Trent Bridges is joining Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in Houston as a partner in the white-shoe firm’s M&A group, according to a news release.
Bridges advises companies in energy and infrastructure projects with a focus on midstream oil and gas and has been practicing in Houston since September 2021. He was with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld for a little more than two years after nearly three years with Sidley Austin. Prior to that, he spent nearly nine years in the general counsel’s office at Magellan Midstream Partners in Tulsa, Okla.
Bridges started his law career at McAfee & Taft in Oklahoma City.
“Trent has advised on some of the highest-profile deals and projects in the midstream space, further bolstering our energy-focused transactional capabilities in Houston,” said Sean T. Wheeler, global co-chair of M&A and head of the firm’s Houston office. “His significant experience with asset-level M&A, joint ventures and other commercial arrangements will be invaluable to our clients as demand for energy and infrastructure, particularly data centers, continues to soar.”
Paul Weiss opened an office in the nation’s fourth-largest city in early February, joining other nationally elite firms who have announced plans to open or significantly expand offices in Texas in what has become Big Law’s version of the “transfer portal” in college sports.
Bridges has advised Energy Transfer on multiple transactions, including ventures with Enbridge for the Southern Illinois Connector project and with Sunoco as the energy giants agreed to combine their oil and water gathering assets in the Permian Basin. He also provided counsel to the Dallas pipeline giant in its acquisition of Lotus Midstream Operations.
Paul Weiss said Bridges also represented Devon Energy in long-term agreements with LandBridge for water rights and advised Enbridge in an infrastructure development deal with Divert Inc. to develop wasted-food-to-renewable natural gas projects.
Bridges earned a bachelor’s from the University of Oklahoma and a J.D. from the University of Tulsa College of Law.