Photo of Randall Rios

After a 30-year career, Randy still finds himself excited about practicing law. He loves diving into businesses and learning how they operate.

Randy especially enjoys the intellectual challenge of working with novel issues and circumstances. His passion is learning the details of client businesses so that he understands their needs and goals: he sees each client as unique, and makes it a priority to learn their full situation.

Randy focuses his practice on bankruptcy and reorganizations and has represented both debtors and creditors, as well as creditors’ committees, landlords, purchasers of distressed assets and trustees. His practice places a special emphasis on energy companies in the oil and gas sector. A natural fit in Houston, it’s also a field where Randy frequently has the opportunity to learn about new technologies and developments.

Alongside his industry knowledge, clients appreciate Randy’s common-sense practical approach. It’s a method that fits well with a bankruptcy code that’s designed to foster deals. While he’s skilled in the courtroom when litigation becomes necessary, Randy is best known for his ability to achieve deals in the client’s best interest.

On January 5, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) vacated a decision from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division (the “Bankruptcy Court”) in Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. v. Just Energy Texas, L.P. (In re Just Energy Group, Inc.).[1] The Fifth Circuit ruled that the Bankruptcy Court should have abstained from the case involving the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (“ERCOT”)’s management of price rates of electricity and should have transferred the case to the state district court. The case was remanded with instructions to determine the appropriate trajectory of the case after abstention.