Prior to joining the firm, Robert was corporate and finance partner and served as managing partner for the Houston office of an international law firm where he advised public, private and state-owned clients on a variety of complex legal issues. He started his career as outside counsel to some of the largest banks with exposure to the troubled real estate and energy sectors in the late 80's and, as a result, has extensive experience in advising parties in distressed situations, both in and out of bankruptcy. He then accepted an opportunity to move abroad to advise his clients in the energy sector on the legal issues related to several billion dollars in international and domestic assets, primarily in Brazil and other parts of South America. After returning to the U.S., he spent five years as the chief legal officer for an internal investment business managing a portfolio of commodities, derivatives, securities and other financial assets for Koch Industries, Inc., one of the largest private companies in the United States. There, among other things, he supervised the trading of commodities and financial products, the creation and operation of a $300 million privately-placed derivatives product company, including the negotiations with both S&P and Moody's to obtain the required AAA/Aaa ratings, the creation of a $1.2 billion special purpose vehicle to hold financial investments and a private placement of over $1 billion in rated debt to third parties. He subsequently took his experience gained as in-house counsel and returned to private practice where he uses that experience to provide his current clients with practical advice on legal issues impacting their domestic and international businesses.
