Three veteran energy deal partners in Houston are on the move.
Baker Botts duo Ned Crady and David Peterman have lateraled to Paul Hastings, the law firm announced on Tuesday, and Sidley Austin said Jessica Adkins, chair of Bracewell’s power projects practice, has joined the Chicago-based firm.
Crady and Peterman were part of a nine-partner team that moved to Baker Botts from Norton Rose Fulbright in early 2017. Paul Hastings chairman Seth Zachary said in a statement that strengthening the firm’s transactional and energy practices in Houston is a “top strategic priority.” The additions of the Baker Botts attorneys fills a hole left by Jimmy Vallee, who left earlier this year for Winston & Strawn’s Houston office.
Back in May, Crady worked alongside Greg Nelson, chair of the Paul Hastings Houston office, to advise Australia’s IFM Investors in its $6.5 billion purchase of Buckeye Partners. Crady brings significant midstream experience to his new firm.
“Paul Hastings is among the elite firms that have leading practices across M&A, capital markets, finance, private equity and tax,” Crady, a former assistant general counsel at Enron, said in a statement. “The firm’s practice prowess, together with its strength in Houston, New York and London, was very attractive to us and our clients.”
Peterman’s M&A practice focuses on energy and oilfield services. But this summer, he guided Genesis Park, the private equity firm led by Paul Hobby, in its sale of Texas Monthly magazine to billionaire Houston heiress Randa Duncan Williams. And in April, Peterman was part of the Baker Botts deal team that advised Murphy Exploration & Production Co. on a $1.375 billion purchase of oil and gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico from LLOG Exploration Offshore and LLOG Bluewater Holdings, which partnered with the Blackstone Group on the properties.
Sidley’s newest Houston hire, Adkins, focuses her practice on energy transactions in the electric power and renewable energy sectors in markets across the U.S. and Mexico. Joining Adkins at Sidley is New York partner Ron Erlichman, who co-chaired Bracewell’s project finance practice. Adkins had spent her nearly 20-year legal career at Bracewell.
“Adding Jessica and Ron will augment our ability to serve clients in the renewable energy space, a growing sector in which our clients are increasingly investing,” Cliff Vrielink, global leader of Sidley’s Energy and Infrastructure practice, said in a statement. “A number of our energy partners have worked with Jessica and Ron over the years and highly value their dedication to client service, collaborative nature and entrepreneurial spirits, hallmarks of our talented team that make them a clear fit.”
Last year, Adkins represented NRG Energy unit NRG Retail on its agreement to acquire Xoom Energy Global Holdings for $210 million.