March 1, 2017
Following the announcement of the opening of its new Houston office on February 6, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce the addition of two partners. The new partners are Michael P. Darden and Justin T. Stolte.
Darden joins the firm from Latham & Watkins, and Stolte is formerly with Apache Corporation, where he was a member of the Business Development Group. Both lawyers will focus on oil and gas-related transactions at Gibson Dunn. The other partners will be announced in the coming weeks.
"We believe our Houston office is a key step to participate at the highest end of the energy market," said Ken Doran, Chairman and Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn. "Mike and Justin are strong additions to the firm. They are steeped in the energy industry and have an impressive record of executing complex energy transactions."
"We are delighted to welcome Michael and Justin to the firm," said Rob Walters, Partner in Charge of the firm’s Dallas office. "Michael is a seasoned lawyer who will complement our strong energy practice and enhance our presence in the oil and gas industry. Justin has a deep understanding of the energy industry that will be extremely valuable to our clients."
"I am excited to join Gibson Dunn’s new Houston office," said Darden. "Gibson Dunn is one of the top names in the legal market, and is the right platform for the next stage of my career. I look forward to the challenge of helping the firm further expand its energy practice. The practices of the partners joining the firm in Houston will complement and strengthen the firm’s energy practice and ensure Gibson Dunn’s place among the leading energy law firms in the world."
About Michael P. Darden
Darden joins the firm from Latham & Watkins, where he served as Global Chair of the Oil & Gas Transactions Practice and Global Co-Chair of the Oil & Gas Industry Team. His practice focuses on international and domestic oil and gas ventures, energy infrastructure projects, asset acquisitions and divestitures, and energy-based financings.
Before joining Latham in 2010, Darden was a partner at Baker Botts. Prior to that, he served in legal and/or commercial capacities at a number of companies. He received his law degree in 1986 from the University of Houston Law Center, an MBA in 2002 from Rice University and a BBA in Petroleum Land Management in 1980 from The University of Texas.
About Justin T. Stolte
Stolte joins the firm from Apache Corporation, where he carried out upstream and midstream oil and gas transactions (including deal origination, due diligence, negotiation, closing, and post-transaction integration) in a business/commercial role for the Business Development Group. His practice at Gibson Dunn will focus on acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures involving oil and gas assets.
Before joining Apache in 2014, he was an oil and gas transactional attorney at Latham & Watkins and Baker Botts; and, prior to law school, was a petroleum engineer for ChevronTexaco in the Permian Basin.
Stolte received his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in 2007 and holds a degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, where he graduated with high honors in 2002. He will complete the Executive M.B.A. program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management in May of this year.