Chambers and Partners USA

Texas Banking & Finance (Band 1)

According to Chambers USA 2011:

THE FIRM This group is best known for its focus on energy-related finance matters, but has significant experience in advising both borrowers and lenders in project finance, structured finance and syndicated lending. Working alongside a strong bankruptcy practice, the team is well equipped to deal with the restructurings and related issues arising from the current economic climate. Its impressive client list includes Bank of America, RBS and UBS Securities.

Sources say: "This large Houston firm has provided some wonderfully creative solutions to our problems."

KEY INDIVIDUALS William Hayes provides senior counsel on transactional work, giving guidance on complex arrangements. His peers describe him as "a terrific lawyer." Dewey Gonsoulin earns acclaim as an upstream expert, overseeing credit facilities relating to energy exploration and production. According to peers, he is an "outstanding lawyer – very smart and very good to work with." Heather Brown works closely with the bankruptcy team, handling oil and gas financings in addition to other structured deals requiring tax and regulatory expertise. Interviewees were quick to comment on her business acumen and efficiency. Mark Evans now acts as a managing partner, but has kept up his finance practice and relationships with clients such as Société Générale, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole. Peers suggest that "the incredible sophistication of Bracewell's practice is largely due to Mark Evans." Alan Rafte heads the energy and finance practices. He represents utilities, financial institutions and commodity traders in transactions involving upstream oil and gas projects, electric utilities and energy commodity trading with regard to structured, leveraged and project finance. Stephanie Song recently represented Wells Fargo Bank and Wells Fargo Securities in connection with a senior secured revolving borrowing base credit facility for Alta Mesa Holdings. Clients comment that "she needs no hand-holding, offers unbelievably quick responses and shows fantastic commitment to the deal in question."

Legal 500

Structured Finance  (Tier 6)

According to Legal 500 2011:

Bracewell & Giuliani LLP “staffs appropriately and presents a very high value for money.” Houston-based Alan Rafte heads an energy group whose structured finance lawyers are recommended for the design of complex structured and secured financing and hedging facilities not only in the demanding energy sector, but also for securitization of cash flows from hi-tech contracts such as software and cell tower leases. In representative instructions, New York-centered Robin Miles joined with Christopher Olive in the Dallas office, to assist a major financial institution structure and document a crude oil purchase, sale, storage and derivatives facility involving related hedging transactions including the exchange of futures for physicals (EFPs) and over-the-counter crude oil and refined products swap transactions. Practice clients include Macquarie, Merrill Lynch Commodities and Shell Energy.

Thomson Reuters Loan Pricing Corp.

First Quarter 2012 League Tables

Bracewell & Giuliani earned the following rankings in the U.S. syndicated lending league tables for the first quarter of 2012. The league tables rank firms based on the volume of deals and the number of deals in which they represent both borrowers and lenders.

Overall Issuance by Volume: #8

Overall Issuance by Number of Deals: #18

Lender Representation by Volume: #18

Lender Representation by Number of Deals: #14

Borrower Representation by Volume: #3

Borrower Representation by Number of Deals: #27