Mr Jason Bennett > Baker Botts L.L.P. > Houston, United States > Lawyer Profile

Lawyer Rankings

Hong Kong > Projects and energy

Baker Botts L.L.P. stands out for its ‘technical excellence‘, ‘practical advice‘ and ‘personal approach with clients‘. Upstream projects remain prominent in the firm’s recent workload, and the team has also been kept busy handling floating LNG projects. Clients include a number of major global energy sector companies. Key names in the practice include Michael Arruda, who is noted for handling Indonesia-based projects; Joanne Du, who has a focus on advising oil and gas sector clients on project investments; and the ‘responsive‘ Russell Wilkinson, who is singled out for his ‘vast technical and commercial knowledge‘. Head of Projects Jason Bennett is based in Houston.

United States > Industry focus > Energy transactions: oil and gas

Primarily centred out of its Texas stronghold, the ‘excellent team‘ at Baker Botts L.L.P. has longstanding experience across the gamut of transactional work impacting clients in the oil and gas industry. Combining ‘vast industry knowledge‘ with cutting-edge corporate and financing expertise, the team provides ‘great judgement and sound advice‘, and is regularly involved in many of the most significant upstream, midstream and downstream mandates in the market. Houston-based partner Erin Hopkins has a flourishing reputation and is frequently at the forefront of the firm’s biggest ticket M&A mandates, including his work (which included the mobilization of lawyers from across many different practice areas) for BHP Billiton on its $10.5bn sale of oil and gas interests in the Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Permian basins. Houston-based partner Jason Bennett is one of the overarching co-heads of the firm’s energy, projects and transactions team, and alongside his core oil and gas expertise, is also regularly engaged in complex liquified natural gas (LNG) corporate and commercial matters. Promoted to partner at the beginning of 2019, Houston-based partner Scott Looper  is also gaining recognition in the oil and gas space, both from a domestic and international perspective.

United States > Real estate > Construction (including construction litigation)

Now based out of the firm’s Houston office, the construction practice at Baker Botts L.L.P. is chaired by the head of global projects Jason Bennett, and has a predominant focus on energy or infrastructure-oriented disputes and transactional work. Joseph Colagiovanni, co-section chair of real estate and construction, leads on many matters; most notably, in representing INVISTA S.à r.l. during the drafting and negotiation of a $600m engineering, procurement and build contract to install latest generation technology at its Texas chemical plant. Colagiovanni also continues to advise Hines on design and construction agreements for the innovative $1bn commercial office tower development in Boston, situated on top of South Station’s existing rail and bus terminal. Further cases involve licensing and site acquisitions, along with a full range of damages claims.