Vinson & Elkins has bagged its 13th office firmwide and is open for business in Denver, effective Nov. 1.
The Houston-based firm has deputized leading corporate partners Sarah Morgan, Mike Joyce, and Ramey Layne to build out the new office and expand the firm’s client base in the region. Morgan will serve as the office managing partner and there are plans to hire additional partners and associates.
“Denver offers a central U.S. location with easy access to both coasts and Texas, making the city a strategic market for companies with national and international business operations,” Morgan, who lives in Houston and also co-heads the firm’s Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions practice, said in a firm statement.
“The city’s thriving business ecosystem, coupled with a robust legal talent pool, presents numerous opportunities for us to expand on our established local client base and attract top-flight lawyers to the firm.”
In the firm’s announcement, firm leaders noted Denver’s expanding presence in key industries such as energy, industrial, real estate, and technology. Colorado ranks among the top 10 states in total energy production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Denver-Julesburg basin is one of the largest oil and gas producing regions in the U.S.
V&E, which was one of 11 corporate law firms operating in Texas that reached elite financial status in 2023 as measured by the Texas Lawbook 50, has led several deals touching the region this year, including:
- Advising Houston-based Prairie Operating (PROP) in its October acquisition of Denver-based Nickel Road Operating. PROP’s assets and operations are concentrated in the Niobrara and Codell formations of the DJ Basin.
- Representing Denver-based Elevation Midstream in its merger with Platte River Holdings, which is also based in Denver.
- Guiding Houston-based Qauntum Capital Group in its $1.8 billion acquisition of Denver-based Caerus Oil and Gas.
V&E joins Haynes Boone as the only Texas-based firms to open an office in Denver.