Distressed Oil & Gas: The Houston Perspective

Jonathan Ayre Partner Oil & Gas, Energy

Houston

Jonathan Ayre represents energy, oil and gas, and chemical industry companies and their investors in acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, project development, financing and restructuring transactions. His practice includes the formation of private equity-backed entities investing in the energy, oil and gas, and chemicals industries.

Jonathan’s recent experience includes representing the noteholders in two securitizations of oil and gas wellbore assets of Raisa Energy, an Encap portfolio company, and Diversified Gas & Oil, an AIM listed public company. The transactions were named by Texas Lawbook as Top 10 Most Important Deals in Texas for 2019. He also represented Wells Fargo as administrative agent in connection with the Legacy Reserves prepetition $575 million first-lien RBL facility, $350 million DIP financing and $500 million committed exit facility, which ended in a full cash repayment for Wells Fargo and all lenders under the prepetition first-lien RBL and DIP facilities.

Jonathan serves as a member of Orrick's Professional Development Committee and as the firm's Recruiting Liaison to The University of Texas School of Law.

Joe Roger Partner Oil & Gas, Mergers & Acquisitions

Houston

Joe focuses his practice on energy and infrastructure transactions, advising a broad range of clients in transactional matters across key areas of the value chain, including upstream, midstream and downstream oil & gas, LNG, oilfield services, district energy systems, environmental services, and industrial services.

He has a particular focus on mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, private equity investments and project development. He regularly represents multinational energy companies, large private equity funds, project developers, pipeline companies, oilfield service and equipment companies, environmental services companies and industrial services companies, among others.

Laura Metzger Partner Restructuring

New York

Laura Metzger is a partner in the Restructuring Group, Office Leader of Orrick’s New York office and a member of Orrick's Management Committee.

She regularly represents financial institutions, funds and investors involved in bankruptcies, out-of-court restructurings, foreclosures, distressed sales and acquisitions, loan and claims trading, bankruptcy litigation and refinancing involving syndicated loan facilities, debtor-in-possession financing and exit financing. 

Recognized as “outstanding” by Legal 500, Laura was also named an "up and coming" lawyer by Chambers USA, which praised her “very commercial and solution oriented” approach. She is “a very capable lawyer who gives great advice,” according to clients.

She serves as counsel to lenders, creditors, investors, purchasers and sponsors. Her clients include Wells Fargo, Royal Bank of Canada, Citigroup Financial Products Inc., ECN Capital Corporation, Equinor, Portigon AG, Macquarie, PwC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Transurban, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Commerzbank, Hackman Capital, Erste Abwicklungsanstalt, and KBC Bank, among others.

Laura has been involved in many prominent bankruptcy and out-of-court restructuring cases, including Legacy Reserves, White Eagle, Cobalt, Chesapeake Energy, Shopko, The Weinstein Company, Stearns Lending, Lily Robotics, Seadrill, Chaparral, CHC Helicopters, Erickson, GT Advanced Technologies, Hostess, Pocahontas Parkway, Indiana Toll Road, Eagle Bulk, Fresh & Easy, American Airlines, Chemtura Corporation, Lazare Kaplan, Hawker Beechcraft, Metro Fuel, Claim Jumper Restaurants, Abitibibowater, Nortel, Fabrikant, Scotia Pacific, VICORP, Sea Containers, Lyondell, Foxwoods, Delta, US Air, Northwest, Star Diamond, and Ritchie Risk-Linked Strategies Trading (Ireland) Limited. She handles cross-border restructuring matters in major international jurisdictions such as Canada, Europe, and Hong Kong.