Emerson W. Girardeau III
Counsel, Corporate & Financial Services
Emerson W. Girardeau III is Counsel in Willkie’s Corporate & Financial Services Department, where he advises clients across a wide range of industries on complex transactions and strategic commercial matters. His practice includes representing private equity and other financial sponsors, portfolio companies, founders, and management teams in acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures and strategic investments, and bespoke commercial arrangements.
Emerson maintains a broad energy practice, reflecting experience across traditional oil and gas and the evolving power and infrastructure landscape. He advises clients on transactions and commercial matters spanning upstream, midstream, and downstream—alongside work in renewables and energy transition projects—helping sponsors and strategic participants navigate acquisitions, joint ventures, project development, and related contracting. His experience also includes natural gas storage and battery storage projects, including the transactional and commercial work that supports development, investment, and operations.
Emerson’s sports practice includes advising investors, professional sports teams and leagues, collegiate conferences, and sports-adjacent businesses on strategic acquisitions and investments, media and commercial arrangements, and related disputes. He serves as trusted counsel to stakeholders across the sports ecosystem on transactions and governance-driven issues where business, brand, and competition intersect.
Outside of his corporate practice, Emerson is involved in a number of local service organizations. He previously served on the City of Houston Independent Police Oversight Board and the Administrative Disciplinary Committee for the Houston Police Department. He is also Co-Captain of the Houston Chapter of the Sports Lawyers Association, a proud member of Class VII of the Houston Black Leadership Institute, and is a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow. Prior to relocating to Houston, Emerson served on the City of Atlanta Elected Officials Compensation Commission, was a member of the LEAD Atlanta, and served on the advisory board for the Harvard Debate Council Diversity Project.
Emerson maintains an active pro bono practice, with clients that include the Renewable Energy Alliance of Houston and other nonprofit and charitable organizations.
Experience
His significant representations include the following matters:
Sports Matters
- Advised UY Holdings LLC in connection with its new strategic partnership with Spurs Sports & Entertainment to invest in San Antonio FC (SA FC), strengthening professional soccer in San Antonio while positioning SA FC for long-term growth and success on and off the pitch.
- Represented the Mountain West Conference in connection with its scheduling agreement for the 2024 football season.
- Represented J. Cole and Damian Mills, as part of a buyer group, in the acquisition of a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets from Michael Jordan.
- Advised a professional football team on the negotiation of a joint venture for the construction and operation of an entertainment complex.
- Represented multiple professional golf teams on various corporate and transactional matters.
- Represented a college conference regarding a dispute concerning the exit of a member institution.
- Represented Overtime Elite in its exclusive multiyear media rights agreement with Amazon.
- Represented the Mountain West Conference regarding various corporate and compliance matters.
- Represented the Pac-12 Conference in connection with a dispute with the organizers of a college football bowl game.
- Represented a lead investor in a bid to acquire an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000 tournament.
- Represented an investor and management team on the launch of a one-on-one basketball league.
- Advised a cycling league regarding player agreements and policies for the league.
- Represented a sports technology company in various licensing matters.
- Represented an organization of professional basketball players for various commercial and transactional matters.
Corporate Matters
- Represented Arora Engineers, a portfolio company of Jacmel Partners, on its acquisition of JWI, a program and construction management firm.
- Represented Aquiline Capital Partners and its portfolio company Ontellus, a leading provider of health records retrieval and claims intelligence, on the sale of Ontellus to Datavant.
- Represented Mercury Fund and its affiliates in its Series Seed-4 investment in Volt, a leading Messaging Operations infrastructure platform.
- Represented IMB Partners and its portfolio company Pro Foods Solutions, a leading food supplier to the U.S. military worldwide, in connection with a $130 million dividend recapitalization.
- Represented a platform company of a middle market private equity firm in its acquisition of several companies in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin that provide flooring, cabinet, and other home solutions.
- Represented a private equity firm in its acquisition of several companies that provide revenue cycle solutions in the ambulatory surgery center industry.
- Represented an investment firm in the railcar industry on matters related to an internal corporate reorganization.
- Represented a middle market private equity firm in its acquisition of a plastic lumber solutions company serving the outdoor living market.
- Represented a financial sponsor in the acquisition of a PET recycling firm in a Section 363 bankruptcy auction.
- Represented a middle market private equity firm in its acquisition of the leading manufacturer of industrial mowers.
- Represented a global group of institutional investors in a minority investment in an independent asset manager in the United Kingdom.
Energy Matters
- Represented Revolution Resources III in a $72 million oil and gas ABS financing to facilitate the acquisition of Oklahoma oil and gas assets.
- Represented Peoria Resources, LLC in its ∼$1.3 billion acquisition of Verdad Resources Intermediate Holdings LLC.
- Represented Revolution Resources III, LLC, in the $92.5 million acquisition of Amplify Energy Corp.’s (NYSE: AMPY) oil and gas assets in Oklahoma.
- Represented Caliche in its acquisition of Central Valley Gas Storage, L.L.C.
- Represented Available Power in its strategic partnership to develop battery energy storage systems with Linxon.
- Represented Energy Spectrum in the sale of Coastal Caverns, Caliche Development Partners’ energy storage platform.
- Represented a private equity backed independent power producer in the acquisition of equity interests in ten solar photovoltaic electric generating projects.
- Represented an independent power producer in a majority investment in five landfill gas-to-energy projects.
- Represented a university in the planned installation and operation of a fuel cell system.
- Represented a developer of subsurface hydrocarbon storage assets in the negotiation of various commercial agreements, including master services agreements, storage agreements, and cost sharing agreements.
Credentials
Education
University of Michigan Law School, J.D. (cum laude), 2014 Morehouse College, B.A. (cum laude), 2008