Vinson & Elkins Named a Law360 "Energy Group of the Year" for 11th Time

In a January profile, Law360 lauds Vinson & Elkins for its work on 45 energy deals valued at approximately $43 billion from September 2020 to September 2021, including its representation of Independence Energy, LLC in a $5.7 billion all-stock combination with Contango Oil & Gas Company, as well as securing important litigation victories to facilitate energy infrastructure projects.

Law360 also cites the firm’s “tremendous success advising special purpose acquisition companies,” including Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp., a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, Inc., in its approximately $2.9 billion business combination agreement with Fisker, Inc., a developer of the world’s most emotionally desirable, eco-friendly electric vehicles.

In an interview with Law360, Kaam Sahely, co-head of Vinson & Elkins’ Corporate department, describes SPACs as having “economic agility and attendant economic pressure that makes them such major players in funding and acquisitions in the renewable and clean energy world.”

On the litigation side, Law360 highlights an opinion denying a preliminary injunction that would have prevented Vinson & Elkins’ client Jefferson Energy Companies from completing the last stages of construction on its 14-mile pipeline to connect the largest refinery in North America to Jefferson’s crude oil and refined products logistics terminal at the Port of Beaumont, Texas.

“We’re very nimble when we get a case, or get contacted by a client, that’s facing these kinds of disputes where they need environmental expertise, regulatory expertise and traditional trial lawyers,” Jim Thompson, Vinson & Elkins’ Litigation & Regulatory department co-head explained. “We are fortunate that we can fill all of those needs under the V&E umbrella.”

Both Thompson and Sahely told Law360 that they expect Vinson & Elkins’ work in the energy sector will continue to evolve as the energy transition forges ahead, similarly to when the firm was founded amid a then-new chapter in petroleum-based energy.

Law360 awards “Practice Groups of the Year” to “the law firms behind the litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry.”

Vinson & Elkins’ full profile can be viewed here.