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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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. More >>

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a leading counselor to global financial institutions and corporations, today announced that Chad Mills is joining the firm as Partner in its Energy & Commodities Practice in Houston. Mills is a leading practitioner in structured energy transactions and related energy trading agreements, project infrastructure development, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate transactions for clients including energy providers, developers, investors and underwriters in gas, electric power and oil.

“Chad’s addition demonstrates our firm’s continuing ability to attract top talent,” said Patrick Quinn, Managing Partner. “Chad is a great fit with our firm’s emphasis on coordinating our expertise across all our practice areas to produce the best results for clients on their most complex matters. He embraces the opportunity to combine his energy transactional experience with our regulatory, financial, corporate and other strengths to best serve our clients, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have him join us.” More >>

Jackson Walker is pleased to welcome attorney Nick Spiliotis. He joins the Houston office as a partner in the Labor & Employment group. More >>

Akin Gump advised the conflicts committee of the board of directors of Rose Rock Midstream, L.P.’s general partner in the partnership’s $325 million purchase of the remaining crude oil assets of SemGroup Corporation, which include the Wattenberg Oil Trunkline System and SemGroup’s 50 percent interest in the Glass Mountain Pipeline. More >>