Akin Gump's offices at 2001 K Street, NW, in Washington, D.C. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALMAkin Gump Adds Kirkland Debt Finance, Restructuring Partner in Houston
Lawyers such as new Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld partner Chad Nichols, who works on cutting-edge finance including distressed and restructuring financings, are in hot demand in Texas, where the energy industry is suffering from low oil prices.
April 13, 2020 at 07:52 PM
3 minute read
With bankruptcy and restructuring work on the upswing, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld hired Kirkland & Ellis debt finance and special situations lawyer Chad Nichols as a corporate partner in Houston.
Nichols, who joined Akin Gump on Monday, focuses on the energy sector, now in distress due to the low price of oil. Akin Gump is one a number of Texas firms with big energy practices that have brought on lawyers for bankruptcy or restructuring work as oil prices declined. And the economic unrest from the coronavirus pandemic is likely creating more demand for restructuring expertise.
Nichols said his debt finance practice will link up Akin Gump's "top-tier" corporate energy and restructuring practices.
He said his practice has been "nimble," allowing him to do acquisition finance in a hot mergers and acquisitions market but also pivot to restructuring work. His clients include private equity firms, private credit funds, hedges funds and distressed funds, he said.
"We may very well represent a distressed company that finds itself in financial trouble. … We may represent a private credit fund that is looking to make a potential investment in a distressed company," Nichols said.
Nichols has spent nearly six years at Kirkland's Houston office.
John Goodgame, a co-head of Akin Gump's corporate practice and the partner-in-charge of the Houston office, said in a statement that Nichols' experience in "off-the-run financings, as well as distressed and rescue lending," expands and complements the firm's finance and special situations practices.
Nichols said he's been on the other side of the table from Akin Gump many times and has been impressed by the firm's cohesiveness across practice groups.
The financing lawyer declined to identify his clients, but according to information on his Kirkland profile, his borrower-side clients included Vine Oil & Gas, BlackBrush Texas Star, My Alarm Center and Pier 1 Imports. On the lender side, he did work for EIG Global Energy Partners and Ares Management, and clients in the workout and restructuring area include Globe Energy Services, Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. and Midstates Petroleum Co. Acquisition clients listed in his representative work include Encino Acquisition Partners and Advent International.
Kirkland declined to comment on Nichols' departure, a spokeswoman said in an email.
Last month, Akin Gump hired as partners two Haynes and Boone corporate practice leaders in Dallas.
|Read More:
Looking to Grow in Dallas, Akin Gump Nabs 2 Practice Leaders From Haynes and Boone
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