Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP announced today that Aisha P. Lavinier has joined the firm as a partner in the M&A Group within the Corporate Department and Jim Cole has joined the firm as a partner in the Tax Department, both resident in Houston. Lavinier advises private equity sponsors, financial investors, and public and private companies on complex, high-stakes transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, carve-outs and significant capital financing transactions. Cole advises corporate and private equity clients on the tax elements related to major energy, infrastructure and project finance transactions.
“Aisha and Jim are excellent lawyers with great experience working on major transactions,” said Paul, Weiss Chairman Scott A. Barshay. “We are thrilled to welcome them both to our firm.”
“Aisha’s versatility in advising clients from a broad range of industries on transformative deals, and Jim’s breadth of experience advising energy clients through all the tax implications of their most important transactions, including on energy tax incentives, each strengthen our full-service transactional offering in Houston,” said Sean T. Wheeler, global co-chair of M&A and head of the firm’s Houston office. “Their arrivals mark an exciting step in the continued growth of our Houston team.”
Lavinier has represented major private equity firms and corporates on numerous multibillion-dollar transactions. Her clients have spanned a broad range of industries, including software and technology, digital infrastructure, energy, utilities and infrastructure, chemicals and industrials, transportation and logistics, healthcare and life sciences and consumer and retail.
Lavinier’s past representations include, among many others, Thoma Bravo and its portfolio company HCSS in a business combination with a business division of Nemetschek; Clearlake Capital on the sale of its portfolio company TEAM Technologies to Arlington Capital Partners, and its acquisitions of BBB Industries and Intertape Polymer Group; Silver Oak Services Partners on the sale of Integrated Oncology Network to Cardinal Health; and Thoma Bravo and its portfolio companies on their acquisitions of Vitech and Magnet Forensics. She has also advised on transactions for Bain Capital, Madison Dearborn Partners and technology and pharmaceutical companies, among other clients. Lavinier was named to Savoy’s “Most Influential Black Lawyers” list in 2022 and 2024 and recognized by Super Lawyers as an M&A “Rising Star” in 2023. She earned a B.A. from Rice University and a J.D., cum laude, from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Cole advises on the tax aspects of M&A, financings, capital markets and restructuring transactions, with particular experience in the energy space, including the upstream, midstream, downstream, oil field services and alternative energy sectors. His practice includes a focus on the section 45Q federal income tax credit for carbon capture projects and energy tax incentives for wind and solar projects. Cole’s clients have included public and private companies, private equity firms, lenders, investment banks, developers, publicly traded partnerships and master limited partnerships.
Cole’s recent representations, among myriad others, include advising CPP Investments and Encino Energy in the sale of Encino Acquisition Partners to EOG Resources; Altus Power in its take-private by TPG; Targa Resources Corp. in its acquisition of Stakeholder Midstream; and Torch Clean Energy in its strategic partnership with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. He earned a B.B.A. and M.S. from Texas A&M University and a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center.
The Paul, Weiss Mergers & Acquisitions Practice works with leading private equity firms and many of the world’s largest, most prominent publicly traded and privately held companies, as well as financial advisors and other financial institutions and investors, on the full range of business-critical transactions. The firm’s Private Equity Group represents private equity firms across a wide spectrum of investment strategies. Paul Weiss’s Tax Department advises clients on a broad range of complex transactions across industries and geographies. Working closely with the firm’s Corporate and Restructuring & Debt Capital Solutions departments, our tax lawyers help clients identify opportunities, mitigate risk and maximize value throughout the transaction lifecycle.
