King & Spalding today announced that Carol Burke, Susan Berry and Kimberlee Cagle have joined the firm as partners in the firm’s Corporate, Finance and Investments practice group in the Houston office to advise on a broad range of complex finance matters, including oil and gas financings, project financings, real estate acquisition, development financings and corporate matters.
“The continued growth of transactional talent in Houston, especially with the new team’s focus on energy finance work, increases our ability to provide critical finance and corporate support for clients in Houston and other cities around the world,” said Tracie Renfroe, managing partner of the firm’s Houston office and co-head of the Energy practice. “Carol, Susan and Kim are an impressive team and we look forward to introducing them to our clients and colleagues.”
“The finance group’s concentration on energy, project finance and real estate transactions are key areas of growth for our corporate and finance practice so we are excited they've joined our growing team,” said Todd Holleman, head of the firm’s Corporate, Finance and Investments practice group.
Carolyn Alford, lead of the Financial Services practice added, “Our ability to counsel clients across sectors has been enhanced with the addition of Carol, Susan and Kim who are a great fit for our global team who focus on sophisticated financings.”
All three new partners join King & Spalding from Reed Smith.
Carol Burke
Burke has more than 30 years of experience leading complex domestic and international corporate finance, energy and real estate transactions. Her work includes advising clients on project finance, reserve-based lending facilities, structured finance, asset-backed securitizations, off-balance sheet financing vehicles, leveraged lease transactions, taxable and tax-exempt bond transactions and sale/leaseback facilities. She was recently named to the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce “The Women in the Fast Lane of STREAM” (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) list (2018), Texas Lawyer’s “Women in Energy” list (2016), and Houston Woman Magazine’s “50 Most Influential Women” list (2014). Burke received her undergraduate degree and J.D. from the University of Houston.
Susan Berry
Berry’s practice focuses on commercial financing and other business transactions, with an emphasis on the energy sector. She advises financial institutions and corporate borrowers on a variety of complex lending matters, including reserve-based loans to oil and gas companies, asset-based loans involving diverse collateral, syndicated facilities with multiple lien priorities, project finance transactions, unsecured loans and leveraged acquisitions. She also has experience advising clients on loan restructurings and workouts, having served as in-house counsel to the special assets energy division of a major U.S. bank. Berry received her undergraduate degree and her J.D. from Southern Methodist University.
Kim Cagle
Cagle represents financial institutions and borrowers in financing transactions, with a focus on the energy industry. Her experience includes advising on reserve-based financings for oil and gas exploration and production companies, revolving and term financings for midstream, downstream and energy service companies, leveraged acquisitions, cross-border project finance transactions and first lien/second lien credit facilities. She also has experience in financing various infrastructure projects, including cross-border, interstate and intrastate pipelines, gas storage facilities, refineries and power plants. Cagle received her undergraduate degree and her J.D. from Southern Methodist University.
“We are impressed by the momentum of the firm and the Houston office,” said Burke. “The strength of the firm’s international platform in the financial services, corporate, real estate and energy sectors will be an asset to our clients. We are looking forward to collaborating with our new King & Spalding partners.”
King & Spalding has been in Houston for over 20 years and has more than 80 lawyers in Houston and more than 100 in Texas. The Houston office is one of the largest among firms headquartered outside Texas. Earlier this month, the firm announced that partners Erik Andersen, Elizabeth Gable, and Jared Zaben, as well as counsel Nathan Pagett, Julian Buchbinder, Brett Nizzo and David Hart, had joined King & Spalding’s Corporate, Finance and Investments practice group in the New York office.
About King & Spalding
Celebrating more than 130 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 1,000 lawyers in 20 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality, and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.
