What to Know
- Brophy and Lei join Bracewell's Houston office as partners, deepening the firm's upstream and midstream oil and gas transactional capabilities at a time of strong deal activity across those sectors.
- Together they bring broad private equity, family office and sponsor-side deal experience, alongside Lei's distinctive expertise advising China-based companies on US energy investments.
- Brophy brings rare in-house depth to his transactional practice, having served as general counsel for the Kayne Anderson Energy Funds and advising on funds with aggregate commitments exceeding $7 billion.
Houston, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - June 15, 2026) - Bracewell LLP announced today that Kevin Brophy and Ming Lei have joined the Houston office as partners in the oil and gas transactions group. The two partners bring complementary upstream and midstream practices built on years of advising private equity sponsors, family offices, investment firms and operating companies on oil and gas transactions.
"Kevin and Ming are highly regarded oil and gas practitioners with a broad range of upstream and midstream experience, and I'm thrilled to welcome them to the firm," said Bracewell Managing Partner Gregory M. Bopp.
"Kevin and Ming are strong oil and gas deal lawyers with deep experience representing leading private equity sponsors and portfolio companies. Their experience advising funds and their portfolio companies and family offices on upstream and midstream acquisitions, divestitures and financings is a natural extension of what our oil and gas group advises our clients," said James "JJ" McAnelly III, co-chair of Bracewell's oil and gas practice.
Brophy and Lei joined the firm from Winston & Strawn LLP.
Kevin Brophy
Brophy, who co-chaired Winston's energy and infrastructure group, brings a rare combination of transactional and in-house experience to his practice. He previously served as general counsel for the Kayne Anderson Energy Funds, advising on the formation, structuring and governance of funds with aggregate commitments exceeding $7 billion. Brophy advises private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, family offices and operating companies on upstream and midstream oil and gas transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures of energy assets, joint ventures, project financings and commercial agreements. He also represents private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in connection with investments in the energy space, including advice and drafting of agreements related to the formation and restructuring of such investments, employee and incentive-based matters and general corporate work. He earned his LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida in 2001, his J.D. from South Texas College of Law in 1999, and his B.S. in Accounting from Louisiana State University in 1995.
"Bracewell has a deep energy practice with the transactional, finance, tax and environmental capabilities that our clients need," said Brophy. "Ming and I were drawn to the firm's collaborative culture and the strength of the team across those disciplines."
Ming Lei
Lei advises clients on domestic and cross-border oil and gas and energy transactions, including M&A, joint ventures, private equity investments, project finance and complex commercial contracts. Her practice spans upstream and midstream oil and gas, as well as the broader energy and infrastructure sectors. She also has experience advising China-based companies on US investments, corporate governance, regulatory compliance and dispute resolution. Lei earned her J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 2015 and her B.A. in Law from Wuhan University in 2011.
"Bracewell has a strong oil and gas practice and a collaborative culture where lawyers across departments work together on behalf of clients," said Lei. "That's a great fit for the cross-border and domestic energy work that Kevin and I do. I'm excited to be here."
About Bracewell LLP
Bracewell is a leading law and government relations firm primarily serving the energy, infrastructure, finance and technology industries throughout the world. Our industry focus results in comprehensive state-of-the-art knowledge of the commercial, legal and governmental challenges faced by our clients and enables us to provide innovative solutions to facilitate transactions and resolve disputes.
Kevin Brophy, Bracewell LLP, Partner
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Ming Lei, Bracewell LLP, Partner
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Contact:
Bob Schranz
T: +1.713.221.1470
E: bob.schranz@bracewell.com
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/301461
Source: Bracewell
