Akin announced Monday that Houston capital markets partner Bryan Flannery has joined the firm from Kirkland & Ellis.
Flannery is the fourth corporate partner lateral recruit to the Houston office since May, joining energy lawyers Trent Bridges and Ian Goldberg and private equity pro Andrew Lehman.
Focusing on transactions related to energy, sustainability, and infrastructure, Flannery advises on traditional debt and equity offerings, private placements, convertible debt instruments, corporate governance, public company M&A, and general securities laws compliance matters.
“This was an opportunistic move to work alongside Akin’s top-tier energy practice in Houston and build out my capital markets, public company M&A and special situations practice,” said Flannery, who has worked across lawyers from Akin in a number of deals.
“I was particularly attracted to Akin’s financial strength, entrepreneurial spirit and its continued growth in Houston. I believe clients trust Akin with their most complex work because of the legal and business prowess of its lawyers and their depth of experience.”
Over the last few months, Flannery has handled several bond offerings in the energy and infrastructure spaces and has been involved in large public company M&A transactions.
In May, Flannery was on the Kirkland team that advised the consortium of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Global Infrastructure Partners in its buyout of Minnesota power utility Allete for $6.2 billion.
In another deal this quarter, Flannery was involved in launching Brookfield portfolio company Genesee & Wyoming’s $4 billion debt offering.
Flannery has observed that the capital markets practice, particularly in the energy and adjacent spaces, has expanded beyond public debt and equity securities financings.
“I anticipate and welcome a continued uptick in traditional capital markets financings in the near term,” he added. “The most successful capital markets practices going forward will be those with the flexibility to both execute on traditional financings and leverage their experience to guide public companies and investors through other complex and high-stakes corporate transactions.”
The 2013 George Washington University Law School graduate started his career at Skadden in New York and later practiced at Latham. He moved to Houston with the move to Kirkland in 2017.