McWilliams Changes Mind, Stays at V&E

© 2015 The Texas Lawbook.

By Mark Curriden
HOUSTON (Feb. 19) – Capital markets lawyer Doug McWilliams returned Monday from a skiing vacation in Utah to find his office on the 36th floor of First City Tower in downtown Houston being packed in preparation for his first job change in his 21-year legal career.

“I walked into the office and it looked like home, but I suddenly felt like a stranger,” McWilliams said Thursday.
McWilliams, who is ranked second in number of securities offerings in the state by The Texas Lawbook’s Corporate Deal Tracker, and fellow V&E partner Jeff Malonson announced last week that they were leaving Vinson & Elkins to join national legal powerhouse Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
“Simpson Thacher is a great law firm that offered a national brand and a national practice that was extremely enticing,” he said. “But I had not gotten a single good night’s sleep since I decided to leave.”
Wednesday afternoon, McWilliams decided to visit with V&E Chairman Mark Kelly.
“He asked if he could stay,” Kelly said. “Of course. Doug is a fine lawyer.”
The Corporate Deal Tracker shows that McWilliams led 17 securities offerings last year with a combined value of $8.5 billion. He also was the lead legal adviser on three M&A deals valued at $4.1 billion. His clients include Houston-based Enterprise Products, RSP Permian, Rice Energy, Parsley Energy, Exterran Partners, Azure Midstream Partners, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Barclays.
“I realized that I wasn’t excited personally about moving to Simpson,” he said. “I underestimated the personal relationships I have here at V&E. It’s like a family.
McWilliams said that he told leaders at Simpson Thacher on Wednesday about his decision and he apologized to them.
Simpson Thacher lawyers declined to comment on McWilliams’ decision. Malonson has already left V&E and joined Simpson Thacher.
“Last night, I got my first good night’s sleep in a while,” McWilliams said.

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