The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced Monday the recipients of the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards for Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Transaction of the Year, Creative Partnership, Corporate Legal Department of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and Rookie of the Year.
ACC-Houston and The Lawbook disclosed the GCs of the Year, Senior Counsel of the Year, Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy and Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion honorees last week.
The annual Houston Corporate Counsel Awards recognize the successes of the corporate in-house legal community.
The Houston Corporate Counsel Awards celebrate the exceptional legal talent driving business success across our city, honoring the in-house counsel who work tirelessly behind the scenes to protect and advance the companies and communities that make Houston thrive,” said ACC Houston President Emily K. Shields. “When accomplished lawyers take time to nominate a peer, it speaks volumes about the standard of excellence this recognition represents.”
The Lawbook and ACC Houston received more than 80 nominations. A dozen past Houston Corporate Counsel Award recipients served as judges, reviewing the nominations and selecting the winners. The awards recognize the extraordinary successes of corporate in-house counsel during the past 12 to 18 months.
For the 2026 awards, ACC Houston and The Lawbook are honoring about two-dozen general counsel and senior in-house counsel from 15 different companies in 17 different categories.
ACC Houston and The Lawbook have partnered on the Houston Corporate Counsel Awards since 2019. The 2026 awards ceremony will be May 28 at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston.
“ACC Houston is proud to partner with The Texas Lawbook on the Corporate Counsel Awards to honor the exceptional legal work and leadership of in-house counsel throughout the Greater Houston area,” said Exxon Mobil Senior Counsel Latasha McDade, who serves as membership chair of ACC Houston. “The award winners are truly deserving of this recognition, and ACC Houston is delighted to celebrate them on this special occasion.”
The 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Award recipients include:
- Lifetime Achievement goes to Plains All American GC Richard McGee, who was nominated by Vinson & Elkins partner Nettie Downs.
- Rookie of the Year is being awarded toCastleton Commodities International Counsel Helen Xiang, who was nominated by Sidley Austin partner Irv Rotter.
- Corporate Legal Department of the Year honors go toLyondellBasell and its General Counsel Jeff Kaplan. AZA partners Kyle Poelker and Todd Mensing nominated LyondellBasell for the award.
- Legal Innovation/Creative Partnership award is being given to Phillips 66 GC Vanessa Sutherland, who was nominated by Phillips 66 Legal Operations Director Michael Voutsinas.
- Business Litigation of the Year, which honors both in-house and outside lawyers, will be awarded to two different recipients: Energy Transfer Assistant GC Ali Henderson and her team at ET, who were nominated by Yetter Coleman partners Paul Yetter and Bryce Callahan and by Gibson Dunn partner Collin Cox; and to KBR Senior Counsel Kriste Sullivan, who was nominated by Bracewell partner Warren Harris.
- M&A Transaction of the Year is going to Cactus GC Will Marsh, who was nominated by Norton Rose Fulbright partner Stephanie Schoepfer.
- General Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department (21-plus lawyers) goes to Siemens Energy GC Denise Hansen, who was nominated by Reed Smith partner Francisco Rivero.
- GC of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department (six to 20 attorneys) is being awarded to Fertitta Entertainment General Counsel Steven Scheinthal, who was nominated by AZA partner John Zavitsanos.
- General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department (two to five lawyers) goes to Energy & Minerals Group GC Laura Tyson. A&O Shearman partner Bill Nelson and Sidley Austin partner Herschel Hamner nominated Tyson for the award.
- GC of the Year for a Solo Legal Department will go to The Lactation Network General Counsel Wendy Wright, who was nominated by Jackson Walker partner Cheryl Camin Murray.
- General Counsel of the Year for a Nonprofit or Governmental Agency goes to Rice University GC Omar Syed, who was nominated by Bracewell partner Alamdar Hamdani.
- Senior Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department is being awarded to two lawyers — ConocoPhillips Senior Litigation Counsel Scott Kelly, who was nominated by AZA partner Tim Shelby and Shipley Snell principal George Shipley, and Exxon Mobil Managing Counsel David Kern, who was nominated by Gibson Dunn partner David Woodcock.
- Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department also goes to two Houston attorneys — Mitsubishi Americas Senior Counsel Megumi Ryoya, who was nominated by Vinson & Elkins partner Shay Kuperman, and Enerflex Senior Counsel Melanie Benefield, who was nominated by AZA partners Todd Mensing and Jason McManis.
- Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department goes to Deep Blue Deputy GC Ali Denson. O’Melveny & Myers Counsel Brandon Duke nominated Denson.
- Senior Counsel of the Year for a Nonprofit or Governmental Agency is being awarded to Houston Methodist Hospital Labor and Employment Legal Counsel Marissa Marquez, who was nominated by Jackson Walker partner Sang Shin.
- Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy Award goes to LyondellBasell Lead Counsel Dave Louie, who was nominated by Vinson & Elkins partner Quentin Smith, and Shell USA Senior Litigation Counsel Sara Keith, who was nominated by Porter Hedges associate Joanna Caytas.
- Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion is being awarded to Shell USA Senior Counsel Cisselon Nichols Hurd, who was nominated by Shell Legal Counsel Ryan Boutet.
Texas Lawbook publisher Brooks Igo said the 2026 award recipients “represent the best of the best and demonstrate the great value that Houston in-house counsel add to their company’s leadership and objectives.”
“This year’s candidates continue to raise the bar of what in-house counsel success looks like,” Igo said. “The Lawbook will publish in-depth profiles of each of the award winners over the next six weeks.”