Akin 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
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllTexas Social Media Law: Federal Circuit Gives Trial Court Instructions
3 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Trump's Return to the White House: The Legal Industry Reacts
- 3Election 2024: Nationwide Judicial Races and Ballot Measures to Watch
- 4Climate Disputes, International Arbitration, and State Court Limitations for Global Issues
- 5Judicial Face-Off: Navigating the Ethical and Efficient Use of AI in Legal Practice [CLE Pending]
- 6How Much Does the Frequency of Retirement Withdrawals Matter?
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250