Mr Stephen Crain > Bracewell LLP > Houston, United States > Lawyer Profile

Bracewell LLP is home to litigators who represent significant individuals, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and national and multinational corporations across an assortment of sectors. The litigation team also assists clients at all stages of trail, and is well-equipped to oversee arbitration, mediation, and other alternative-dispute resolutions. Stephen Crain leads the department and is often engaged in matters pertaining to the energy industry, and advises commodity traders, developers and producers, and suppliers. Bradley Benoit is proficient in bankruptcy mandates, and assists clients in the oil and gas, power and pipeline industries. Stephen Benesh works from Austinand  is routinely engaged in business and security litigation in addition to commercial disputes, while Christopher Dodson is also a name to note. All mentioned individuals are located in Houston, unless stated otherwise.

Praised as an ‘excellent team’, who are ‘strong and effective’, Bracewell LLP acts for industry leaders in the oil and gas sector, such as Chevron and Apache, in high-profile litigation cases, as both defendants and litigators, with demonstrable experience in arbitrations relating to royalty ownership, oil and gas co-tenancies and class actions. Houston-based Stephen Crain chairs the firm’s wider litigation group, representing developers, producers, commodity traders and suppliers in the energy sector across a broad range of disputes, including those surrounding alleged violations of securities law. Following the departures of Sean Gorman, Christopher Dodson and Andrew Zeve to White & Case LLP in February 2023, Crain jointly leads the team alongside Deanna King, who also operates from the firm’s Houston office.

Bracewell LLP‘s litigators are well known for their ‘excellent team work’  in representing industry-leading companies in complex disputes, such as representing global power producers in litigation and arbitration throughout the US and before state and federal bodies. The team has experience in acting both for plaintiffs and defendants, and in a stand-out mandate is representing Tenaska Power Services Co against Olin Corporation in the Texas ERCOT market after being named in various suits alleging wrongful death, personal injury and property damage; this is one of the first matters to address responsibility of ancillary service imbalance charges that accrued during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021. Houston-based Stephen Crain, chair of the firm’s litigation group, represents developers and producers, commodity traders and suppliers to the energy industry. Deanna King in Austin advises domestic and foreign energy industry clients in regulatory and compliance matters, and litigation, having appeared before FERC and other state and federal agencies. Andrew Zeve in Houston handles disputes related to the oil and gas industry. In Washington DC, Charles R. Mills joined from Steptoe LLP in March 2022.