Carolyn Benton Aiman has broken barriers in her career and her life.
A mathematics major who went to law school, Aiman has spent three decades leaving her mark on the Texas legal profession. She was a trial lawyer for the first nine years. Texaco was so impressed with Aiman that it recruited her to go in-house to handle labor and employment disputes.
Two years later, Shell Oil hired and promoted Aiman to be managing counsel for capital projects and the global supply chain. The energy giant also appointed Aiman as one of its first chairs of legal diversity and inclusion.
In 2021, Houston-based Sempra Infrastructure conducted an exhaustive national search for a new chief legal officer and selected Aiman. Last month, Aiman and Sempra’s legal team working with lawyers at Baker Botts closed on its financing agreements in a $6.8 billion joint venture with ConocoPhillips for the development, construction and operation of the Port Arthur LNG facility in Jefferson County.
Citing three decades of service to the Houston legal community, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced Wednesday that Aiman will be the recipient of the 2023 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.
“I wanted to be a lawyer for as long as I can recall,” Aiman said in an interview. “From very early on I respected the importance of the rule of law and how it can make lives better. I understood that lawyers have influence and can bring change and can make things happen. I was, and I’m still, fascinated by how the law touches so much of our lives.”
Aiman and the other 2023 Houston Corporate Counsel Award finalists will be honored and the winners announced at the annual event on May 4 at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston.
Twenty-six law firms and more than a dozen corporate legal departments submitted more than 60 nominations for the 15 different award categories.
ACC Houston and The Lawbook appointed 15 judges – most of which were past Corporate Counsel Award winners – to review the nominations and select finalists and recipients based on the substance of the submissions. The judges could select up to three finalists, but also were given the ability to choose a sole finalist – and thus a recipient – if one of the nominations stood out.
“The Houston Corporate Counsel Awards recognize the tremendous legal work and business leadership of corporate in-house lawyers in the Houston area,” said ACC Houston Chapter President Joseph Yao. “These awards are so meaningful because they are completely substantive. There is no ‘pay-to-play’ or organizational favorites with these awards.”
“To be honored with a Houston Corporate Counsel Award means you have done the hard work and you deserve to be honored,” Yao said.
Here is a list of the other finalists for 2023 who will be honored on May 4.
ACC Houston and The Lawbook selected two recipients for the 2023 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. They are:
Amy Blumrosen, global litigation counsel for Baker Hughes and co-chair of the legal department’s DE&I Legal and Compliance. Blumrosen was nominated by Baker McKenzie partner Michelle Hartmann.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HPE’s General Counsel Rishi Varma and Associate GC Jude Andre, who chairs HPE’s Legal Department DEI Committee.
The judges selected two finalists for the 2023 Houston M&A Transaction of the Year. They are:
Cactus Inc. GC William Marsh, who was nominated by Bracewell partner Jason Jean; and
Talos Energy GC Bill Moss, who was nominated by Vinson & Elkins partner Jackson O’Maley.
There is only one finalist for the 2023 Houston Rookie of the Year Award. And the winner is:
Mitsubishi Americas Counsel for Legal and Compliance Hakim Effiom-Dauw, who was nominated by V&E partner Shay Kuperman.
There are two finalists for the 2023 Business Litigation of the Year. They are:
BMC Software General Counsel Patrick Tagtow and BMC Software Senior Counsel Sarah Menendez, who were nominated by White & Case partner Sean Gorman and BMC Software Chief Intellectual Property Counsel Irene Kosturakis; and
Port of Houston Assistant GC Dave McNamara, who was nominated by Kelsi Stayart White, an associate at Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing (AZA).
The two finalists for the GC of the Year for a Large Legal Department (21 lawyers or more) are:
Honeywell International, Smart Energy General Counsel Dionne Hamilton, who was nominated by Gabriella Aliberti, senior counsel and corporate compliance officer at LUKOIL Pan Americas; and
BMC Software General Counsel Patrick Tagtow, who was nominated by BMC Chief Intellectual Property Counsel Irene Kosturakis.
The sole finalist – and thus the recipient – of the GC of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department (six to 20 attorneys) is:
DistributionNow General Counsel Raymond Chang, who was nominated by partner Jason McManis at AZA.
The two finalists for GC of a Small Legal Department (two to five attorneys) are:
Ocean Point Terminals General Counsel Mark Chavez, who was nominated by Hunton Andrews Kurth partners Tad Davidson and Joe Rovira; and
TPC Group General Counsel Marilyn Moore Basso, who was nominated by Baker Botts partner Scott Janoe.
The judges selected two finalists for GC of the Year for a Solo Legal Department, and they are:
Eleoc General Counsel Rebecca “Becky” Gottsegen, who was nominated by Shearman & Sterling partner Alain Dermarkar; and
Sitio Royalties Corp. General Counsel Brett Riesenfeld, who was nominated by Sidley Austin partners Irving Rotter and Herschel Hammer.
The sole finalist and winner of the 2023 Houston Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department (five lawyers or less) is:
Southwestern Energy Assistant General Counsel Rob Ellis. Yetter Coleman founder and partner Paul Yetter nominated Ellis for this award.
There are two finalists for the 2023 Houston Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department (six to 20 attorneys):
Brookfield Asset Management Managing Director Fred Day, who was nominated by Kirkland & Ellis partner Enoch Varner; and
Patterson-UTI Management Services Senior Counsel for Litigation Jeff McNabb, who was nominated by Kelsi Stayart White, an associate at AZA.
One finalist for 2023 Houston Senior Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department (21 or more lawyers):
Vitol Associate General Counsel Averill Conn, who was nominated by Sidley partner Jessica Adkins.
The sole finalists and recipient of the 2023 Houston Senior Counsel of the Year Award for a Non-Profit or Public Institution:
Rice University Senior Associate General Counsel Joe Davidson, who also serves as the general counsel of the affiliated Rice Management Company. Davidson was nominated by Greenberg Traurig shareholder Denis Braham.