Head of the firm’s Energy and Natural Resources Commodities and Trading Subsector, Paul is an experienced corporate attorney serving clients in the energy sector.  He has been named Lawyer of the Year: Futures and Derivatives Law in Houston by Best Lawyers in America (published by BL Rankings) in 2012, 2016 and 2018 and has been included in the Houston Business Journal’s Who’s Who in Energy Guide in 2016-2017 and 2014-2015. He was also selected to the BTI Client Service All Star List in 2016. Paul focuses his practice on the fast-changing and evolving energy and commodity markets—principally related to the business of the physical and financial trading of energy commodities. He has been involved in the regulatory and commercial structuring and restructuring of transactions in the energy industry, including the implications of ongoing regulatory changes to the physical, futures and derivatives markets.

Paul brings an industry knowledge and practical approach to advise a variety of client types in the industry – major oil companies, hedge funds, independent trading and marketing companies, retail energy providers, and banking clients – on structuring and documenting structured commodity transactions, industry contracts (e.g. EEI, ISDA, NAESB, LEAP), negotiating commodity tolling agreements (e.g. involving power, crude, and NGLs), negotiating commodity storage and marketing arrangements, advising on M&A transactions, and setting up client regulatory and trading compliance programs, as well as assisting trading companies on regulatory investigations (including by the CFTC, Exchanges, and FERC). Recently, he has been primary outside counsel to several clients as they entered the US trading markets for energy commodities.

In addition, Paul regularly advises energy clients on credit and restructuring issues related to forward and financial contracts. He has represented numerous clients in some of the largest energy and commodity company bankruptcies, including the bankruptcies of Lehman, The SemGroup, Enron, Mirant and NEGT Energy Trading (formally PG&E Energy Trading). He has advised energy companies on a myriad of transactional issues and has worked on the sale of a number of retail electric providers throughout the United States.

Matt represents financial institutions in matters relating to business reorganization, loan restructuring, bankruptcy and commercial finance law.  Additionally, Matt has provided financial restructuring and other strategic advice in many of Reed Smith’s creditors committee representations. Matt appears regularly in bankruptcy courts in the Southern District of New York, the District of Delaware, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey.

Vince Slusher is a persuasive advocate for companies facing financial or regulatory crises. Vince works diligently to understand clients’ unique needs within the context of their specific industries, and applies his 35 years of experience to guide large and mid-sized public and private companies through complex bankruptcy and reorganization proceedings.