Akin Gump advised Genesis Energy, L.P., a master limited partnership or MLP, in an approximately $204 million underwritten public offering of common units representing limited partner interests. Genesis will use the net proceeds from that offering for general partnership purposes, such as funding acquisitions (including organic growth projects) or repaying a portion of the borrowings outstanding under its revolving credit facility More >>

Akin Gump advised Sanchez Energy Corporation (SN) in the execution and closing of an agreement with Sanchez Production Partners LP (SPP) to sell escalating amounts of partial working interests in certain wellbores and associated assets to a subsidiary of SPP for aggregate consideration of approximately $85 million to the Company, subject to normal and customary closing and post-closing adjustments. In connection with the transaction, SN novated certain gas and oil hedging transactions related to the production of the wellbores to SPP More >>

Charles Eskridge, a former partner at Susman Godfrey, has joined Quinn Emanuel’s Houston office as partner. Mr. Eskridge is an experienced trial lawyer and appellate advocate. He has tried a wide range of complex commercial matters and argued numerous appeals in both federal and state courts. His professional experience includes matters involving such diverse areas as antitrust, intellectual property (including patents and trade secrets matters), aviation disasters, securities fraud, the First Amendment, ERISA, and asbestos bankruptcy litigation, along with state law issues concerning complex contractual disputes, accounting and legal malpractice, fraud, employment and trade secret issues, and insurance coverage. More >>

Chaffe McCall is pleased to welcome former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Donald J. DeGabrielle, to the firm’s Houston office who will serve as a partner in the firm’s Government Investigations and White Collar Criminal Defense practice.

DeGabrielle, a 35-year veteran of legal services, is a highly experienced attorney with a notable career in federal law enforcement, including service as a Special Agent with the FBI, an Assistant District Attorney, an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. He has prosecuted matters involving public corruption, white-collar and environmental crimes, bank fraud, and general criminal and narcotics offenses. In private practice, he has defended a wide range of white collar criminal matters including violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and has advised numerous corporate clients on corporate compliance. More >>

Pillsbury today announced the return of former partner Andrew Strong to the firm’s office in Houston, effective March 23, 2015. During Strong’s previous tenure with Pillsbury, he worked closely with many of the firm’s major energy clients on environmental issues and crisis prevention and response.

Strong left the firm in 2009, when he was selected by the Texas A&M System’s Board of Regents as its General Counsel and System Compliance Officer. As the chief legal officer, Strong was responsible for all legal matters over a $3.6 billion-per-year network that employs more than 45,000 people across more than 100 facilities, including 11 universities, seven state agencies and a health science center. More >>

Jones Walker LLP announced today that David R. Roth and Shahid A. Ghauri have joined the firm’s Houston office. Mr. Roth is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group and Mr. Ghauri is a partner in the Business & Commercial Transactions Practice Group.

Mr. Roth has more than two decades of broad-based transactional experience working both in-house and in private practice with public and private companies. He counsels clients in a broad range of transactions and financing in the energy industry, including projects involving electric power; onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration and production; transportation and pipelines; liquefied natural gas processing; commodity marketing and trading; and ancillary services such as equipment supply and seismic analysis. More >>

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) entered into a drop-down transaction with Valero Energy Partners LP (NYSE: VLP), pursuant to which VLP acquired membership interests in certain subsidiaries of VLO for total consideration of about $671 million, including approximately $100 million of common and general partner units of VLP.

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