Sidley Austin LLP announced today that Kevin P. Lewis has joined the firm’s Houston office. Kevin will be a co-leader of the firm’s Corporate Governance practice for the Southwest region, the leader of the firm’s Aviation and Airlines practice, and a member of the firm’s global M&A practice. At his prior firm, Mr. Lewis was a member of the Mergers, Acquisitions & Capital Markets group and led its Corporate Governance and Compliance group, as well as its Airlines and Aviation practice. Mr. Lewis is a highly experienced corporate lawyer with a multifaceted practice built around corporate governance, M&A, capital markets and restructuring work for clients including energy and infrastructure companies, major airlines, investment banks and private equity funds, among others.

“Kevin has built a solid practice over his more than 25 years practicing here in Houston and has a well-earned reputation as one of the city’s premier corporate/securities lawyers,” said Tim Devetski, co-managing partner of Sidley’s Houston office. “His deep knowledge of, and practical approach to resolving, the issues facing clients in the energy and aviation sectors in particular will make him a great addition to our team. His arrival closely follows that of energy finance partner Robert Stephens, and private equity and oil and gas partners David Denechaud and Joe Flack. We’re very pleased to add a partner of Kevin’s talent to enhance our corporate/securities and M&A capabilities in Houston.”

Mr. Lewis regularly represents oil and gas exploration and production companies, oilfield service companies, major airlines, investment banks, private equity funds and their portfolio companies. He has significant experience handling complex M&A transactions, structured financings and capital markets financings, including initial public offerings and 144A offerings of securities. Mr. Lewis also advises public company boards of directors and various corporate committees, including special committees and committees of independent directors in connection with compliance and governance matters. Additionally, he has advised several commercial airlines in joint venture and alliance transactions and all aspects of the regional airline segment, including spinoffs, mergers, mainline service agreements and dispute resolution.

“Kevin’s extensive industry knowledge and experience will make him exceptionally valuable to our energy, airline and financial services clients,” said Mark Metts, co-leader of the firm’s global M&A practice. “Kevin is a Houston native and has practiced in Houston for almost his entire career. Several of the lawyers in Houston were fortunate enough to have been Kevin’s partner and friend for many years. As a result, we have seen first-hand that Kevin is not only a wonderful M&A and capital markets practitioner, but also a trusted advisor and counselor. Kevin’s experience complements our existing global team of lawyers, and we look forward to working with Kevin to continue providing clients with innovative and creative solutions to their legal challenges.”

Mr. Lewis has been listed as a “Best Lawyer” each year since 2006 in The Best Lawyers in America in Corporate Law, International Trade and Finance Law, Corporate Governance Law and Corporate Compliance Law. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center, where he teaches an ethics class focused on practical issues affecting courtroom and boardroom-related decisions.

Sidley opened its Houston office in 2012, and continues to grow its transactional practice by expanding its deep roster of talented and experienced lawyers. Since opening three years ago, the office has grown around its group of seven founding partners to nearly 40 resident lawyers.

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