Stephanie Hildebrandt has been an in-house lawyer and general counsel at some of the nation’s largest energy companies and has been involved in some of the biggest and most complicated civil lawsuits and M&A transactions in Texas.
For three decades, corporate executives from Texaco and El Paso Energy to Enterprise Products to Archrock have relied on Hildebrandt’s legal knowledge, ability to analyze an issue, wisdom and creativity to develop and execute a successful strategy.
“Stephanie is a dream client,” said Latham & Watkins partner Ryan Maierson. “She’s deeply skilled and knowledgeable in the law and her company’s business, has the ear of her management team and coordinates seamlessly with her outside counsel.
“We’ve been in the trenches on many sophisticated transactions together, including Archrock’s take-private of Archrock Partners and several securities offerings, as well as the day-to-day demands of a public company,” Maierson said. “She consistently leads with dedication and compassion.”
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook honor Hildebrandt with the 2022 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.
“This is an extraordinary honor, especially to be recognized like this by my peers,” Hildebrandt said.
Since joining Archrock five years ago, Hildebrandt led the $1 billion take-private transaction of Archrock Partners and several nine-figure securities offerings. She is now leading Archrock’s sustainability team, which she said is “exploring options for the company to help our customers reduce their emissions across the natural gas value chain.”
Hildebrandt was born in an army hospital in Wurzburg, Germany, and grew up in New Orleans. Her father was a career army officer who did three tours of duty in Vietnam. Her mother had a distinguished career in education and was the first female superintendent of schools for Jefferson Parish, which is a suburban area outside of New Orleans.
In an in-depth interview with The Texas Lawbook, Hildebrandt discussed her journey to becoming a lawyer and going in-house, her best days on the job, what she looks for in outside counsel and her views on pro bono and diversity.
Texas Lawbook: Any lawyers in the family? Did any family members influence your decision to be a lawyer?
Stephanie Hildebrandt: My mother remarried when I was in law school, and it just so happens she married a lawyer. They were dating by the time I was in my last year of college and my stepdad encouraged me to go to law school and was a great supporter of that decision. My stepsister is also a lawyer.
Lawbook: When did the idea of being a lawyer first surface?
Hildebrandt: I went to Georgetown University for undergrad, attending the School of Foreign Service with the intention of joining the U.S. diplomatic corps and “seeing the world.” I was a young graduate, too young to attend the U.S. Foreign Service Academy, so, as mentioned, with my stepdad’s encouragement I decided to go to law school instead. I figured a law degree wasn’t a bad thing to have, no matter what I decided to do in my career.
Lawbook: Any life or career mentors or any two life-impacting experiences you’ve had?
Hildebrandt: I’ve had several terrific mentors in my career, although they probably don’t think of themselves as mentors. One is James Lytal, whom I met when I first joined El Paso Corporation in 2001. He was president of El Paso’s MLP at that time, and we worked together on several different deals, putting together pipeline and spoke-and-hub production platform projects in the Gulf of Mexico. When Enterprise bought us in 2004, he encouraged Enterprise’s leadership to promote me to deputy GC, and they did. Later, James recommended me for a board seat on Rice Midstream Partners’ board, and we served together on that board until the company merged with EQM Midstream (now Equitrans). And finally, James introduced me to Archrock, where he serves on our board. He’s been a great supporter and has always encouraged me to take on the next challenge. He’s a talented businessman and a truly good human too.
Another mentor has been Peggy Heeg. Peggy was general counsel of El Paso Corporation during my time there. When I first started attending Enterprise’s board meetings, she was incredibly helpful in getting me prepared for what that experience would be like. She is also the first one to suggest to me that I might make a good board director, and she proposed me as a candidate for the DirectWomen Board Institute in 2012. DirectWomen is a program that identifies leading women lawyers around the country who have the business acumen to make good corporate directors. That experience set me on the path of becoming a board director, and I joined my first board in 2014. When I left Enterprise, she was instrumental in bringing me to Norton Rose Fulbright, and I had the pleasure of being a partner in the firm and working with her for two-and-a-half years.
As far as life-impacting experiences, I have to say having and raising two children definitely has to be at the top of the list. And realizing how incredibly lucky I was to have had such a supportive husband – we juggled two children and two careers and everyone seems to have turned out OK. My husband Scott is my biggest cheerleader, and I am grateful that we have shared our lives together.
Lawbook: When you graduated from Tulane University School of Law, where did you first work and what was your practice?
Hildebrandt: My first job out of law school was as an associate with Terriberry, Carroll & Yancey, a maritime law firm in New Orleans (they’ve since merged with Phelps Dunbar). I still had a desire to do international work, and a maritime practice was about as close as you could come in the city of New Orleans. It was a great experience, but the work was mostly litigation defense. I really enjoy the win-win of a transactional practice, and litigation doesn’t usually end that way.
Lawbook: What led you to go in-house in 1989 to Texaco?
Hildebrandt: I was looking for a change from a litigation practice, and a friend from law school who worked for Texaco mentioned that they were looking for an attorney to join their in-house team. I worried that I might be bored in an in-house practice. I have to say that has never been the case. And one of the more fun things about working in-house is the variety of projects. If there’s a need and you want to fill it, just jump in. Thankfully, I’ve never worked in a stay-in-your-lane type environment.
