Alan Alexander > Vinson & Elkins LLP > Houston, United States > Lawyer Profile

Lawyer Rankings

Latin America: International firms > Projects and energy

Vinson & Elkins LLP is a global leader in upstream oil and gas and it has brought this expertise to Latin America, most notably the Brazil and Mexico markets. In Mexico, it has achieved prominence in bidding rounds for exploration and production contracts, and in the development of natural gas pipelines and infrastructure to improve the flow of gas from the United States into the country. Downstream projects in Mexico are another growth area. In Brazil, it continues to be a force in presalt production sharing contracts. Moreover, it is recognised player in renewable energy  -including wind and solar- right across Latin America. Clients include Talos Energy, Riverstone, Key Energy Services, ExxonMobil, Pattern Energy Group and Statoil. The team advised Equinor on its acquisition of a 25% interest in the offshore Roncador field, one of Brazil’s largest producing oil fields, from Petrobras; and Avant Energy, the Riverstone portfolio company, on its proposal to invest $500m into the development of a network of terminals to supply refined petroleum products from the Port of Altamira, Tamaulipas to the Bajio region of North-Central Mexico. Clients praise the firm for ‘identifying key country entry risk‘, its ongoing support in post-closing matters, its ‘network of professionals‘, ‘ability to meet almost any timeline, whether that means working overnight, holidays or weekends‘, its understanding of how fast industries move, the manner in which ‘requests or issues are routed to the correct team member‘ and ‘the way the team communicates internally‘. Now based in San Francisco, Boyd Carano has a long record in oil-and-gas bids, acquisitions and project development in Mexico and Brazil; he is also an experienced figure in Latin America renewables projects. New York partner Eamon Nolan, a genuine Latin America project development and finance specialist, joined the New York office from Linklaters LLP in February 2019. London partner Alex Msimang and Houston’s Mark Brasher are also key names. Also in Houston, senior associate Alan Alexander is noted for his expertise in Mexico’s oil-and-gas sector; he is ‘a client’s dream‘, ‘can handle all aspects of a deal on his own‘, ‘is very efficient and reasonable with his billing, and does a good job of delegating work to members of his team‘, he ‘has always exceeded expectations, is very smart and is able to convey information in a manner that enables commercial decisions to be made based on his legal advice‘.

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

Vinson & Elkins LLP ’s international construction group is overseen by Nicholas Henchie from the firm’s London office. However, Ferguson McNiel – known for his broad litigation handling – and Kaam Sahely – an infrastructure and finance specialist – lead a ‘highly-skilled and seriously client-focused‘ US department in Houston. One of the team’s main strengths lies in its ‘ability to find viable legal solutions to complex commercial and technical topics‘, during public and energy sector work. To this end, Sahely is assisting Gulf Coast Ammonia with their $800m hydrogen-based ammonia production facility in Texas, with backing from ‘very good lawyer, but even better shepherd of projects‘ Alan Alexander and senior associate Stephanie Coco. Mark Brasher and Dallas-based Mark Early are representing Texas Central Partners in the development and construction of a $20 billion high-speed rail line between the DFW Metroplex and Houston, featuring an Italian contractor and Japanese technology consortium, alongside the intended domestic operator.