Lawyers
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison announced today that leading M&A lawyer Sean T. Wheeler will join the firm as a partner, co-chair of Global M&A and head of the firm’s new Houston office. Houston M&A lawyer Debbie P. Yee will also join the firm as a partner. Paul, Weiss is establishing a new Houston office focused on energy M&A and infrastructure clients, among others.
Sean T. Wheeler
Wheeler has counseled clients across numerous industries, including energy and infrastructure, as well as healthcare, technology, real estate and travel. His recent representations include advising:
- Marathon Oil Corporation in its $22.5 billion all-stock sale to ConocoPhillips;
- ONEOK, Inc. in its $18.8 billion acquisition of Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.;
- Energy Transfer LP in its $7.1 billion acquisition of Crestwood Equity Partners LP;
- NexTier Oilfield Solutions, Inc. in its merger of equals with Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc., creating a combined total enterprise value of $5.4 billion;
- Callon Petroleum Company in its $4.5 billion all-stock sale to APA Corporation; and
- Permian Resources Corporation in its $4.5 billion all-stock acquisition of Earthstone Energy, Inc.
Wheeler has received numerous industry accolades, including being named a “Dealmaker of the Year” by Texas Lawyer and a “Top Energy & Power Lawyer” by Mergerlinks. He is also ranked in Chambers Global, Chambers USA and The Legal 500. He earned a B.S. from the University of Alabama, summa cum laude, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude.
“Sean is the country’s most talented and accomplished deal lawyer in the energy space,” said Scott A. Barshay, chair of the Corporate Department. “He is the ideal leader to spearhead our expansion into Houston.”
Debbie P. Yee
Yee regularly leads multibillion-dollar transactions for major energy companies and private equity sponsors. In addition to leading major energy deals by herself and alongside Wheeler, Yee has represented major private equity firms in their infrastructure investments, recently advising TPG Rise Climate Transition Infrastructure in its $2.2 billion acquisition of Altus Power and Blackstone Infrastructure in its pending $11.5 billion take-private of TXNM Energy.
“Debbie is a star M&A lawyer with strong experience leading major energy and infrastructure deals. We are thrilled to welcome her,” Barshay said.
Yee has been named a “Dealmaker of the Year” by Texas Lawyer and is ranked in Chambers Global, Chambers USA and The Legal 500. Yee earned a B.S. from New York University and a J.D., magna cum laude, from New York Law School, where she was the executive editor of the New York Law School Law Review.
Houston Office
Paul, Weiss’s Houston office opening complements the firm’s strong track record of energy M&A representations and strategic investments in infrastructure and project finance.
“Houston is a booming business epicenter that is home to many of our clients,” said Paul, Weiss Chairman Brad S. Karp. “Houston’s dynamic business environment, world-class energy sector and rapidly diversifying economy make it an ideal market for the next step in our firm’s growth trajectory.”
Paul, Weiss has advised on many of the largest energy M&A deals in recent years, including Chevron’s $55 billion acquisition of Hess Corporation and Endeavor Energy Resources’ $26 billion sale to Diamondback Energy.
The firm has recently welcomed several infrastructure- and project finance-focused partners in both the U.S. and the UK. Ravi Purohit joined as co-head of the Infrastructure Practice in September 2023, followed by prominent sponsor-side infrastructure financing lawyer Taner Hassan in London in January 2024; leading digital infrastructure lawyer Tom Levine in London in July 2025; and project finance stars Kelann Stirling, as head of Project Finance & Development, and Jamie Franklin in New York in December 2025. Paul Foote will join later this year in London as head of European Infrastructure M&A.
The firm has advised on numerous infrastructure transactions in recent years, including:
- Data center operator CyrusOne Inc.’s $15 billion acquisition by funds managed by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners;
- Apollo-managed funds and affiliates’ $11 billion investment to acquire from Intel a 49% equity interest in a joint venture entity related to Intel’s Fab 34, a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Ireland;
- Communications infrastructure provider Crown Castle’s $8.5 billion sale of its fiber segment to EQT Active Core Infrastructure fund and Zayo Group Holdings Inc.;
- Semiconductor company AMD’s $4.9 billion acquisition of ZT Systems, a leading provider of AI and general-purpose compute infrastructure for hyperscale providers;
- Blackstone Infrastructure Partners’ $2.15 billion acquisition of a 19.9% equity interest in NiSource subsidiary Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC (NIPSCO); and
- Brookfield Infrastructure’s strategic investment in Hotwire Communications, a leading provider of all-fiber broadband and telecommunication services.
Houston M&A lawyer Debbie Yee to join Wheeler in new office
Establishment of a Houston office complements the firm’s significant work in energy M&A and infrastructure transactions
