Sidley Austin LLP today announced the opening of a Houston office, with the addition of seven partners coming from seven different firms in Houston. This is Sidley’s 18th office and represents a significant expansion of the firm’s service to energy-based clients. The mix of transactional, regulatory and litigation practices in the office mirrors the firm’s overall mix. The Houston team will work closely with firm colleagues around the globe, including the energy regulatory and environmental practices in the Washington, D.C. office.
“This new office represents the next phase in executing our strategic plan to have a substantial presence in all key commercial, financial and regulatory centers of the world,” said Thomas A. Cole, chair of the firm’s Executive Committee. “Houston is not only a critical center for the energy industry—it is third only to New York and Chicago as the headquarters for Fortune 500 companies. Houston is also an important gateway to Mexico and Latin America. We have a long, proud history of becoming deeply involved in the communities in which we operate, and we are committed to developing deep roots in Houston and strong relationships with Houston civic and charitable organizations.”
“We are thrilled to be able to open with a team of respected partners from top firms in the Houston market,” said Charles W. Douglas, chair of Sidley’s Management Committee. “These outstanding practitioners were selected for their professional abilities as well as their fit with Sidley’s collegial culture. They form the core of what we intend to be an ongoing and expanding presence in the Houston market.”
The Houston office will complement the firm’s longstanding energy practice, which features lawyers with years of transactional, litigation and regulatory experience, as well as with work in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Justice (DOJ). They include Eugene R. Elrod, co-head of Sidley’s Global Energy Practice, David R. Hill, co-head of Sidley’s Global Energy Practice, who served as General Counsel of the DOE, as well as David T. Buente, Jr., head of the firm’s Environmental Practice group, who was Chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, of the DOJ. Roger J. Martella, Jr., a partner in the Environmental Practice group, served as the General Counsel of the EPA. The Houston office will also enhance the firm’s longstanding multi-faceted Latin American practice, based in New York and Los Angeles.
The founding partners for the Houston office will be:
Kenneth M. Anderson—banking and finance; Brigham Young University Law School, J.D. with honors, 1982. Ken will be joining Sidley from Locke Lord, where he represented the arranger/administrative agent and borrowers in syndicated financings. His national syndicated bank financing practice includes broad experience in syndicated lending transactions, including energy financings, structured financings, project financings, multi-currency financings and highly leveraged transactions.
Mark Glasser—litigation; The University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1976. Mark will be joining Sidley from Baker Botts, where he served as firmwide co-chair of the energy litigation section, bringing 33 years of experience in the federal and state courts to the prosecution and defense of energy, securities and professional liability litigation.
J. Mark Metts—M&A, securities and corporate governance; The University of Texas School of Law, J.D. with high honors, 1983. Mark will be joining Sidley from Jones Day, where he assisted clients with mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, acquisitions for private equity clients and public offerings, especially relating to the energy industry.
Glenn L. Pinkerton—M&A and project finance; Columbia Law School, J.D., 1986. Glenn will be joining Sidley from Vinson & Elkins, bringing extensive experience in project development and finance, mergers and acquisitions and international transactions. He has particular experience in all facets of the energy business, including upstream, pipelines, LNG, refining and chemicals, power generation and transmission and retail.
Sergio A. Pozzerle—M&A and project finance; Yale Law School, J.D., 1997. Sergio will be joining Sidley from McDermott Will & Emery, where he focused his global practice on project development and finance, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. He has extensive experience in renewable energy, spanning the entire range of renewable technologies, as well as co-generation and other traditional power projects, LNG terminals, drilling rigs, seismic vessels and other energy and infrastructure projects.
James L. Rice III—energy transactions; Tulane University Law School, J.D., 1983. Jim will be joining Sidley from Akin Gump, where he headed the energy and global transactions practice and served on that firm’s Management Committee.
Steven R. Selsberg—litigation; Washington University School of Law, J.D., 1986. Steven will be joining Sidley from Mayer Brown, where he focused on litigation and dispute resolution, often representing entities from Mexico and other Latin American countries in litigation matters throughout the United States.
The new office evolved out of an initiative by two partners in Sidley’s New York office—Joseph W. Armbrust, a former member of the firm’s Management Committee, who has worked closely with Houston-based companies for over 30 years, and Irving Rotter, head of the firm’s project finance and infrastructure practice. Larry Barden, based in Chicago, will be the Management Committee’s liaison to the Houston office. All three were instrumental in the recruiting of the seven founding partners.
The firm plans to move the Houston office to its permanent space later this year. In the interim, it is operating in temporary office space at JPMorgan Chase Tower, 600 Travis Street, Suite 3100, 713.229.8790. Sidley has had an office in Dallas since 1996. Contact information for the founding partners may be found on the Sidley website after they join.
