Leading Environmental Lawyer Jennifer Cornejo Returns to Vinson & Elkins

Vinson & Elkins today announced that Jennifer Cornejo has returned to Vinson & Elkins as a Denver-based partner in the firm’s Environmental practice.

Cornejo counsels private equity clients, financial institutions, and public and private companies on environmental liabilities across an array of industries, including all segments of the oil and gas sector, renewable power and fuels, waste management, recycling and disposal, manufacturing, and the mining and chemical sectors. She has extensive experience advising clients on the resolution of environmental liabilities identified in the course of transactions, namely corporate mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, capital markets matters, bankruptcies, financing transactions, and real estate investments. She also counsels clients on matters related to infrastructure development, including environmental permitting issues and compliance with pipeline safety regulations, and regularly defends and pursues environmental defect and indemnification claims on behalf of clients. She previously worked at Vinson & Elkins as an associate in the Houston office.

“Jennifer has phenomenal experience and judgment, having successfully negotiated the environmental terms of hundreds of transactions across a range of industries,” said Vinson & Elkins Partner Matt Dobbins, deputy practice leader for the Environmental practice. “Best of all, she embodies our culture and client-service ethos and will be a key part of the incredible growth we are experiencing with our Environmental practice and Denver office.”

Cornejo rejoins the firm from Kirkland & Ellis, where she was a partner in that firm’s Global Environmental Practice Group.

“Having started my career at Vinson & Elkins and experiencing firsthand the firm’s friendly and collaborative culture, I am thrilled to return and practice alongside exceptional attorneys (and friends) to deliver outstanding client service,” Cornejo said. “I look forward to helping build our Denver presence and upholding the firm’s commitment to excellence in advising industry-leading clients spanning diverse markets and sectors.”

Cornejo earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies, cum laude, from Texas A&M University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Houston Law Center. Before law school, she worked as an environmental consultant, focusing primarily on National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Clean Water Act compliance issues.

Vinson & Elkins environmental lawyers have a track record of strategically partnering with clients in complex, contested litigation, regulatory, and commercial matters to achieve the clients’ business, litigation, or regulatory compliance objectives. Chambers USA 2024 ranked the firm’s Environmental Practice among the best in the nation, and all of the team’s partners were featured in Lawdragon’s 2024 Green 500: Leaders in Environmental Law directory.