Vinson & Elkins - Profile

Profile

The firm was founded in Houston, Texas, in 1917 by Judge James A. Elkins and William A. Vinson. The firm is known for its energy industry experience, with more than 400 lawyers involved in energy-related legal work. The firm is recognized as “The World’s Leading Energy Law Firm” by Euromoney Magazine 2010 - 2011. In 2011, Chambers & Partners recognized V&E in Projects & Energy: Oil & Gas: Global-wide.

The focus is not surprising given the birth of the modern petroleum industry took place at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas, only 80 miles from Vinson & Elkins' initial office in Houston.

Vinson & Elkins has expanded from its core energy practice to many other practices including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, capital markets, infrastructure, infrastructure development, finance, international transactions, regulatory matters, professional liability, intellectual property, complex commercial litigation, restructuring and reorganization, climate change, environmental, labor and employment, tax, employee benefits and executive compensation, appellate, condemnation, and real estate.

In 2001, V&E received negative attention for its role as legal advisor to Enron, the failed Houston-based energy company. During the years following Enron's collapse, Vinson & Elkins was the subject of a number of claims, and its representation of Enron endured scrutiny by news organizations, the U.S. Congress, and federal agencies. Vinson & Elkins was voluntarily dismissed without payment in January 2007 from the last significant litigation involving the Enron collapse. The law firm agreed to pay $30 million to the failed energy company's bankruptcy estate to avoid a lawsuit claiming it aided in the company's downfall.

Within the legal profession, V&E is acknowledged for breaking down religious, racial, and gender barriers that hinder the advancement of talented lawyers. In 1942, firm co-founder Vinson sued the State of Texas to obtain more just representation on juries, and the firm continues to make strides toward improving diversity in the legal profession. In 2009, the firm was again named a Community of Respect by the Anti-Defamation League, a designation V&E has maintained since the program’s inception in 2006, and is also the two-time recipient of the Thomas L. Sager Award for the South/Southwest Region by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association for the firm's sustained commitment to diversity. In 2009, for the second year in a row, Working Mother Magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers named Vinson & Elkins one of the "Best Law Firms for Women," citing the firm’s continued focus on work-life and women-friendly policies. In 2009, the City of Houston’s Flexible Workplace Initiative Program honored Vinson & Elkins for the second consecutive year with the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. Additionally, in 2009, the Human Rights Campaign awarded V&E a perfect score, for the second year in a row, on the HRC's 2010 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which rates businesses on a scale from 0 to 100 percent based on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) workplace policies and benefits.

Outside of the legal arena, Vinson & Elkins has also been recognized for its community involvement and support of the arts. V&E has been the only law firm to be named to The BCA Ten, sponsored by the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. and Forbes magazine, a list of the top 10 business patrons of the arts in the U.S., and has been so named twice. The firm has maintained a long-standing pro bono relationship with The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Houston Ballet, and Houston Grand Opera, and supports numerous other arts, civic, and charitable organizations in communities where V&E has offices.