Erin Hopkins, a veteran energy transactions partner at Baker Botts, is moving to the Houston office of Paul Hastings, his new law firm announced Tuesday.
The move comes on the heels of the recent hiring of Peter Hays from King & Spalding and Chris Richardson from White & Case.
“As we continue to strategically build our M&A and broader corporate platforms in Texas and globally, Houston remains a priority market for the firm, particularly in the energy sector,” said firm chair Frank Lopez. “We are focused on building a premier, global energy platform and Houston is a center of gravity for that strategy. Erin’s deep experience and strong reputation in energy transactions will be valuable as we continue to build and gain market share.”
Hopkins brings with him 15 years of experience in energy and renewables transactions. In just this year, according to the firm’s announcement, Hopkins has advised on 10 deals with an aggregate value of $4.1 billion, and his body of work includes such clients as Hunt Oil, Delek Logistics, Murphy Oil, Repsol, Sinochem and Woodside.
He specializes in complex acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures — structuring and negotiating transactions and investments from foreign and domestic investors in upstream and downstream markets for both oil & gas and renewable energy projects.
Like other recent laterals, Hopkins said his move was motivated by a rapidly developing business climate in which clients have a need for a broad range of services in an increasingly complex energy market.
“First, it’s the platform,” said Hopkins in an interview with The Lawbook. ” I’m an energy lawyer focusing on oil and gas, but also dabbling in all forms of energy and energy transactions. It is just painfully obvious now that the needs of the client are exceedingly complex and global.”
“In order to actually service the client, rather than just service my one segment you need to have a firm behind you that has a global reach that is not just global, but pushing the edges and is what I would call a modern law firm — you know, focusing on trying to make sure they’re staying on the cutting edge; not just of law, staying up to date on case law and that stuff, but staying up to date on business and the intersection of law into business and how the intersection of law and business can help grow your clients business, and further them, and accomplish their goals.”
But, conversely, Hopkins credits Lopez and Sherrese Smith, the firm’s global managing partner, for providing a personal touch in the course of convincing him he needed to be at Paul Hastings at this point in his career.
Hopkins said he was particularly impressed that Lopez and Smith, as the two top management figures at the firm, were personally involved in recruiting, even at law schools.
“It’s a major firm. They’re incredibly busy, and you’ve got these two folks showing up on campus recruiting,” That’s incredible and insane at the same time, right? I don’t know of any other firms that are doing that.”
The clincher, he said, was an invitation to speak with Lopez that turned out to be a visit with Smith, as well.
“Frank wanted to talk to me,” said Hopkins. “I was like, okay, fine. I mean, if the guy running the firm wants to talk to me, I’ll sit down and talk to him. And what he had to say was great. And then, you know, (he says) I want you to meet Sherrese. I met Sherrese and it’s just amazing. And the energy, the momentum, everything going on, what they’re wanting to do, you know, and grow, is something that — yeah, it’s infectious. I really wanted to be a part of it.”
EDUCATION
Undergraduate: Saint Thomas University (BA, 2007)
Law School: Washington University, St. Louis (JD, 2010)