Debbie Yee, a prolific deal lawyer at Latham & Watkins, has made the move to Kirkland & Ellis, according to a Kirkland press release issued Monday.
The Houston-based partner primarily advises public and private companies in the energy industry on strategic acquisitions and divestitures along with capital raising transactions and corporate governance matters.
Yee has worked on several large infrastructure deals while at Latham, many with partner Bill Finnegan, including counseling Energy Transfer on its $5 billion acquisition of SemGroup in September as well as its $18 billion purchase of Regency Energy in 2015 and its $7.9 billion pick-up of Southern Union Co. in 2011 when she was an associate.
Yee also worked with Finnegan last year on Energy Transfer Equity’s combination with affiliate Energy Transfer Partners, creating a $90 billion energy infrastructure giant. More recently, in September, she was part of the Latham team advising Alta Mesa Resources on its bankruptcy filing.
The attorney also worked on several deals with Sean Wheeler when he was at Latham, including advising Plains Exploration & Production on its $6.9 billion sale to Freeport-McMoRan and Suburban Propane Partners’ $1.8 billion purchase of Inergy Propane in 2012 (Wheeler left Latham for Kirkland last year). Yee and Wheeler also worked opposite each other on the Energy Transfer-SemGroup combination.
“In a short time, Kirkland has built the strongest transactional practice in the energy space, and with the addition of Sean Wheeler last year, a leading strategic M&A practice,” Yee said late Monday in an emailed response to questions posed by The Texas Lawbook. “The opportunity to join such a prolific and growing practice was a compelling one that I could not pass up.”
Yee added that Kirkland’s strengths – including its private equity and restructuring practices – will complement and help her expand her M&A and capital markets practice.
The attorney said she will work primarily with Wheeler and partner Doug Bacon on the M&A side and partners Matt Pacey and Julian Seiguer on the capital markets side.
Because access to the capital markets is and will likely remain difficult, Yee believes that infrastructure deals will continue to proliferate as companies seek alternative financing arrangements, including private equity, take privates and joint ventures.
“I also believe that given the volatility in commodity prices and investor sentiment in the upstream space, consolidation will continue in the coming year,” she said.
As for the capital markets, Yee said even though there have been several successful debt deals completed this year, access continues to be very challenging for energy companies and she expects the trend to continue for the short term.
When asked about her clients’ reactions to the move and if any conflicts came up, Yee said Kirkland has a great reputation in the market and her clients were all “very supportive” of the move.
Yee was at Latham for almost 10 years – she was part of the group of lawyers that opened the Houston office in 2010 – and made partner in 2015. She previously worked as an associate at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Houston after earning her law degree from New York Law School. She studied accounting and finance at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.
Jeffrey Hammes, chairman of Kirkland’s global management executive committee, said in a statement that Yee is a rising star in the energy deal market.
“Her substantial experience with strategic M&A and capital markets matters will benefit our clients and further extend our market leading team in Texas,” he said.
Andy Calder, a corporate partner in Houston and a member of the committee, said in the statement that Yee is a great addition to the firm’s energy practice as it continues expanding its strategic capabilities in the oil and gas industry.
“She will also assist our capital markets practice firm-wide, adding her talents to that already strong bench,” he said.