Cullen McDonald

Anthony Speier is a corporate partner in the Houston and Austin offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice focuses on acquisitions, divestitures and formation of joint ventures involving assets across the energy value chain. Anthony has represented clients in connection with the purchase and sale of a broad range of energy assets, including metals critical to commercial battery production and the EV market, upstream and midstream oil and gas assets and companies, refineries, LNG facili...

Molly Dear Abshire has been licensed to practice law in the State of Texas since 1993 and is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. She received a J.D. from South Texas College of Law and her B.A. in English from Texas A&M University in 1989. Ms. Abshire has authored professional papers and Houston Chronicle articles, which typically focus on topics such as estate planning, Medicaid planning, elder law and special needs trusts. She is a former President o...

Bill Benitez is a partner in the Houston office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, equity investments, recapitalizations, joint ventures and corporate governance, with a particular emphasis on the energy and infrastructure sector. Clients have described Bill as a “great practitioner” who provides “incredible client service” in connection with his recognition in various industry publications, including Chambers Global, The Wor...

Kenneth M. Krock concentrates his practice in advising and representing clients in business and commercial litigation involving real estate, construction, bankruptcy related disputes, financial institutions, and employment disputes. His experience includes: Advising and representing owners, developers, landlords, property management companies, sellers, buyers, general contractors, subcontractors, construction equipment lenders, real estate professionals, lenders, and others in the real estate...

Rick earned a BBA and a MBA from the University of Texas at Austin in accounting and finance. His JD is from the University of Houston. Rick is a recognized leader in real estate law in the State of Texas, and is board certified in Commercial and Residential Real Estate Law. He has a depth and breadth of experience in a variety of complex real estate matters. Rick has represented a wide range of businesses and individuals in purchases and sales, contracts, business conflicts, commercial trans...

Kelcy L. Palmer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management. Kelcy L., who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Kelcy L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Andrew J. Sarne is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Insurance and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. Andrew J., who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Andrew J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Christopher L. Bell is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Environmental Law and Litigation - Environmental. Christopher L., who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Christopher L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Denis Ducran is Co-Managing Partner of Peckar & Abramson PC ’s Texas offices and co-vice chair of the firm’s Construction Contracts and Risk Management practice. He is a board-certified construction attorney and registered architect whose practice focuses on Construction Law matters for the construction industry, including transactions, risk management, and dispute resolution in Houston, Texas. Denis represents contractors, developers, and other construction industry participa...

Zeke DeRose is a member of The Lanier Law Firm’s Commercial Litigation section. He brings extensive experience to plaintiffs and defendants in a range of disputes before courts and in arbitration, including complex commercial and business litigation, antitrust, licensing disputes, merger disputes, qui tam (under both state and federal False Claims Act), federal securities, and intellectual property. He has represented both large and small clients across the nation in federal court, arbi...