There’s a change coming in the Houston office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. The firm announced this morning that Houston managing partner David Lieberman is stepping down and will be succeeded by a trio of partners: Matthew Einbinder, Breen Haire and Christopher May.
“Matt, Breen and Chris are strong leaders and extremely talented lawyers,” said Alden Millard, chair of Simpson Thacher’s executive committee. “They will bring the commitment, creativity and collegiality they have demonstrated throughout their careers to their new roles and will be invaluable assets to clients and colleagues alike. We also thank David for his successful leadership of our Houston office and for his many significant contributions to the Firm.”
Einbinder advises complex banking and credit transactions, especially the energy and infrastructure space, and regularly advises acquisition and bridge financings, project financings and back leverage financings, as well as restructuring plans and the acquisition of debt portfolios. His clients have included BlackRock’s Global Energy and Power Infrastructure Fund, Apollo Management, Riverstone Credit Partners and EIG Managment.
Haire has been co-head of the firm’s Energy and Infrastructure Practice and focuses on M&A deals and private equity transactions, particularly in the infrastructure sector. Haire has practiced in Houston for more than 20 years. His most recent experience has been in the digital infrastructure and transportation sectors, as well as renewables. And he is no stranger to deals in the energy sector involving upstream, midstream and oilfield services.
Haire’s clients have included investment giants KKR and Goldman Sachs, as well as investors like First Infrastructure Capital, Ridgemont Equity Partners and WhiteWater and their interests in the Whistler Pipeline.
May advises leading corporations and private equity sponsors and infrastructure funds on a variety of merger and acquisition transactions. Like Haire, he advises on a wide range of industries, with a particular focus on energy and digital infrastructure.
May has long been frequently associated with Simpson client BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, and worked on BlackRock’s 2022 acquisition of Austin-based Jupiter Power, a major battery storage provider. That same year he co-led, with Lieberman, the $11 billion acquisition of Switch for DigitalBridge.
“Our Houston office is known for providing sophisticated advice across the spectrum of energy and infrastructure matters, and we are fortunate to work with such an amazing roster of clients,” said Einbinder said.
Haire noted a few recent Simpson lateral acquisitions.
“We have recently strengthened our Houston team with the additions of M&A partner Katy Lukaszewski and tax partner Adam Arikat and we are looking forward to continuing that growth,” said Haire. “Our Houston office is now home to 12 partners covering a broad range of practice areas, including capital markets, banking and credit, M&A, private funds and tax.”
May said the Simpson sense of collegiality has been important in his time there.
“The three of us have witnessed the growth of the Houston office from a small handful a decade ago to more than 60 attorneys in the office today. I am especially proud that, throughout that growth, we have remained committed to providing the highest quality service to our clients while maintaining the camaraderie with our colleagues.”