Key Takeaways
- • Foley & Lardner adds Stephen Olson as partner in Transactions Practice Group, bringing deep private equity and M&A expertise from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Houston office to strengthen the firm's private capital capabilities.
- • Olson represents the fourth new partner hired by Foley's Energy & Infrastructure Sector in 2026, signaling aggressive expansion across the energy asset lifecycle and private capital advisory space.
- • Olson's practice spans mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and private placements of debt and equity securities, with sector experience across energy, industrials, chemicals, manufacturing, healthcare, technology, financial services, media, and telecommunications.
- • The hire targets a clear market opportunity: Foley CEO Daljit Doogal emphasized the firm's focus on "serving clients whose business strategies are shaped by private capital" and meeting the needs of investors and portfolio companies pursuing growth and value creation.
- • Olson's client base includes private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, public and private businesses, and investment banking firms—establishing Foley as a destination firm for sponsor-side transactional counsel in energy and infrastructure.
Summary
Foley & Lardner announced the addition of Stephen Olson as a partner in its Transactions Practice Group, marking a strategic expansion of the firm's private capital and energy sector capabilities. Olson joins from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Houston office, where he built an extensive practice advising sophisticated private equity transactions and corporate matters across multiple sectors and deal types.
Olson's practice focuses on the full range of private capital transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, registered offerings, and private placements of debt and equity securities. His experience also encompasses corporate governance and strategic matters, positioning him to advise portfolio companies and sponsors on value creation initiatives. His sector expertise spans energy, industrials, chemicals, manufacturing, healthcare, technology, financial services, media, and telecommunications—a diversified roster that reflects the breadth of demand from institutional capital providers navigating cross-sector investments.
The hire underscores Foley's deliberate strategy to build depth in energy and infrastructure advisory. Olson is the fourth partner addition to the firm's Energy & Infrastructure Sector during 2026, indicating a coordinated push to expand both transactional capabilities and sector-specific knowledge. According to Daljit Doogal, Chairman and CEO of Foley & Lardner, the firm sees "significant opportunity in serving clients whose business strategies are shaped by private capital," particularly as investors and portfolio companies navigate evolving growth and value creation strategies. Olson's sponsor-side perspective and practical commercial insight align directly with this strategic objective, enhancing the firm's ability to serve capital providers and their portfolio companies across complex, multi-sector transactions.
The Houston-based hire also reinforces Foley's geographic and sectoral positioning in energy and infrastructure, sectors where transaction volume and complexity remain elevated. By recruiting established transactional partners with deep sponsor relationships and sector knowledge, Foley is positioning itself as a premier advisor for institutional capital and the portfolio companies it backs.
Olson's practice focuses on the full range of private capital transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, registered offerings, and private placements of debt and equity securities. His experience also encompasses corporate governance and strategic matters, positioning him to advise portfolio companies and sponsors on value creation initiatives. His sector expertise spans energy, industrials, chemicals, manufacturing, healthcare, technology, financial services, media, and telecommunications—a diversified roster that reflects the breadth of demand from institutional capital providers navigating cross-sector investments.
The hire underscores Foley's deliberate strategy to build depth in energy and infrastructure advisory. Olson is the fourth partner addition to the firm's Energy & Infrastructure Sector during 2026, indicating a coordinated push to expand both transactional capabilities and sector-specific knowledge. According to Daljit Doogal, Chairman and CEO of Foley & Lardner, the firm sees "significant opportunity in serving clients whose business strategies are shaped by private capital," particularly as investors and portfolio companies navigate evolving growth and value creation strategies. Olson's sponsor-side perspective and practical commercial insight align directly with this strategic objective, enhancing the firm's ability to serve capital providers and their portfolio companies across complex, multi-sector transactions.
The Houston-based hire also reinforces Foley's geographic and sectoral positioning in energy and infrastructure, sectors where transaction volume and complexity remain elevated. By recruiting established transactional partners with deep sponsor relationships and sector knowledge, Foley is positioning itself as a premier advisor for institutional capital and the portfolio companies it backs.
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