The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have selected LyondellBasell Lead Litigation Counsel Brittany Ringel Walton and Phillips 66 Senior Counsel Kristina McQuaid as the two finalists for the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department (more than 21 attorneys).
In addition, ACC Houston and The Lawbook have chosen DistributionNOW Deputy General Counsel Jordan Chester as the sole finalist and thus the recipient of the 2024 Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department (six to 20 lawyers) and Virage Capital Management Director of Litigation Funding Leslie Hillendahl as the winner of the 2024 Senior Counsel of the Year Award for a Small Legal Department (one to five lawyers).
This is the sixth year that ACC Houston and The Lawbook have partnered on the annual Houston Corporate Counsel Awards, which recognizes the hard work, legal successes and leadership skills of general counsel and senior counsel at Houston area businesses. This year, ACC Houston and The Lawbook received more than 60 submissions.
“The contenders for this year’s Houston Corporate Counsel Awards shine a spotlight on the contributions legal professionals offer to their organizations’ strategic goals,” said ACC Houston Chapter President Melanie Kolterman, who is the general counsel at Five Star Management. “With representation across various industries and accomplishments, this collective underscores the rich tapestry of talent within our community. Congratulations to all the finalists.”
ACC Houston and The Lawbook will honor the finalists and announce the winners at a ceremony on May 15 at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston. In-depth profiles of each finalist will be published in April and May.
Net proceeds from the Houston Corporate Counsel Awards goes to fund The Texas Lawbook’s full-time pro bono, public service and diversity reporter and writer. More details can be found at TexasLawbookFoundation.org.
The Lawbook previously announced the finalists for M&A Transaction of the Year, Business Litigation of the Year and Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. They are listed below.
“I look forward to the corporate counsel awards each year because it’s a time for our profession to honor our colleagues outstanding achievements,” said Marc Krasney, vice president of legal affairs at Bluepeak and a member of the ACC Houston board of directors. “I always say, as an in-house counsel myself, it’s a great compliment when one of my business leaders thinks all things legal just get done or look easy.”
“We lawyers know the job is much more complex and varied,” Krasney said. “It’s an even better compliment when the legal profession and The Texas Lawbook honors a fellow in-house counsel with an award for their excellence in getting things done and making the job look easy. And, at the Association of Corporate Counsel, we applaud every nominee and winner for their amazing achievements.”
Lawyers at the AZA law firm nominated Leslie Hillendahl of Virage Capital, Jordan Chester at DNOW and Brittany Walton at LyondellBasell. The legal team at Phillips 66 nominated their colleague Kristina McQuaid.
Houston M&A Transaction of the Year
The finalists for the M&A Transaction of the Year, which honors the work of the in-house legal department and the lawyers and law firms they hired to work on the deal are:.
- Gindi Vincent, general counsel for Honeywell International’s integrated supply chain and procurement, and its outside lawyers at Arnold & Porter. Dionne Hamilton, Honeywell GC for Smart Energy and Thermal Solutions, nominated Vincent for the award.
- Phillips 66 Deputy General Counsel Robert Task, P66 Managing Counsel Maine Goodfellow and P66 Assistant Deputy GC Jerarae Garland, and their outside counsel at Bracewell.
Houston Business Litigation of the Year
The finalists for 2024 Business Litigation of the Year, which also recognizes in-house counsel and the law firms they employed on the matter, are:
- First Reserve General Counsel Erica Radcliffe, who was nominated by Vinson & Elkins;
- Forum Energy General Counsel John Ivascu, who was nominated by Yetter Coleman; and
- SilverBow Resources Associate General Counsel Jennifer Cadena, who was nominated by AZA.
Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion
The three finalists for the category of Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion are:
- Adel Sander, Ascend Performance deputy general counsel, who was nominated by Foley partner Rachel Steely;
- Hector Pineda, Shell USA associate general counsel for downstream and renewables, who was nominated by Shell senior counsel Eric Maddock; and
- Sean Jamieson, general counsel at Spire Resources, who was nominated by Vinson & Elkins partner Quentin Smith.
To purchase a table to celebrate the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award finalists, please contact Texas Lawbook Publisher Brooks Igo at brooks.igo@texaslawbook.net.