Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced this morning that Dallas private equity partner Nate Christensen is returning to the firm as a partner.
With more than two decades of experience advising clients across complex transactions and capital structures in industries such as energy, infrastructure, real estate, professional sports, financial services and consumer goods, Christensen is one of 15 partners to rejoin Weil since the start of 2023.
“Nate’s return to the Dallas office is terrific for Weil and our clients. He is a first-rate private equity lawyer who has advised some of the world’s foremost investors and capital providers, and we are fortunate to have him back on our team,” said Vynessa Nemunaitis, co-managing partner of Weil’s Dallas office, in a news release.
He’s also the second notable Texas lateral in a month’s time, as Weil bolstered its intellectual property group by bringing back Jeff Homrig as its Co-Head of its new IP, Technology & Science Litigation practice from Latham & Watkins.
“We are committed to continuing to expand our premier global private equity practice, including in the Dallas market where we have been for many years, and Nate will be instrumental in seizing that opportunity,” said Michael J. Aiello, Chairman of Weil’s Corporate Department, in the release. “He is a talented technical lawyer who brings deep market knowledge and a wealth of experience in representing sponsors and their portfolio companies in their most significant transactions.”
Christensen comes from Norton Rose Fulbright, where he was a partner for a year and a half. Before that, he served as of counsel at Foley & Lardner for nearly two years. Before returning to private practice, Christensen was the managing director and general counsel for nearly two years at HN Capital Partners, the Dallas private real estate investment firm originally formed as a partnership between former Hunt Investments and Hunt Realty managing director Vipin Nambiar and Hunt Consolidated Inc.
Before joining HN Capital, Christensen worked in-house at Hunt Consolidated for nine years, serving the last two there as senior vice president & general counsel for the privately owned conglomerate in Dallas that has extensive operations in oil and gas, LNG, power, real estate, investments, infrastructure and more.
Prior to moving to Hunt in 2011, he was an associate for four years in Weil’s Dallas office in the PE and M&A group.
“My professional journey has truly come full circle with my return to Weil,” said Christensen in the release. “I feel very excited and privileged to have the opportunity to renew old friendships and collaborate with new colleagues as we advise the firm’s sophisticated clients all over the world.”
The Texas offices of eight corporate law firms, including Weil, each achieved profits per partner of $5 million or more, according to Lawbook 50 data, which tracks the revenue generated by lawyers and law firms operating in the state. Weil ranked No. 31 in revenue, with $103.9 million generated by its Texas lawyers last year.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Christensen specializes in representing private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, family offices, and other alternative asset managers in strategic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, financings, fund formation, and project development, primarily across the energy, real estate and financial services sectors.
EDUCATION
Undergraduate: University of Washington (BA, 1999)
Law School: Duke University (JD, 2002)
The Texas Lawbook spent some time chatting with Christensen about his latest move and more. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Texas Lawbook: What specific aspects of private practice did you find yourself missing during your in-house years and how has your client perspective changed now that you’re back on the outside looking in?
Nate Christensen: I was fortunate to have was the opportunity to work with all the best attorneys in the city and the country. Really, it was that we did big transactions. We did complex transactions, and so I think that as a general counsel, what I learned was how to build integrated teams to work effectively between in-house and external counsel. And in doing so, I learned the value that the legal department can have beyond just doing the legal work. So, we strove to be thought partners and strategists, helping the business grow. Doing that for a decade as a GC helps me see, on this side, how to have that same sort of value-added impact. And so there’s no one answer for how to do it. What it takes is a lot of intentionality. It takes a lot of hard work, and it requires a significant investment in understanding your client’s business. That’s probably the biggest takeaway from my in-house experience.
The Lawbook: Are there any trends you are seeing in Texas deal activity, whether it’s industry focus, funding sources or the previously mentioned deal structures, that differ from national patterns?
Christensen: Dallas is always special. I’ve been here for over 20 years, and it feels like we’re always at the cutting edge of innovation. You know, we’re always doing new things here. And what colors our dealmaking in Texas is a combination of, you know, the emphasis on energy and the proliferation of family offices in alternative forms of capital. Private capital is at play in Texas in a big way. It is across the nation as well, but we see a lot of that here, and so Dallas has been a real leader in those alternate structures.
The Lawbook: Why was the time right to make the move back to Weil now? Where were you when you got the call and what was that like? Walk me through your thought process.
Christensen: I just think it’s an exciting time. I stay close with my Weil friends, and I’ve seen what they’re doing in Texas and beyond, and I just thought it was an exciting time. They approached me with a vision for my practice and how my practice fit in with the larger private equity practice group’s objectives. And so that was a natural fit. Once I heard their vision and pitch, I thought, “I need to come home.”
The Lawbook: Looking at the next year, what has you most excited about what lies ahead for the team you’re joining?
Christensen: Everyone’s watching private equity and the dry powder sitting on the sidelines waiting to come back in. And as we sit here at this point in the year, we’re already seeing money put to work. Everyone thought that maybe the first half of this year would be busier, and it feels like the second half of the year is busier. And I expect that 2026 will be a very busy and active year, with folks who may have been waiting for something to settle out, so they can get back into the market.
The Lawbook: Do you have any quirky habits or rituals that help you stay focused during long negotiations or late-night closings?
Christensen: I had a mentor teach me early in my career that you’ve got to switch from caffeine to protein pretty early in the day, and so he used to carry around little protein bars, and that’s kind of my trick: don’t eat a heavy meal, space it out and have protein and keep your keep your body fresh.
The Lawbook: Is there a particular kind of music or playlist that gets you in the zone for deal work, or helps decompress after a busy week? Also, when you’re called to bat, what’s your walk-up song?
Christensen: That’s an interesting one, but I grew up watching a lot of Michael Jordan in the ’90s with the Bulls, and that’s their intro music: “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project.
The Lawbook: Is there anything else that’s on your mind with this move, or otherwise, you wanted to add?
Christensen: I had the good fortune of working alongside and training under Glenn West, who I think is one of the fathers of private equity, and certainly one of the fathers of private equity in Texas, and the training that I received from Glenn really took my career where it went. I had a lot of success. You know, I became a general counsel because of those tools and skills.
And what he taught all of us was a combination of always being excellent, always trying your best, and having some fun along the way. Enjoy the camaraderie and team building within the firm and with your clients. And so that was a really good kind of training and mentorship. And I’m just very fortunate to have had that.
And so, when I return to the firm I’m coming back to, it’s a special combination of excellence, client service and teamwork. And if you’re somebody like me who likes deals, then that leads to a lot of personal satisfaction, because you’re doing great things, you’re achieving great things, and you’re setting yourself apart in the market.