Bracewell Makes Eight Partner and Senior Principal Promotions

HOUSTON – Bracewell LLP announced today that eight practitioners have been promoted to partner or senior principal, effective January 1, 2023. Seven lawyers were elected partner, including: Andrew C.J. Bueso (Houston), Summer B. Greathouse (San Antonio), Tyler S. Johnson (Seattle), Kate Barrington McGregor (Houston), Laura D. Sheldon (Washington, DC), Drew Taggart (Houston) and Christine G. Wyman (Washington, DC). In addition, Caitlin Sickles (Washington, DC) was promoted to senior principal in Bracewell’s Policy Resolution Group.

“I am thrilled to congratulate these outstanding professionals on their promotions. Their commitment to excellence and collaboration allow us to serve as our clients’ firm of choice for complex litigation, regulatory and transactional matters,” said Bracewell Managing Partner Gregory M. Bopp.

The internal promotions culminate a year in which Bracewell also expanded its partnership with five lateral partner hires who brought additional strength to the firm’s commodities and derivatives, energy and infrastructure, energy regulatory and intellectual property offerings.

2023 Partner and Senior Principal Promotions

Andrew C.J. Bueso – Resident in Bracewell’s Houston office, Bueso was promoted from associate to partner in the firm’s finance practice. He represents lenders and borrowers in a variety of traditional and creative secured and unsecured credit transactions. A large portion of his practice consists of representing large commercial banks in connection with syndicated credit facilities to exploration and production companies, midstream companies, oilfield services companies, and commodity trading and storage companies. Bueso earned his B.S.B.A. from University of Denver and his J.D., cum laude, from University of Houston Law Center, where he was Order of the Barons and business editor of Houston Journal of International Law. Prior to joining Bracewell, Bueso interned with the Honorable Nancy F. Atlas of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Summer B. Greathouse – Resident in Bracewell’s San Antonio office, Greathouse was promoted from associate to partner in the firm’s public finance practice. She concentrates her practice on tax-exempt financings, tax credits and governmental contracts at the federal, state and local levels. Greathouse advises purchasers, sellers, lenders, borrowers, landlords and tenants in various real estate transactions, including financings, acquisitions, dispositions and leases. She has been named “One to Watch” in tax law and corporate law by The Best Lawyers in America, and in 2020 was named to San Antonio Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list. Greathouse earned her B.A. from Trinity University and her J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law, where she was valedictorian of her class and managing executive editor of St. Mary’s Law Journal.

Tyler S. Johnson – Resident in Bracewell’s Seattle office, Johnson was promoted from senior counsel to partner in the firm’s energy regulatory practice. He advises energy companies on regulatory matters and in offshore wind development and permitting. Johnson works with clients on energy regulatory developments in the Northwest and the Western United States, with a focus on transmission and rate matters related to the Bonneville Power Administration. In addition, he advises offshore wind developers and investors on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s leasing and permitting processes, as well as the National Environmental Policy Act process. Johnson has been named “One to Watch” in energy law by The Best Lawyers in America for the last three years. He earned his B.S. from Yale University and his J.D., cum laude, from American University, Washington College of Law.

Kate Barrington McGregor – Resident in Bracewell’s Houston office, McGregor was promoted from associate to partner in the firm’s corporate and securities practice. She represents clients on M&A and joint venture transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors, including acquisitions and divestitures of oil and gas pipelines and storage terminal facilities, as well as the negotiation and drafting of build transfer agreements, EPC contracts, operation and maintenance agreements and construction management agreements, with a focus on power, renewable energy and energy storage. McGregor has been named “One to Watch” in corporate law by The Best Lawyers in America. She earned her B.A., with distinction, from University of Virginia and her J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law, where she was the senior executive editor of Virginia Law and Business Review.

Laura D. Sheldon – Resident in Bracewell’s Washington, DC office, Sheldon was promoted from associate to partner in the firm’s infrastructure development practice. She concentrates on US and cross-border transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors, including the sale and purchase of renewable assets, as well as the development and infrastructure stages of energy projects. Sheldon advises clients on asset and stock purchase agreements, joint venture agreements, transition services agreements, operation and maintenance agreements, build-out agreements, project administration agreements, EPC agreements and other procurement and development agreements. In 2022, Chambers USA recognized Sheldon as an “Associate to Watch” in power and renewables. Sheldon earned her B.B.A., summa cum laude, from The George Washington University, and her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, with high honors and Order of the Coif.

