About

Before joining Par Pacific in July 2014, James Matthew Vaughn has accrued14 years of experience in private practice as an associate and then equity partner at Porter Hedges in Houston, Texas in the corporate restructuring and energy groups at the firm. Vaughn is a highly respected lawyer in the energy infrastructure industry and brings his wealth of experience to Par Pacific, an industry leading energy infrastructure management company. Immediately after joining Par Pacific, Vaughn spearheaded the negotiation and closing of its merger with one of the leading logistics and retail providers in Hawaii. This included negotiating antitrust approval with the FTC after extensive negotiation and discovery, as well as leading a capital markets transaction and a private, syndicated debt transaction to fund the purchase price. He also led the negotiation of a new intermediation agreement for a Hawaii refinery, and its securitisation. Lastly, he led the company in its acquisition of its Wyoming operations, including a related convertible note issuance, term facility and revolving term credit facility with a series of lenders and a public rights offering with a private debt backstop for the arrangement. He highlights that ‘each of these transactions were significantly circumscribed in terms of timing, but were extremely complex. They have moulded me as a legal professional by further highlighting the “need for speed” and ability to make enterprise-altering decisions quickly and decisively, with informed advice’. When Vaughn joined Par Pacific, he essentially created the legal function, which he had previously shepherded as lead outside counsel. He reorganised the structure and incorporated the compliance, regulatory and governmental affairs, risk management and EH&S into his direct reports. He implemented a direct review process for all transactions that did not previously exist, which resulted in a more interactive and informed review process of all arrangements to which the company and its subsidiaries are parties. Vaughn’s advice to prospective in-house lawyers is as follows: ‘steep learning curves at the inception of a career, while stressful, immediately provide benefits in the mid- and long-term. Learning to make decisions and provide sound advice in the form of creative solutions, rather than simply saying “no,” is the best training for going in-house’.