Locke Lord LLP issued the following announcement on Sept. 4.
Locke Lord Houston Partner Michael Blankenship, Co-Chair of the Firm’s Capital Markets Section and FinTech Industry Group, has been selected by Texas Lawyer as a 2019 On the Rise honoree, an award that spotlights impressive individuals under the age of 40 who have wielded influence in their practice areas in Texas and beyond. Blankenship was profiled in the September issue of Texas Lawyer and will be recognized at a ceremony in Dallas on September 18.
In addition to his formal leadership roles, Blankenship has served as a lead attorney on a number of high-level transactions, coordinating collaboration across practice groups. For example, he co-led a team that provided legal counsel to the Conflicts Committee of Spectra Energy Partners, LP (SEP), in the conversion of all of Enbridge Inc.’s incentive distribution rights and general partner economic interests in SEP into 172.5 million newly issued SEP common units, valued at approximately $7.2 billion.
Blankenship serves on the Board of Houston’s Writers in the Schools, an educational nonprofit that uses creative methods to encourage and teach children the craft of writing. He also regularly provides pro bono services with the phone line of Houston Volunteer Lawyers, the legal aid arm of the Houston Bar Association.
Blankenship’s practice focuses on corporate finance and securities law, including securities offerings, special purpose acquisition companies offerings and transactions, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate representation. He regularly counsels public companies on strategic transactions, capital markets offerings and general corporate and securities law matters. Blankenship represents both issuers and underwriters in U.S. and international capital markets transactions, including initial public offerings, and advises on corporate governance and securities market regulation. He is also a Co-Editor of Locke Lord’s Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions blogs.