May 15, 2012 — LawFuel.com – The American Lawyer Newswire – For the fifth consecutive year, United States Lawyer Rankings recognized Vinson & Elkins environmental law partner Larry Nettles as the top environmental lawyer in the United States.
The award honors Larry’s exceptional work in a career spanning more than 30 years in environmental law. Larry, V&E’s Energy Industry Group Leader, has an exceptionally broad range of environmental law experience and has advised clients on a wide range of environmental matters, including compliance counseling, permitting, and civil and criminal litigation.
He recently served as the lead advisor to an oilfield services company dealing with investigations of hydraulic fracturing by the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As the committee and EPA investigate the ongoing concerns about the potential impact of fracking, Larry has provided an understanding of oil and gas production activities, geology, and chemistry, as well as the requirements of environmental laws.
In 2012, Larry provided environmental law advice to Caiman Energy LLC in its partnership with Williams Partners L.P., where Williams Partners acquired Caiman Eastern Midstream LLC for approximately $2.5 billion. He was also the lead environmental advisor to a private equity consortium that agreed to purchase El Paso Energy, the upstream oil and gas business of El Paso Corporation, for approximately $7.2 billion. Among other recent matters, he has advised a major independent oil and gas producer on the development of a compliance program for Subpart W of the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Mandatory Reporting Rule.
Larry is the founder of the Environmental Law Section of the Houston Bar Association; a member of the Policy Subcommittee of the National Petroleum Council; chair and past president of The Park People, Inc.; a business community representative from Houston-Galveston Area Regional Safety Council; a fellow at the Houston Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation; and serves on the Board of Directors of Trees for Houston.
Widely recognized as an environmental law leader, Larry’s accolades include Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers in environmental law (2004 – 2011); The Best Lawyers in America® in environmental law (2006 – 2012), land use and zoning law (2011 and 2012); Energy, Legal 500 U.S. (2010); Texas Super Lawyers (2004 – 2011); Who’s Who Legal: international in environmental law (2008 and 2011); and Who’s Who Legal: Texas in environmental law (2007 – 2010).
The U.S. Lawyer Rankings honors lawyers who have consistently provided the highest degree of legal representation. Lawyers are ranked based on confidential questionnaires that are graded out of 100 points. Only attorneys with a minimum of 90 points or higher are eligible to be included in a “Top 10 List.”
Attorneys are evaluated on their general legal ability, level of negotiating, drafting, and oral advocacy skills, ability to develop creative solutions when faced with a new issue, level of case involvement, and ethical standing.
