Shearman & Sterling has added Ian Roberts as a partner in Houston, taking an insolvency and restructuring lawyer from Baker Botts for the second time in less than two months.

Roberts, who joined Shearman on Thursday, said he is happy to be reunited with longtime colleague Luckey McDowell, who joined Shearman's Houston office as a partner May 1.

“It was a tremendous opportunity to join a firm like Shearman & Sterling that has such a storied legacy and to be part of further expansion in Texas,” Roberts said.

Roberts handles financial restructurings and his clients include public and private companies in the energy sector, including oil and gas and power companies.

He declined to identify clients, but according to Roberts' biography on the Shearman website, he has done restructuring work for PG&E, Bristow Group, GenOn Energy, Seadrill Limited, New Gulf Resources and Global Geophysical Services, United States Enrichment Corp. and the Texas Rangers. In the distressed acquisitions and dispositions area, he did work in matters involving SunEdison, Edison Mission Energy, Crusader Energy and Eastman Kodak, according to the bio.

“Ian's arrival further strengthens our growing U.S. and global restructuring and insolvency practice. As the second lateral partner hire for the practice, he brings additional support to our energy group in Texas,” David Beveridge, senior partner at Shearman & Sterling, said in a press release.

Ian Roberts, Shearman & Sterling.

Roberts will work out Shearman's Houston office, although he was based in Dallas while he was special counsel at Baker Botts. He said his practice is national, and he spends much of his time in Houston, New York and Delaware.

A spokeswoman for Shearman declined to comment on any plans for a Dallas office, but said, “We continue to assess the market for opportunities.”

Roberts spent the last 12 years at Baker Botts, except for one year when he was in house at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where he focused on global turnaround initiatives.

Shearman is growing fast in the Texas market. It put down roots in Austin in March 2018 and two months later launched an office in Houston. The firm now has more than 50 lawyers in Texas.

Hugh Tucker, the head of Shearman's Houston office, was not immediately available for comment on any plans the firm has to open an office in Dallas to add to the firm's Austin and Houston locations.

Baker Botts did not respond to a request for comment.

|

Read More

Baker Botts Picks Up Houston Tax Partner, Loses Restructuring Partner