David P. Oelman

David Oelman ’90 is a partner at Vinson & Elkins in Houston, where he practices in the firm’s Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions group. Oelman is one of the country’s leading IPO and public company lawyers, having worked with over 100 NYSE and NASDAQ listed issuers over the last 35 years. His experience is rooted in the long-term growth of the U.S. midstream and infrastructure industry beginning in the 1990s, followed by the unexpected and explosive growth accompanying the shale revolution in the late 2000s. Oelman’s more recent engagements include LNG, transition energy and power and data center-related issuers. Oelman also has devoted significant time to helping his clients in the evaluation, negotiation and completion of strategic M&A as the U.S. midstream and upstream industries have consolidated. A number of his clients have worked with him for over 25 years.

In April 2019, Oelman was inducted into the Alerian Hall of Fame in recognition of his work in the U.S. midstream and infrastructure industry over three decades. His work has been recognized by Chambers as Tier 1 for U.S. Capital Markets as well as by Legal 500, The Best Lawyers in America© and the International Who’s Who of Capital Markets Lawyers. In its most recent edition of the Chambers USA national securities rankings, a Chambers interviewee noted that Oelman “is a very valuable resource with great experience and a breadth of knowledge,” while another client praised him saying he is “consistently outstanding” (2024).

Oelman has been elected to the firm’s management committee three times, served as head and co-head of the firm’s Capital Markets and Mergers and Acquisitions group for over a decade, and has held roles as hiring partner and lead talent partner over the course of his career at the firm.