Mr. Coats is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of The Petra Funds Group. Prior to Petra, Mr. Coats was a Partner, General Counsel, and Chief Administrative Officer of Riverstone Holdings, LLC. He is based in New York.  Prior to joining Riverstone in April 2008, Mr. Coats was a Partner at Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., a law firm specializing in the energy sector. While at Vinson & Elkins, he focused on domestic and cross-border M&A work in the energy sector.  He received his B.A. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993 and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1997. Mr. Coats is licensed to practice law in the states of New York and Texas.