Sidley Austin LLP has opened a Houston office to expand its service to energy-based clients.

The new office opened with seven partners and will focus on a mix of transactional, regulatory and litigation practices. The Houston team will work closely with firm colleagues around the globe, including the energy regulatory and environmental practices in the Washington, D.C. office.

“This new office represents the next phase in executing our strategic plan to have a substantial presence in all key commercial, financial and regulatory centers of the world,” said Thomas A. Cole, chair of the firm’s Executive Committee. “Houston is not only a critical center for the energy industry—it is third only to New York and Chicago as the headquarters for Fortune 500 companies. Houston is also an important gateway to Mexico and Latin America.”

The founding partners for the Houston office will be:

Kenneth M. Anderson—banking and finance; Brigham Young University Law School, J.D. with honors, 1982. Anderson will join Sidley from Locke Lord, where he represented the arranger/administrative agent and borrowers in syndicated financings. His national syndicated bank financing practice includes broad experience in syndicated lending transactions, including energy financings, structured financings, project financings, multi-currency financings and highly leveraged transactions.

Mark Glasser—litigation; The University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1976. Mark will be joining Sidley from Baker Botts, where he served as firmwide co-chair of the energy litigation section, bringing 33 years of experience in the federal and state courts to the prosecution and defense of energy, securities and professional liability litigation.

J. Mark Metts—M&A, securities and corporate governance; The University of Texas School of Law, J.D. with high honors, 1983. Metts will be joining Sidley from Jones Day, where he assisted clients with mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, acquisitions for private equity clients and public offerings, especially relating to the energy industry.

Glenn L. Pinkerton—M&A and project finance; Columbia Law School, J.D., 1986. Pinkerton will be joining Sidley from Vinson & Elkins, bringing extensive experience in project development and finance, mergers and acquisitions and international transactions. He has particular experience in all facets of the energy business, including upstream, pipelines, LNG, refining and chemicals, power generation and transmission and retail.

Sergio A. Pozzerle—M&A and project finance; Yale Law School, J.D., 1997. Pozzerle will be joining Sidley from McDermott Will & Emery, where he focused his global practice on project development and finance, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. He has extensive experience in renewable energy, spanning the entire range of renewable technologies, as well as co-generation and other traditional power projects, LNG terminals, drilling rigs, seismic vessels and other energy and infrastructure projects.

James L. Rice III—energy transactions; Tulane University Law School, J.D., 1983. Rice will be joining Sidley from Akin Gump, where he headed the energy and global transactions practice and served on that firm’s Management Committee.

Steven R. Selsberg—litigation; Washington University School of Law, J.D., 1986. Selsberg will be joining Sidley from Mayer Brown, where he focused on litigation and dispute resolution, often representing entities from Mexico and other Latin American countries in litigation matters throughout the United States.

The new office evolved out of an initiative by two partners in Sidley’s New York office—Joseph W. Armbrust, a former member of the firm’s Management Committee, who has worked closely with Houston-based companies for over 30 years, and Irving Rotter, head of the firm’s project finance and infrastructure practice. Larry Barden, based in Chicago, will be the Management Committee’s liaison to the Houston office.

The firm plans to move the Houston office to its permanent space later this year. In the interim, it is operating in temporary office space at JPMorgan Chase Tower.

Sidley Austin LLP is a full-service law firm with approximately 1,700 lawyers practicing in 18 US and international cities, including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. This year, Sidley celebrates 30 years in Asia.