing but $200 to her name, she worked diligently to earn her law degree and has since become one of the most accomplished attorneys in the state. Her work ethic, intelligence and wide array of experiences will serve her capably in her new duties as Secretary of State, and I look forward to working with her to keep Texas the best place in the country to live, work and raise a family.”
Berry joined Locke Lord in 2005. As an attorney at Locke Lord (a position she will resign) Berry has represented clients in a wide variety of corporate and technology transactions. Her clients are in diverse industries and range from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups.
“I am truly humbled to follow in the footsteps of Stephen F. Austin, Texas’ first Secretary of State,” Berry said.” “Like him, I came to Texas in search of a better life and the limitless opportunities to be found across our great state. Every day, I see Austin’s pioneering spirit alive in Texas, and this great honor proves once again Texas is the land of opportunity, both in the private sector and public service.”
“This is great news for Nandy and for the citizens of Texas,” said Ken Simon, Managing Partner of Locke Lord’s Houston office. “Nandy is skilled, experienced and a natural leader. Her colleagues and clients at Locke Lord will greatly miss her – but we know she will be a dedicated and respected Secretary of State and she will do an outstanding job representing the State of Texas. We couldn’t be more proud.”
Berry is a former member of the University of Houston System (UHS) Board of Regents, a position Perry appointed her to in 2009. She also served as Vice Chair of the UHS Board.
Berry is active in the Houston community and has been on the boards of the Houston Zoo, the Houston Area Women’s Center, the South Asian Chamber of Commerce and The Community Family Center. During the past two fiscal years, she chaired the University of Houston System Board’s Audit and Compliance Committee. She has been a member of the Finance and Administration Committee and the Academic and Student Success Committee.
She and her husband, Michael Berry, have two children.
A Houston-based Akin Gump team advised the Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of Rose Rock Midstream’s general partner in Rose Rock’s acquisition from SemGroup Corporation of an additional one-third interest in SemCrude Pipeline, L.L.C., which owns a 51 percent interest in White Cliffs Pipeline L.L.C., for $275 million. Rose Rock now owns a 67 percent interest in SemCrude Pipeline and indirectly owns a 34 percent interest in White Cliffs Pipeline. (more…)
Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, announced today that the firm represented J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, RBS Securities Inc., Barclays Bank PLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as the administrative agent, in connection with a $300,000,000 credit facility for Valero Energy Partners LP. (more…)
Rick Staff, who began his career at Locke Lord LLP, has rejoined the Firm as a Partner in the Litigation Department and Energy Litigation Practice Group. (more…)
Ryan Hoover, an attorney licensed in Texas and New Mexico, has joined ScottHulse PC as a shareholder. With the addition of Mr. Hoover, one in every four ScottHulse attorneys is licensed in both Texas and New Mexico. (more…)
The Dallas technology and complex litigation firm Munck Wilson Mandalais proud to announce the addition of experienced intellectual property lawyer Harry Hwa-Joong Kimin the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group. (more…)
Winston & Strawn LLP has announced the expansion of the firm’s global energy practice with the addition of two oil and gas partners in Houston. Denmon Sigler and Craig S. Vogelsang join the firm’s energy practice group. Ms. Sigler was most recently with Baker Botts, and Mr. Vogelsang with Norton Rose Fulbright. Their arrival comes just one month after a high-profile group of Weil, Gotshal & Manges litigators and bankruptcy lawyers joined the office, and reinforces the firm’s commitment to growth and developing a full-service platform in Houston. (more…)
A team of Haynes and Boone, LLP lawyers advised WhiteWave in its just-announced $600 million acquisition of the organic food brand Earthbound Farm from its existing shareholders led by Kainos Capital and founders Drew & Myra Goodman. (more…)
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP announced today that Roxanne T. Almaraz has joined the firm as a partner in its Houston office. A well-regarded corporate attorney, Almaraz counsels clients in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other business transactions, and assists clients with project development and general corporate matters. She has experience in transactional matters that span the energy industry, having represented clients in the power/utilities, renewables, and midstream and upstream oil and gas sectors. (more…)
The law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP advised Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina in the $1.75 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ Algerian Business Unit, ConocoPhillips Algeria Limited (“COPAL”). COPAL is the company’s first major acquisition overseas. (more…)
