Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP announced today that nine trial lawyers, with diverse civil litigation backgrounds, will join the firm’s Houston office. The attorneys will start at the firm on January 5. Their arrival continues the firm’s expansion in Houston and strengthens Vorys nationally recognized litigation and energy groups.

Dick Schwartz, Monica Oathout, David Finck, Phillip Bechter, Steve Rech and Heather Kabele will join Vorys as partners. Jim Marrow will join as of counsel, and Mark Merrell and Jim Barnish come to the firm as associates. All nine lawyers most recently practiced law at Schwartz, Junell, Greenberg & Oathout LLP in Houston. More >>

McGuireWoods advised Tesoro Logistics LP in completing its $2.5 billion acquisition of QEP Resources Inc.’s natural gas pipeline and processing business. The deal, which was announced in October, is the latest in a series of major asset acquisitions McGuireWoods has negotiated for the Fortune 100 energy company. More >>

Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is representing Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) in connection with the completion of its acquisition of the outstanding equity securities of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP), Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (NYSE: KMR), and El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB) for approximately $76 billion in total transaction value. The transaction was initially announced on August 10, 2014. More >>

King & Spalding advised Oregon Clean Energy, LLC in the development of a contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of a greenfield 860 megawatt combined-cycle natural gas-fired generation facility in the Toledo, Ohio, suburb of Oregon. The financing for the transaction and the full notice to proceed under the contract occurred on November 14. The dollar amount of the transaction was not disclosed. More >>

Baker Botts lawyers represent Halliburton in one of the largest energy deals of 2014.

Under the deal, Halliburton will acquire all the outstanding shares of Baker Hughes in a stock and cash transaction. The transaction is valued at $78.62 per Baker Hughes share, representing an equity value of $34.6 billion and enterprise value of $38.0 billion, based on Halliburton’s closing price on November 12, 2014, the day prior to public confirmation by Baker Hughes that it was in talks with Halliburton regarding a transaction. Upon the completion of the transaction, Baker Hughes stockholders will own approximately 36 percent of the combined company. More >>

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP today announced that it is opening an office in Houston, Texas. The office will be the New York firm’s first new domestic office opening in more than 30 years. Willkie has a substantial client base in Texas including a number of the most highly regarded energy-related funds and most active industrial buyout firms in the region. This move furthers the firm’s strategy to combine the strengths of its existing relationships, the private equity, leveraged finance, M&A and capital markets skills of a traditional Wall Street firm and the talents of Houston-based attorneys specializing in energy and buyout transactions.

Launching the Houston office will be Willkie corporate partner Bruce Herzog, together with Michael Piazza, who joins from Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, and Angela Olivarez, who joins from Jones Day. More >>

King & Spalding represented real estate owner and developer Edens Investment Trust in its acquisition of all outstanding shares of AmREIT, Inc., in an all-cash transaction valued at $762 million. The deal was unanimously approved by AmREIT’s board of directors. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015. More >>