Michael Byrd was six days into negotiations on a deal for Diamondback Energy on July 17 when he and his team also started reviewing bids for Newfield Exploration Co. on an asset sale with a tight deadline.
That hectic day was just one of many over a three-week period for Byrd, an oil and gas transactional partner in Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Houston. From July 11 through July 29, Byrd closed two half-billion-dollar deals—one came to terms following a 30-hour nonstop negotiation session—and worked a total of 230 hours on the two acquisitions. He also put in another 27 hours for other clients during that period.
