Paul Hastings Houston Office Expansion Continues with Prominent Master Limited Partnership and Capital Markets Lawyer

April 23, 2013

Houston, TX - Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, announced today that Gislar Donnenberg has joined the firm as a partner with the Securities and Capital Markets practice in Houston. Mr. Donnenberg joins from Andrews Kurth LLP, where he was a partner. He is one of the leading legal experts in master limited partnerships (MLP), with a strong base of energy clients. His arrival coincides with the one-year anniversary of the firm’s Houston office opening.

“Gislar’s MLP experience, combined with our existing MLP, private equity, finance and M&A capabilities will transform our expanding Houston office,” said Greg Nelson, chair of the Houston office. “MLPs have become the dominant capital markets vehicle in the energy industry and Gislar’s addition will allow us to help our clients take advantage of the growth opportunities in the market,” he added.

“His arrival will cement our status as one of a small number of firms in Houston with the full complement of capital markets and tax capabilities to serve MLPs,” said Elizabeth Noe, chair of the firm’s Corporate practice. “Gislar is highly sought after by energy clients involved in complex financing transactions and seeking counsel on dealing with a variety of regulatory bodies, including the SEC. His expertise will strengthen our client service capabilities as we continue to grow the scope of our capital markets expertise in Houston and globally,” she added.

A master limited partnership (MLP), also known as a publicly traded partnership, is a limited partnership or limited liability company that is publicly traded on a U.S. stock exchange and that owns and manages energy industry assets such as oil and gas pipelines. The vehicle is popular because it combines the tax benefits of a limited partnership with the liquidity of publicly traded securities, while preserving low commodity exposure. There are currently over 90 MLPs trading in the U.S.

Mr. Donnenberg’s primary practice focuses on corporate/securities transactions. Representing a broad range of both public and private companies, his transaction experience includes issuer and underwriter representation in public offerings of equity and debt, mergers, business combinations and acquisitions, special committee representations, private placements, publicly traded limited partnerships, and royalty trusts, all with a focus on energy companies (including exploration and production, natural gas, crude oil and product pipelines, terminaling, and storage) as well as drilling services, aviation, chemicals, and health care. Mr. Donnenberg also regularly assists public company clients with corporate governance issues, including advising audit and compensation committees, helping clients to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Securities and Exchange Commission rules and interpretations, and the listing requirements of securities exchanges.

Mr. Donnenberg’s arrival follows the April 2012 opening of the firm’s office in Houston and the arrival of three energy-focused transactional partners: Greg Nelson, Paris Theofanidis, and Steven Tredennick. The firm also recently announced the hire of Sam Cooper, who joined the firm as a partner with the Litigation practice in Houston and Lorenzo Parola, who joined the Energy and Corporate practices in Milan.

Paul Hastings LLP is a leading global law firm with offices in Asia, Europe, and the United States. We provide innovative legal solutions to financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies. Please visit www.paulhastings.com for more information.