Regina K. Ibarra
Texas Tower
845 Texas Avenue
Suite 4700
Houston, Texas 77002
Regina’s practice focuses on a wide range of executive compensation and employee benefits matters. She has experience in all aspects of the design, drafting, implementation, and ongoing administration of qualified and non-qualified plans and arrangements, including defined benefit plans, 401(k) and profit-sharing plans, equity-based compensation vehicles, deferred compensation arrangements, change-in-control and severance arrangements, employment agreements, and welfare and fringe benefit programs. Her practice also involves fiduciary liability under ERISA, including litigation involving various employee benefit issues, as well as representing companies before the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor, including for voluntary corrections, resolution of tax qualification issues, and resolution of employment tax controversies.
A significant portion of her practice also involves the design of executive compensation arrangements, including employment, severance, and change in control agreements; incentive arrangements; deferred compensation plans; and equity-based compensation awards and arrangements. She also advises clients in advanced tax matters associated with executive compensation arrangements, such as transactions involving golden parachute payments, Section 409A deferred compensation compliance, and matters involving Section 83 transfers of property.
Regina has extensive experience with executive compensation and benefits issues related to mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and finance transactions, initial public offerings, securities offerings, and international transactions, including advising acquirers regarding post-transaction integration matters. She also regularly assists clients with respect to securities law disclosure and shareholder approval issues involving compensatory arrangements for executive officers and directors, as well as corporate governance issues related to executive compensation.
Experience Highlights
A US private equity sponsor on its €3.17 billion carve-out acquisition of a global construction chemicals business from a German public company
Energy Transfer Partners in the $60 billion merger with Energy Transfer Equity in a unit-for-unit exchange
Focus Financial Partners Inc. in its $615 million initial public offering of common stock utilizing an Up-C structure
Maxar Technologies in its $3.6 billion merger with DigitalGlobe, creating a leading provider of satellites, earth imagery, geospatial data solutions and analytics
TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc. in its $233 million initial public offering and multiple follow-on offerings
Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc. in its $728 million initial public offering of common stock
Nexeo Solutions, a chemicals and plastics distributor and TPG Capital portfolio company, in its $1.575 billion merger with WL Ross Holdings Corp.
Targa Resources Corp. in its $6.7 billion acquisition of Targa Resources Partners in an all stock-for-unit transaction
Targa Resources Corp. in its $360 million initial public offering of common stock
Frank’s International N.V. in its $759 million initial public offering of common stock
Rice Energy Inc. in its $1.1 billion initial public offering of common stock
Continental Airlines in its $3.2 billion all-stock merger with United Airlines
A publicly traded Fortune 500 oil and gas company in all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation
A publicly traded global oil services company in all aspects of executive compensation matters
Credentials
- The University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 2001 (Administrative Editor, Texas Law Review)
- Oklahoma Baptist University, B.S.E., English summa cum laude, 1993 (Omicron Delta Kappa)
- Law clerk to The Honorable Joseph T. Sneed, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2001–2002
- Chambers USA, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (Houston), 2024
- The Best Lawyers in America© (BL Rankings, LLC), (Houston): Employment Law–Management, 2023–2025; Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2024 and 2025
- Selected to the Texas Rising Stars list, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2009
- Fellow: Texas Bar Foundation
- Member: Houston Bar Association (Former Member: Lawyers for Literacy Committee)
- Member: American Bar Association
- Life Member: Texas Law Review Association (Former Secretary and Executive Director, 2000–2001)
- Member: Emerging Women Leaders, a program of the Executive Women’s Partnership Committee, Greater Houston Partnership
- Former Chair: Car Seat Safety Campaign Committee, Houston Young Lawyers Association
- Texas
- CLE EventNovember 21, 2024Vinson & Elkins - Houston Office
- Deals & CasesJuly 30, 2024
- Deals & CasesJuly 8, 2024
- Rankings & AwardsJune 6, 2024
- Deals & CasesApril 1, 2024
- Deals & CasesMarch 15, 2024
- Deals & CasesFebruary 12, 2024
- Deals & CasesJanuary 12, 2024
- Deals & CasesDecember 18, 2023
- Deals & CasesAugust 21, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 21, 2023
- Deals & CasesAugust 18, 2023
- Deals & CasesJune 8, 2023
- Deals & CasesMarch 10, 2023
- Deals & CasesFebruary 27, 2023
- Deals & CasesOctober 27, 2022
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 18, 2022
- Deals & CasesApril 4, 2022
- Deals & CasesFebruary 16, 2022
- Deals & CasesAugust 3, 2021
- “Update on Defined Contribution Plans, Legal Developments, Trends, and Issues,” Client Event, February 2005 (co-authored with Brian Bloom)
- “Health Savings Accounts – A New Benefit Opportunity Under the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug Act,” Client Event, February 2004
- “Fiduciary Duties in 401(k) Plans: Aftermath and Concerns About Employer Stock in a Down Market,” Client Event, November 2003 (co-authored with Dorene B. Cohen)
- “Corporate Changes and the Human Resource Manager: Employee Benefits in Mergers & Acquisitions,” Client Event, February 2003 (co-authored with Dorene B. Cohen)