Baker McKenzie bolstered its transactional practice in Houston this week with the addition of Jeremy Moore from Baker Botts.
Moore said that while he enjoyed his time at Baker Botts and owes a great deal to the firm, Baker McKenzie offered a “one-of-a-kind” opportunity for growth and impact.
“Baker McKenzie is incredibly well positioned in the energy and renewables space, an area of the Houston market that is of particular interest to me,” he said. “With Baker McKenzie having been ranked number one for M&A in emerging markets by deal volume for a decade, I was drawn to the firm not only for its prestige and position in the market, but for its innovative nature, global footing and breadth of expertise.”
Though the first half of 2021 has seen an uptick in activity in traditional energy transactions, Moore has observed “tremendous” growth in renewables transactions, a trend he has seen in his practice for several years now.
“It is incredibly interesting to watch this space grow and mature and result in the larger scale transactions that large law firms are accustomed to executing,” said Moore, a University of Houston Law Center graduate. “This space is undoubtedly only going to continue a meteoric growth pattern, and inevitably become a larger part of my practice and focus over the next 10-20 years.”
Moore was the lead or co-lead on six deals reported by The Texas Lawbook’s Corporate Deal Tracker in 2020, including two senior notes offerings for San Antonio-based Valero Energy totaling $4 billion.
“I’ve continued that relationship for the past 13 years, and could not have asked for a better client team to work with all these years, both professionally and on a personal level,” said Moore, who started working with Valero as a first-year lawyer. “The entire Valero team is at the top of its game, and I look forward to continuing that relationship for the next 13 years.”
Moore also led New York private equity firm Riverstone Holdings in a pair of transactions resulting in the purchase of four solar photovoltaic plants in Mexico.
The other two matters recorded in Corporate Deal Tracker Roundups were underwriter-side capital markets transactions, a Baker Botts strength.
Moore represented the underwriters on a $4 billion notes offering for Houston food distribution giant Sysco and co-led with Josh Davidson a team that advised Plains All American Pipeline in a $750 million offering of senior notes.
Moore also played a role in Summit Midstream Partners’ $35 million deal for Summit Midstream Partners LLC from Energy Capital Partners II.