Vinson & Elkins has promoted seven lawyers to its partnership: Manuel Berrelez, Christopher Dewar, and Christina Tate in Dallas; Ryan Carney and Adam Larson in Houston; Jenny Doak in London; and Katy Gottsponer in Washington, D.C.


“The impressive work these lawyers have done on behalf of our clients has been notable and worthy of promotion to our partnership,” says V&E chairman Mark Kelly. “Each individual in this group has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to contribute substantially to the strategic objectives of their practice groups and the firm.”


The new partners span five of the firm’s key practice areas: complex commercial litigation, energy transactions/projects, finance, mergers and acquisitions/private equity, and tax. Their promotions take effect 1 January 2014.
Berrelez is a commercial litigator in V&E’s Dallas office with broad experience litigating cases in state and federal courts and in regulatory matters. He represents plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving banking and regulatory enforcement actions, business torts, contract and real estate disputes, class actions, and other business litigation. Berrelez recently first-chaired a team that successfully tried an enforcement action brought by the Comptroller of the Currency against a bank CEO alleging violations of federal banking law.
Gottsponer’s practice focuses on energy infrastructure project development and finance transactions. She represents sponsors, developers, private equity firms, institutional investors and financial institutions in developing, financing and restructuring complex domestic and international infrastructure projects. She has advised clients in connection with significant power transmission and power generation projects, including solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric facilities, and midstream natural gas, including gas storage, gathering and transportation, and LNG liquefaction projects.
Dewar advises lenders and borrowers in US domestic and international syndicated loan transactions, with a special focus on the energy industry. In particular, he has extensive experience in representing agent banks in connection with reserve-based financings to public and private oil and gas producers in the upstream sector, and with loans to refineries, storage and pipeline companies, and oilfield services companies.
Larson handles mergers and acquisitions, private equity and joint venture investments, capital markets transactions, and general corporate matters. He has advised private equity investors, their portfolio companies, and a variety of public and private companies in connection with mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and strategic investments.
Tate’s practice focuses on public and private mergers and acquisitions, with an emphasis on representing private equity firms and their portfolio companies. She also has significant experience representing public and private companies in securities offerings and a variety of other corporate matters, including securities law disclosures, corporate governance, fiduciary obligations, and compliance matters. Tate represents clients in a variety of industries, including consumer products, downstream and midstream energy sectors, retail, building products, media, advertising, healthcare services, pharmaceuticals and insurance.
Carney handles the tax aspects of domestic and international business transactions. His experience includes taxation of publicly traded partnerships, MLPs, private equity transactions and structures, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, and capital market transactions.
Doak is a London-based tax lawyer. She focuses on the tax aspects of international and UK corporate and finance transactions, as well as providing tax structuring and consultancy advice. She advises on public and private mergers and acquisitions, demergers, capital markets transactions, joint ventures, reorganisations, returns of value, restructurings, and distressed debt acquisitions.