Lawbook: You were in-house from 1989 to 2015. Then you went to Norton Rose Fulbright. Then to Archrock in 2017. First, what do you consider to be your biggest successes while you were at Texaco and Enterprise Products?
Hildebrandt: At Texaco, I was able to work on a wide variety of projects; one of my favorites was assisting the company in acquiring an interest in the Malampaya field, a gas-to-power project in the Philippines. It was a big dollar acquisition, but more importantly the project supplied the Philippines with around 20 percent of its power requirements. For someone who always wanted to work in the international arena, it was a dream project.
At Enterprise, while I worked on some very significant IPOs, mergers, acquisitions and commercial transactions, I look at my legacy there as having built a tremendous legal department. The department was very small when I came to the company, and as the company grew so did the department. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with some truly outstanding lawyers, and to have had a hand in bringing many of them to a great company.
Lawbook: What did you learn about yourself during the 2.5 years you were at Fulbright?
Hildebrandt: Well, I certainly gained an appreciation for the challenges our outside counsel face. My last stint at a law firm had been as an associate, and as a partner the pressures are quite different. You are not only a lawyer, but a business developer, both getting business and growing business, manager of varied teams of professionals (including other partners, as the business may dictate), social planner, bill collector and the like. I really enjoyed my time at Fulbright — I couldn’t have asked for a more talented and collegial group of people. But I don’t miss billing my time. I guess being at the firm reinforced that I really enjoy being part of a business, whether it’s a law business or a business like Archrock. It’s very satisfying to work hard and see that work pay off in the growth of business, whatever business you may be in.
Lawbook: What attracted you to Archrock?
Hildebrandt: I was intrigued, not only due to Archrock’s role in the energy industry but also because of its management team. I really wanted to work with a team that valued my business acumen and common sense as much as my legal skills. And I have definitely found that at Archrock.
Lawbook: What have been one or two of the biggest obstacles or challenges you faced in your nearly five years at Archrock and how did you overcome them?
Hildebrandt: The energy transition has been a focus for everyone in the energy industry over the last several years, and we’re no exception. But I look at it more as an opportunity. I lead our sustainability team and have really enjoyed exploring options for the company and reporting our efforts and successes in our sustainability report. We have opportunities to help our customers reduce their emissions across the natural gas value chain and I’m excited to see how our business will morph over time.
Lawbook: Looking back at 2021, what was your best day and why?
Hildebrandt: Well, if I can look back just a few weeks, it’s when our daughter got engaged! Our future son-in-law is an amazing young man, and although I can’t believe I’m going to be a mother-in-law in the near future, we are really looking forward to having him as a member of the family. We have two incredible grown children, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.
Lawbook: What do you look for in hiring outside counsel?
Hildebrandt: A former colleague at Enterprise used to say he liked to hire lawyers, not law firms. And while that’s definitely true, it takes a village to get some of these projects done, and a full-service firm that you can count on for their expertise in multiple areas is a must-have. We recently invested in a company that is IP-heavy, and Latham did a great job covering those issues for us. It’s not an area we have expertise in with our small department.
Lawbook: Do you have pet peeves regarding outside counsel?
Hildebrandt: I guess I’ve been lucky to work with some of the greats, and haven’t really had pet peeves. The best lawyers are those who understand your goals and get you there. Don’t tell me it can’t be done, let’s find a way to do it.
Lawbook: What does outside counsel need to know about you?
Hildebrandt: We bring in outside counsel for their expertise and often for their manpower. We view them as an extension of our own legal department and enjoy working with them in that fashion. It’s not a one-and-done situation. There’s loyalty there, and we very much appreciate what our outside lawyers bring to the table.
Lawbook: Are you involved in any favorite pro bono efforts or public service projects that you want us to highlight?
Hildebrandt: During the early days of the pandemic, Archrock adopted a paid time to volunteer program, where we offer employees eight hours a year of paid time to volunteer with their preferred organization. We’ve been able to schedule volunteer events for different teams — much like the law firms do — and I’m proud of the impact that’s had on the communities in which we work. Our legal department has been very involved with the Houston Food Bank. We have a great time when we go over there, and we fundraise and collect food donations in addition to volunteering our time. We also have an Archrock Cares Committee — of which I’m proud to be the executive sponsor — that gets involved in everything from blood drives to our very popular Pink Week during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October every year. We have fun and benefit our communities too.
Lawbook: How important is diversity in hiring outside counsel?
Hildebrandt: It’s important to me to have diversity in the ranks of our outside counsel. The firms have taken diversity seriously for many years now, and they seem to be cracking the code on retention of diverse lawyers and staff. There’s so much talent out there.
Lawbook: What am I not asking that I should be asking?
Hildebrandt: I mentioned my board work above, but just wanted to highlight what a great opportunity a board seat can be for a general counsel. We see things from one perspective in our own company’s boardroom, but it’s totally different when you’re actually a member of the board. A friend of mine told me recently that I’m a life-long learner. I guess that’s true, and board service has opened up new avenues of education. The never-ending education of Stephanie.