© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden
SAN ANTONIO (Nov. 17) – Dallas-based TRT Holdings faced hundreds of millions of dollars in potential damages from a California class action that accused the owner of Omni Hotels with violating the privacy of thousands of callers who allegedly called the company to make reservations.
Other hotel and travel companies had settled for millions. But Jeanette Teckman, the former senior counsel of operations at TRT decided to fight. For weeks, she and others listened to thousands of audio phone calls. The hard work paid off. TRT settled for $27,000. Not a dime was paid to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Teckman was one of eight corporate in-house lawyers and two legal departments honored Thursday night in San Antonio at the annual meeting of the Texas General Counsel Forum.
Starting Monday, Nov. 27, The Texas Lawbook will publish individual and in-depth profiles of each of the 10 receipts of the Magna Stella Awards.
Here are a summary of the winners and a preview of what is coming:
The Magna Stella Award for Outstanding General Counsel for a Major Transaction is BHP Billiton Petroleum General Counsel Rachel Clingman. A 1992 alumni of the University of Texas School of Law, Clingman has led the 30-attorney legal department at the Houston-based petroleum and minerals company since July 2014. Prior to that, she was a partner in the litigation sections of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan and Fulbright & Jaworski.
Waste Connections General Counsel Patrick Shea received the Magna Stella Award for Outstanding General Counsel for a Small Legal Dept. Shea has been a lawyer with the Woodlands integrated solid waste services company for 13 years – the past nine years as GC. A former corporate securities lawyer at the firm now known as Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in New York, Shea was only the second in-house lawyer at Waste Connections when he joined in 2004. He now oversees a legal team of seven lawyers and a support staff of five.
The award for Outstanding Managing Counsel for a Large Legal Dept. went to Janet Bawcom, who is senior corporate, securities and finance counsel at Dell Technologies. A 1989 graduate of SMU Dedman, Bawcom was a lawyer in the corporate section of Locke Lord for five years and then five years at Gardere. She joined Dell’s legal department in 1999.
Halliburton General Counsel Robb Voyles for Outstanding General Counsel for a Large Legal Dept. Voyles has been the GC for the Houston-based oilfield services company since 2013. He oversees a legal department of more than 60 lawyers and a support staff of 125 people. This past spring, he added the title of interim chief financial officer. Voyles was previously a partner in the litigation section at Baker Botts, where he represented Halliburton in several high-profile legal disputes.
CTI Foods General Counsel Jonathan Spiller for Outstanding Solo General Counsel. A 2010 graduate of the SMU Dedman School of Law, Spiller joined CTI, a national manufacturer of food for large restaurant chains, in March 2016 after six years at Jones Day in Dallas. As the company’s only lawyer, Spiller oversees legal needs for all aspects of the operation.
The Outstanding General Counsel for a Non-profit/Governmental Agency honor goes to Southwest Research Institute General Counsel John McLeod, who joined the San Antonio-based non-profit 37 years ago. He has been the GC at the scientific research organization for more than two decades. The Lawbook mistakenly reported in an earlier report that the award was for Lifetime Achievement. We regret the error.
Jeanette Teckman, a former lawyer at TRT Holdings and now associate GC at Match Group, received the Magna Stella award for Major Litigation. A former partner at Gardere, Teckman led litigation efforts from 2013 to 2017 at TRT, which is a private holding company that owns Omni Hotels, Bob’s Steak and Chop House and Gold’s Gym. A 1998 graduate of SMU Dedman, Teckman joined Match in July 2017.
Audrey Guaqueta, assistant GC at Total Petrochemicals, is the recipient of the Outstanding Managing Counsel for a Small Legal Dept. With an expertise in joint ventures and complex transactions, Guaqueta has been with the legal department at Houston-based Total for eight years. A 2006 alumni of the University of Houston Law Center, Guaqueta joined Total from the legal department at Baker Hughes.
The Diversity award goes to the legal department at Parkland Health & Hospital System. Under the guidance of deputy general counsel Nneka Egbuniwe, Parkland’s legal team of six lawyers has directed at least 20 percent of its annual legal spend on outside counsel to women and minority-owned law firms and business. More than half of Parkland’s legal team are ethnic minorities and three-fourths are women.
The Pro Bono Service award goes to LyondellBasell Industries in Houston. Assistant GC Kathy Young leads the 30-lawyer department’s pro bono committee, which has achieved an almost 100 percent participation rate among its team. Lyondell Basell’s pro bono efforts focus heavily on meeting the needs of veterans.
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