The Texas Lawbook and the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel are now accepting nominations for the 2020 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards.
This year, corporate general counsel and senior in-house lawyers at companies across North Texas faced challenges like no other. But through it all – COVID-19 pandemic, crisis in the oil patch, cyberattacks and bankruptcies – in-house counsel have been creative and seen their role elevated within the business.
In 2020, we have witnessed a record number of corporate restructurings. There have been mergers – some small, some huge, some because of necessity, some more strategic and opportunistic. Diversity, inclusion, pro bono and public service were never more important than in 2020.
General counsel and senior counsel in Dallas-Fort Worth have done the best legal work of their careers this year. Now, it is time to recognize and celebrate those achievements.
But the DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards are unique in that they also recognize great working relationships and successes between in-house counsel and their outside law firms.
“Together, the Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook have made the annual awards the premier awards event in the Dallas/Fort Worth area,” says ACC-DFW President Derek Lipscombe, a managing counsel at Toyota.
“The DFW Corporate Counsel Awards truly showcase the amazing legal work and great successes of in-house lawyers,” Lipscombe says. “I think that there’s a perception that in-house counsel are not actively practicing law and these awards show that is untrue, that some of the best lawyers in Texas are in corporate legal departments.
“But there are several awards that recognize great partnerships between in-house counsel and the law firms that represent them,” he says. “We recognize that some of the greatest achievements are due to great work by in-house counsel and outside counsel.”
The Texas Lawbook and the DFW Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel are accepting nominations for the 2020 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards now through Dec. 10.
Here are some basic rules and suggestions:
The nominees must be in the DFW area.
- Anyone – lawyers, business leaders and individuals – can make nominations. If a law firm is making the nomination, it must have the name of a lawyer making the submission and to whom the information submitted may be attributed.
- The more detailed the nomination, the better chance it has to win. Explain in detail the successful work of the in-house counsel, the challenges the nominee faced and why the nominee deserves the award.
- The fact that the nominee has won other awards is immaterial. Focus on the substantive legal work of the in-house counsel.
- ACC DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook appoints 18 independent in-house counsel and outside lawyers to review the submissions and judge the awards. This is not pay-to-play.
- The information provided in the submission will also be used if the nominee is selected as a finalist. Do not include information in the submission that is confidential.
The categories are:
M&A Deal of the Year honors a corporate legal department and its outside counsel for successfully guiding a company through a complex merger, acquisition, project or joint venture.
Business Litigation of the Year honors a corporate legal department and its outside counsel for success in a unique and complex trial, appeal or arbitration.
General Counsel of the Year, (Large, Medium & Small Departments) recognizes individual general counsel or chief legal officers for successes they achieved through their individual efforts and engagements.
Senior In-House Counsel of the Year, (Large, Medium & Small Departments) recognizes individual in-house senior counsel (not GCs or CLOs) for successes they achieved through their individual efforts and engagements.
Public Service & Pro Bono celebrates an individual corporate in-house counsel for her or his commitment and service to the community, pro bono and public service.
Legal Innovation honors an individual corporate counsel for game-changing, creative approaches to legal services.
Creative Partnership praises corporate legal departments and one of their outside law firms for original and unique ways they work together in the delivery of complex and strategic legal services.
Rookie of the Year celebrates a young lawyer (35 years or younger) who has been in-house for two years or less and has already achieved extraordinary successes.
Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion recognizes an individual corporate in-house counsel for her or his commitment and service to diversity initiatives.
Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a current or retired General Counsel or Assistant GC for her or his decades-long commitment to the legal profession and the corporate in-house counsel community.
The Texas Lawbook and ACC-DFW have put together a terrific group of judges to review the submissions. The finalists for each category will be announced and profiled in The Lawbook and the Dallas Business Journal in 2021. The awards ceremony will take place April 1 at the George W. Bush Institute at Southern Methodist University.
Please let us know if you have any questions. My email is mark.curriden@texaslawbook.net. My phone is 214.232.6783. Thank you for your interest and participation. We think this is going to be a great event.
Click here to go to the nomination form. Click here for a PDF of the nomination form.