Caitlin Sickles – Resident in Bracewell’s Washington, DC office, Sickles was promoted from principal to senior principal in the firm’s Policy Resolution Group. She works with major corporations, industry associations and nonprofit organizations to advance their advocacy priorities and achieve their business objectives by enhancing the ways in which they communicate with their target audiences. Her focus includes branding and positioning, message development and delivery, media relations, spokesperson training and reputation management and crisis communications. Sickles leads the Policy Resolution Group’s digital communications program, designing and implementing comprehensive, multi-platform campaigns. Sickles has been included on the PR News “15 to Watch” list. She earned her B.A. in public relations and political science from Marquette University and her M.A. in communications from Johns Hopkins University.

Drew Taggart – Resident in Bracewell’s Houston office, Taggart was promoted from associate to partner in the firm’s litigation practice. He is a commercial litigator with jury trial, international arbitration and first-chair bench trial experience in complex oil and gas, intellectual property, construction, environmental and securities litigation. Prior to joining Bracewell, Taggart served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Leslie H. Southwick of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He earned his B.A., cum laude, from The University of Mississippi, and his J.D., magna cum laude, from The University of Mississippi School of Law, where he was executive articles editor of Mississippi Law Journal. Taggart has been named “One to Watch” in commercial litigation and patent law by The Best Lawyers in America.

Christine G. Wyman – Resident in Bracewell’s Washington, DC office, Wyman was promoted from senior principal to partner in the firm’s Policy Resolution Group. She assists clients in developing policy strategies and implementing them through effective participation in the legislative and regulatory process. Her work covers a broad range of issues, including energy, environmental, permitting, pipeline safety and consumer protection. Prior to joining Bracewell, Wyman was senior counsel at the American Gas Association. She graduated with a B.A. from University of North Carolina at Asheville, earned her Master of Environmental Management from Duke University, and graduated cum laude with a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. Wyman is ranked as a leading practitioner in government relations in Chambers USA and The Legal 500 United States.

2022 Lateral Partner Hires

In addition to internal promotions, Bracewell grew its partnership ranks in 2022 with the addition of five lateral partners, including Annie Cook, Jeffrey E. Danley, Catherine D. Little, and Charles R. Mills.

Annie Cook – Cook joined Bracewell’s Washington, DC office in June 2022 as a partner in the firm’s energy regulatory practice. She represents oil and natural gas pipeline, terminal and LNG facility operators with regard to transportation, safety and related laws. Cook received her B.A., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Kenyon College and her J.D., with honors, from Emory School of Law.
 

Jeffrey E. Danley – Danley joined Bracewell’s Seattle office in December 2022 as a partner in the firm’s intellectual property practice. He represents companies in IP enforcement, defense and litigation matters across a range of technologies. Danley graduated with highest honors from Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.E.E., earned his M.S. in electrical engineering from University of California, Berkeley, and graduated with a J.D. from The UC Berkeley School of Law.

Catherine D. Little – Little joined Bracewell’s Washington, DC office in June 2022 as a partner in the firm’s energy regulatory practice. She has more than 30 years of experience representing oil and gas pipeline, terminal and LNG clients across the United States on energy, transportation and safety-related matters at the federal, state and local levels. Little earned her B.A. from the University of Virginia and her J.D., cum laude, from Tulane University Law School.

Charles R. Mills – Mills joined Bracewell’s Washington, DC office in March 2022 as a partner in the firm’s government enforcement and investigations practice. He has over four decades of experience, both in private practice and as a litigator and regulatory attorney at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He is a former chair of the American Bar Association’s Derivatives and Futures Law Committee and has long served on the New York City Bar’s Committee on Futures and Derivatives Regulation. Mills is a graduate of Occidental College, cum laude, and Georgetown University Law Center, Dean’s List.