Four former Baker Botts corporate partners – Edward Rhyne, Robert Phillpott, Efren Acosta and Ron Scharnberg – have joined Reed Smith, the firm announced today.
The team, which will be part of the firm’s Global Corporate Group, brings experience in private equity and middle-market M&A and business tax counseling with Rhyne’s practice focusing on private equity and other private firms, such as family offices and family-owned businesses, in addition to funds; Phillipott’s practice that includes developing tax structures that facilitate tax-efficient transactions; Acosta’s practice dealing in private company M&A, especially those tied to private-equity transactions; and Scharnberg’s practice centering on tax matters for private and public companies with expertise in federal tax planning and structuring of domestic and cross-border/international M&A.
“We are thrilled to achieve critical mass in Houston with our private equity and M&A practices, which is a key area of expansion in all three of our Texas offices,” said Houston Office Managing Partner Kenneth Broughton in a prepared statement.
The addition of the team not only bolsters Reed Smith’s complex transaction capabilities, but also aids in the expansion of the firm’s reach in Latin America.
Rhyne noted in a statement that the four-person team opted for the move to Reed Smith due to its “broad base and global private equity practice” and that many former colleagues had already joined the firm.
Rhyne, Phillpott, Acosta and Scharnberg moved to Bakers Botts from Norton Rose Fulbright in 2017. Restructuring and bankruptcy lawyer Omar Alaniz also joined Reed Smith from Baker Botts in July.
The addition of the foursome brings the headcount of Reed Smith’s Houston office to 70.