McGuireWoods Continues Texas Growth With Arrival of Debt Finance Partner Phyllis Young

Deal Lawyer Advises Lenders and Borrowers, Including Energy Clients

November 4, 2019

Phyllis Young, an accomplished transactional lawyer who advises public and private companies, commercial banks and investment funds in financing transactions and has extensive energy industry experience, has joined McGuireWoods’ debt finance practice as a partner in the firm’s Dallas and Houston offices.

Young advises lenders and borrowers in debt financings and counsels clients on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and other corporate matters. She has served as outside general counsel to clients in the oil refining and drilling sectors and the steel distribution industry. She joins McGuireWoods from Akin Gump.

Young’s experience includes representing an energy investment fund in reserve-based loan facilities to borrowers in the oil and gas exploration and production industry and to oilfield services companies, and advising a leading commercial bank in numerous secured, asset-based loans.

She joins a McGuireWoods practice ranked No. 1 globally in deal count for advising lenders in syndicated loans through the first nine months of this year, according to league tables published by Refinitiv.

“Phyllis is highly skilled in finance, restructuring and M&A deals and she has a keen understanding of the challenges and opportunities clients face in today’s market,” said Raj Natarajan, chair of McGuireWoods’ Debt Finance Department. “She is an important addition to our growing team.”

Young is the fifth partner to join the firm’s debt finance practice this year, following the arrivals of Chris Molen in Atlanta, Deepak Reddy in New York, and Lee Cullinane and Marc Naidoo in London, as well as senior counsel Margaret Seurynck in Chicago. Young continues the firm’s recent Texas expansion, which has included the addition of partners Patrick Knapp and Eric Schlichter in the firm’s Dallas and Houston offices.

“Phyllis is an incredibly respected lawyer who enhances our considerable transactional capabilities in the energy sector and other dynamic industries,” said Jason Cook, managing partner of the firm’s Dallas office.

Young is a member of the Institute for Energy Law. Among her many honors, she received the Premier Women in Law Award from the Houston Association of Women Attorneys in 2019, was named to the National Diversity Council’s top 50 Women in Law in 2017, and was recognized on Texas Lawyer’s list of Extraordinary Minorities in Texas Law in 2015.

“McGuireWoods has built a powerhouse finance practice and a reputation for providing comprehensive, integrated services to financial institution clients,” Young said. “I am excited to join this world-class team.”

McGuireWoods’ finance practice is one of the largest in the United States. The firm represents each of the top 10 U.S. banks ranked by assets and has handled cross-border commitments exceeding $100 billion in each of the last eight years. U.S. News-Best Lawyers named McGuireWoods “Law Firm of the Year” for banking and finance law in the 2020 edition of “Best Law Firms.”