HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire - December 2, 2010) - Continuing the expansion of its growing energy transactions practice, King & Spalding announced today the addition to its Houston, Texas, office of three lawyers specializing in energy transactional and project work in Latin America. They are counsel Adrian L. Talamantes and foreign legal consultants Vera de Gyarfas and Rodrigo Morales Draxl. De Gyarfas is expected to join the firm in January 2011.
"Energy is one the firm's core strengths and a strategic driver of our growth, and we are continually looking to broaden our global reach to put our energy expertise at the fingertips of clients around the world," said Philip R. Weems, co-leader of King & Spalding's global energy practice. "We welcome Adrian, Vera and Rodrigo to the firm. They enhance our transactional capabilities in the Americas, especially in relation to transactions governed by civil law. King & Spalding is one of very few large firms whose energy practice enjoys a geographic footprint that includes Houston, Washington, D.C., New York, London, Paris, Geneva, Frankfurt, Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and San Francisco."
Talamantes, who joins King & Spalding from Vinson & Elkins, focuses on domestic and international business transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures and projects. His energy industry experience covers the representation of buyers and sellers of equity and assets, including oil and gas properties, crude-oil and gas transportation systems, LNG facilities and power generation facilities. Fluent in English and Spanish, Talamantes drafts, reviews and analyzes complex documents in both languages. A licensed Mexican attorney in addition to his membership in the Texas bar, he regularly assists clients in managing their legal affairs in Mexico, including such matters as real estate transactions. He received a J.D. degree, with high honors, from South Texas College of Law, and a law degree from the Universidad de Monterrey (Monterrey, México).
De Gyarfas, a skilled corporate lawyer who is joining King & Spalding from Travieso Evans Arria Rengel & Paz, in Caracas, Venezuela, where she had been a partner since 2005, has broad experience in energy transactions and regulation, representing foreign oil, gas and power companies in Venezuela in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, profit-sharing agreements, operating services agreements, EPC contracts and oilfield service contracts. Ranked as one of Venezuela's top energy and natural resources lawyers by Chambers Latin America and Chambers Global, de Gyarfas is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish. She received a degree in law from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello.
Morales rejoins King & Spalding from Estudio Rubio, Leguía, Normand & Asociados, Lima, Peru, having served previously as a foreign legal consultant at King & Spalding in 2008. He represents multinational companies in a variety of complex cross-border business transactions, mainly in Latin America. He assists clients with project development transactions, project and equipment finance and other energy-related transactions. Morales is fluent in English and Spanish. He earned a law degree from the University of Lima and an LL.M. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
"Adrian, Vera and Rodrigo are great fits for our stellar Latin America team, which represents clients in nearly every country in Latin America in complex, large mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and advises energy companies on their investments and project development activities in that region," said John L. Keffer, co-leader of King & Spalding's Latin America practice. "We're proud that King & Spalding is highly ranked for its work in Latin America by Chambers, Latin Lawyer and Thomson Financial and in South America by Petroleum Economist. We couldn't be more pleased that these three lawyers have chosen to help us continue our record of energy and transactional excellence."
King & Spalding powered-up its energy practice over the past 24 months with the addition of the following practitioners: a team of five prominent energy transaction lawyers from Hogan Lovells, including power-development partners Garry Pegg and Hywel Jones and Counsel Nina Howell, in the firm's London office; Crayton L. Bell, a well-known acquisitions and private equity lawyer specializing in the energy sector, in the New York office; construction and infrastructure partners-elect Tim M. Burbury and Leroy Levy, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively; projects and construction partner James Bremen, in London; and energy regulatory partners Neil L. Levy, David G. Tewksbury and Bruce L. Richardson, in Washington D.C. In addition, to serve as a hub for the firm's work in both energy transactions and international arbitration throughout the Asia-Pacific, King & Spalding opened an office in Singapore in September 2010.
Consistently ranked among the top energy practices in the world, King & Spalding advises clients on a broad spectrum of transactions, including project development and finance, construction and procurement, joint ventures, investments, mergers and acquisitions, privatizations and capitalizations, and marketing and trading across the oil and gas, power, natural resources and marine transportation industries. The more than 150 lawyers who comprise the group are resident in the majority of the firm's offices and virtually all of its practice groups, giving King & Spalding one of the broadest and deepest benches of energy lawyers in the world. Chambers USA ranks King & Spalding as one of only four firms in the top tier for international arbitration work. The firm won the 2010 Chambers USA and Chambers Latin America Awards for Excellence in international arbitration, and last year the firm's construction practice was an award finalist.
About King & Spalding
Celebrating 125 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Houston, London, New York, Paris, Riyadh (affiliated office), San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Singapore and Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the Fortune 100 and, according to a Corporate Counsel survey in August 2009, ranks fifth in its total number of representations of those companies. For additional information, visit www.kslaw.com.
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