Texas Lawyer Honors Three Bracewell Partners as 2019 Texas Trailblazers

HOUSTON – Texas Lawyer has named three partners in Bracewell LLP’s Houston office to its inaugural list of Texas Trailblazers: Stephen B. Crain, Kate H. Day and G. Alan Rafte. They are among an elite group of 50 lawyers who, as agents of change, have left “significant marks on the practice, policy and technological advancement of their practice.”

Crain, who chairs Bracewell’s litigation section and is a member of the firm’s six-person management committee, was honored for his leadership in breaking down traditional silos to create a litigation boutique within a large law firm. In addition to achieving success in the courtroom, Crain tells Texas Lawyer, the litigation team is “a happy and contented group of people who feel really excited about prosecuting the cases they have.” Crain recently led the Bracewell team that won a significant victory for Pier 1 Imports in the Fifth Circuit that effectively put a longstanding shareholder suit to rest.

Day, who is a partner in Bracewell’s finance practice and also a member for the firm-wide management committee, is a champion for the advancement of women in the legal profession. Within the last 18 months, she has advised the lead lenders in financings worth over $6.7 billion for three of the five largest offshore drilling companies. Day put together all-women deal teams in each of these transactions. Thanks to Bracewell’s commitment to the elimination of gender bias, Day says “it’s not so unusual that you’ll find yourself working with an all-woman team, because there are just so many of us.”

Rafte, who chairs Bracewell’s business and regulatory section, was commended for his work over the last three years helping midstream oil and gas companies find innovative ways to raise capital for new, and often expensive pipeline projects. “There is a lot of oil and gas coming online,” says Rafte,” so much that it overwhelms the existing infrastructure and new infrastructure has to get built in order for it to come to market.” In 2018, Rafte represented Apache Corp. in the creation of a $3.5 billion Permian midstream company with Kayne Anderson Acquisition Corp. (KAAC), a special purpose acquisition company. Apache’s partnership with KAAC created the only publicly traded, pure-play Permian Basin midstream company that is a C-corporation in what was a landmark transaction for both companies.