One year ago, Halliburton Chief Legal Officer Robb Voyles hired Baker Botts litigation partner Van Beckwith to be the oilfield service giant’s general counsel with the idea that he would eventually replace Voyles.
Eventually has arrived.
The Houston-headquartered company announced Tuesday that Beckwith has taken over as its CLO.
“Robb has been a great leader and I have loved practicing law with him.”
“It has been a quick first year, but a great first year,” Beckwith told The Texas Lawbook in an interview. “It is a great job and I have a great team. It is fun to wake up every day to a variety of challenges around the world.”
Voyles, in an interview Wednesday with The Lawbook, said he will remain with Halliburton for a short period as chief advisor to the CEO and he is looking for other opportunities, such as serving on corporate boards or working as a mediator or arbitrator on complex commercial disputes.
“I still want to do things,” said Volyes, who also served for several months as Halliburton’s chief financial officer. “I’m not planning on going to the old folks home any time soon.”
Beckwith, according to Voyles, “will do a great job.”
When Voyles hired Beckwith in a year ago, it was the second time that he had offered him a job.
“I hired Van right out of law school to come to Baker Botts,” he said. “Van basically followed my career at Baker Botts. He is an outstanding lawyer. It is unique being able to select your successor.
In 2019, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook named Voyles General Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal department. A full profile of Voyles can be read here.
Besides leading the Halliburton legal department, which has a staff of 150 lawyers and support personnel, Beckwith is also over global communications and marketing and governmental affairs.
He said he has been impressed with how his team, which is spread out in 20 offices around the world, has handled the coronavirus pandemic.
“COVID touched everything we did around the world,” he said. “We have lawyers all over the world – Nigeria, Russia, Southeast Asia. The lawyers in those offices have been keeping us abreast of their local developments.”
Beckwith said the biggest surprise for him has been “the information flow,” which he described as “non-stop.”
“So much information keeps coming in,” he said. “I never stop reading.”
Beckwith said that Halliburton has a preferred law firm list and that he believes in partnering with the lawyers he hires.
“I think we get better results when we truly partner with our outside counsel,” he said.
Beckwith said that he has shifted around some assignments within his legal department.
Michelle Benavides was promoted from assistant general counsel and chief of global investigations to chief ethics and compliance officer and now reports directly to Beckwith and independently reports to the audit committee of the Halliburton board of directors.
Deputy General Counsel Jeffrey Spalding, who Tuesday celebrated his 10th year at Halliburton, added the title of chief commercial counsel. Assistant General Counsel Mauricio Almar has been was promoted to senior director of global compliance and investigations. He reports to Benavides. And Assistant General Counsel Chris Bellotti added the title chief litigation counsel.
A graduate of the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, Beckwith has three decades of experience as a trial lawyer at Baker Botts.
Beckwith, who is 55, represented Halliburton in securities litigation matters and handled an internal investigation for the company.