James A. (Jim) Knight Partner

Jim Knight’s practice focuses primarily on corporate transactions and general corporate matters.  He has represented both public and private companies in mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and strategic investments; represented issuers and underwriters in public and private debt and equity offerings (including more than 25 public offerings); and counseled clients on securities law matters, corporate governance and other general corporate matters.  His background includes sixteen years in private practice with international law firms in Houston, New York and Dubai, including nine years as a corporate partner based in Dubai focusing on private equity and M&A matters with the international law firms of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP (2013 to 2017) and Vinson & Elkins LLP (2008 to 2013); three years in New York City as in-house counsel with then NYSE-listed Triarc Companies working on M&A transactions and general corporate matters involving its operating subsidiaries and affiliated private equity investments; eight years as the chief financial /legal officer at privately-held technology companies (including since 2017 for Houston based Isodrill, Inc.); and two years of commercial banking prior to law school.

Education

• University of Texas at Austin (B.B.A. – Finance, 1986)
• University of Houston Law Center (J.D., cum laude, 1992)
• Rice University, Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management (M.B.A., 2007)

Professional Associations

• Admitted to the Texas bar (1992) and the New York bar (1997)

Awards and Published Articles

• Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business in Corporate/Commercial Law, U.A.E. (2012 to 2016)
• Legal 500 EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Asia): Best Lawyers in Corporate and Mergers/Acquisitions, U.A.E. (2015 to 2016).
• “What Does the Lifting of Sanctions Really Mean?”; The Banker Middle East, Spring 2016
• “Why Are PE Firms Investing Heavily in the MENA Oil and Gas Sector?”; ACT Middle East Treasurer, Spring 2015
• “Convergent Forces – [four partners] of the international law firm Vinson & Elkins identify three factors changing the landscape of the energy industry today”; Special Report on Private Equity Investment in Energy, July 2008