Stephen C. Tarry
Texas Tower
845 Texas Avenue
Suite 4700
Houston, Texas 77002
Steve’s principal area of practice is domestic and international financing transactions, including project finance and secured lending transactions. Over his 36-year career with the firm, Steve has represented numerous corporate and banking clients in United States and international project finance, asset securitization and lending transactions. He has worked on many large cross-border financings and has experience with the legal issues presented by these financings, including an extensive background in the challenges arising from cross-border collateral packages. Steve has also advised clients in many areas of the law relating to financing transactions, including derivatives and structured products, secured transactions law, legal opinions, margin regulations, usury, foreclosure, and other similar areas.
Experience Highlights
Represented numerous E&P companies and other entities in negotiating and documenting commodity swaps and interest rate swaps with large money center banks
A large private equity fund in the acquisition of a $2 billion portfolio of 33 European commercial real estate loans
A hedge fund lender in making a secured loan to a newly formed biodiesel company
A large money center bank in a $250 million secured loan to an E&P company
An energy trading firm in the acquisition of distressed loans made to a coal mining entity
A hedge fund lender in a DIP financing for an oilfield services company that was in bankruptcy
The project company in a secured project finance loan for an 826 MW gas-fired merchant power project in Argentina
A large private investor in a secured loan to a reisin manufacturer with operations in several countries
An oil field services company in revolving credit and term loans from a syndicate of money center banks
A private equity fund in the financing of a large portfolio of distressed secured loans acquired from a mortgage center bank
An energy trading firm in secured loans to a coal mining entity with operations in several states
Served as lead counsel to the project company in a secured project finance loan for certain natural gas extraction/fractionation facilities and related cryogenic storage facilities to be built in Venezuela
Served as counsel to the owner of a shipping fleet in a 144A offering secured by numerous vessels flagged under the laws of the United States, Panama, Norway, the Marshall Islands, and Denmark
A large investment bank in a secured loan to a geothermal energy company
A private equity fund in a financing transaction secured by Alaskan exploration and production tax credits
An energy trading firm in a loan to acquire and refurbish a damaged power plant
Credentials
- The University of Texas School of Law, J.D. with honors, 1978 (Chancellors; Order of the Coif; Executive Editor, Texas Law Review)
- North Texas State University, B.A. with highest honors, 1975
- Judicial clerk to The Honorable Charles Clark, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1978–1979
- The Best Lawyers in America© (BL Rankings, LLC), Banking & Finance Law (Houston), 2008−2015, 2017−2025
- IFLR1000, 2020–2023
- Member: TriBar Opinion Committee
- Chairman: Legal Opinions Committee, Business Law Section, State Bar of Texas
- Member: Governing Council, Business Law Section of the State Bar of Texas
- Co-Reporter: Committee on Commonly Accepted Opinion Practices, sponsored jointly by the American Bar Association, Section of Business Law Legal Opinions Committee and the Working Group on Legal Opinions
- Fellow: Houston Bar Foundation
- Fellow: American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers
- Texas
- New York
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 21, 2023
- Rankings & AwardsJuly 14, 2023
- Deals & CasesOctober 21, 2022
- IFLR1000 2022 Recognizes Vinson & Elkins in 21 Practice Categories, Recommends 49 Individual LawyersRankings & AwardsAugust 25, 2022
- Rankings & AwardsAugust 18, 2022
- Chairman of the subcommittee responsible for, and principal draftsman of Legal Opinions Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, Statement on Legal Opinions Regarding Indemnification and Exculpation Provisions under Texas Law, 41 Tex. J. Bus. L. 271 (Winter 2006)