Following its pattern of promoting former top federal prosecutors and regulators to leading corporate positions, Exxon Mobil announced Wednesday that former Fox Corporation general counsel and former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeff Taylor, will be the energy giant’s next top lawyer. Exxon Mobil announced Wednesday that Craig Morford, also a former federal prosecutor who has been the company’s general counsel since 2020, will retire on July 1 and that Taylor will be his replacement.
Houston Trial Lawyer Opens Texas Office for Boston-Founded Firm
A co-founding partner at Schiffer Hicks Johnson has left his firm to start the first Texas office of Brown Rudnick in Houston.
Expert: SEC’s Texas Office ‘Will Remain Very Active and Aggressive’ in 2024
With U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regional Director Eric Werner and his new leadership team in place, the SEC will likely remain aggressive in bringing enforcement actions regarding traditional oil and gas offering fraud cases, large public company matters, market manipulation cases and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters, according to former SEC senior counsel for enforcement Rebecca Fike, who is now a partner at Vinson & Elkins.
This coming Wednesday in Houston, Fike is moderating a CLE program that includes Werner, who heads the Fort Worth office, and former SEC associate director Jessica Magee, who is now a partner at Holland Knight. The Texas Lawbook CLE will hosted by V&E and Holland & Knight. Texas Lawbook subscribers and members of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston and DFW Chapters are welcome to attend in person in Houston or via a webcast. In advance of Wednesday’s CLE, Fike gave an interview to The Texas Lawbook.
Gibson Dunn’s Back-to-Back Years of Record Growth in Texas
Gibson Dunn faced a strategic crisis in late 2010: Firm leaders had serious doubts about the viability of its Texas operation. Shuttering the Dallas office was a real possibility. And then, the Texas law gods smiled upon the LA-founded corporate law firm. More than a dozen years since, Gibson Dunn has sextupled the number of lawyers it has in Texas and increased revenues from those Texas attorneys by 10 times.
During the past two years, the firm has been on a Texas-sized hiring spree — growing from 117 attorneys to 179. This year, the firm is expecting its largest class of Texas summer associates and its largest class of first-year hires. Revenues and profits have soared. This is the story about how it happened.
Ex-SDTX Bankruptcy Judge, Liz Freeman and Jackson Walker Seek Dismissals in Two Separate Fraud Cases
Within hours of each other late Wednesday, three key players in the romantic relationship scandal that has infected the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court filed motions in two separate cases seeking to have the cases against them dismissed — and all three for different reasons.
Houston Corporate Counsel Award Winners: Phillips 66, LyondellBasell, First Reserve, McDermott, Cardinal Systems
More than 220 corporate in-house counsel and their outside lawyers gathered last week at the Four Seasons in downtown Houston to recognize more than two-dozen general counsel and senior in-house counsel who achieved extraordinary success during the past year.
Virage Capital Asst. GC Leslie Hillendahl is ‘Leading an Industry Constantly In Flux’
Leslie Hillendahl wanted to be a lawyer since the fifth grade, but she faced an obstacle. Her father, a Houston police officer, “was quite adamant about steering me away from a legal career. He insisted that if I were to pursue law, I needed to first obtain what he called a ‘solid’ degree in accounting or finance.”
“While I initially resisted, I now appreciate his guidance, as it ultimately led me to a fulfilling career path that I love,” Hillendahl told The Texas Lawbook. Hillendahl earned degrees in accounting and law and is now the assistant general counsel at Virage Capital Management, a Houston-based litigation funding operation with an estimated $1 billion in assets. During the past two years, she and outside counsel have scored several multimillion-dollar courtroom victories and she currently manages more than $350 million invested in disputes spanning several states. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Lawbook have named Hillendahl the winner of the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.
Q&A: Leslie Hillendahl
Leslie Hillendahl shares what outside counsel needs to know about her and more.
‘Many Lawyers Shrink in the Face of Crisis’ — Not LyondellBasell’s Brittany Ringel Walton
LyondellBasell senior counsel Brittany Ringel Walton had just put her children to bed in July 2021, when she received an urgent call about a leak at her company’s La Porte Complex. More than 100,000 pounds of acetic acid had been released. There were two fatalities, and another 30 people were taken to the hospital. Within minutes, Walton was on her way to the scene. Her first concern was the health and safety of her LyondellBasell colleagues at the La Porte facility but she also quickly comprehended the legal and regulatory issues that would come from the tragic event and immediately took the steps necessary to start investigating and addressing those issues and concerns.
The injuries and deaths of the workers — combined with the onslaught of governmental and civil investigations and lawsuits — exposed the companies to potentially hundreds of millions in legal claims and penalties. Instead, Walton’s thoughtful and proactive leadership that hot, humid night, the next day and throughout the legal processes during the past three years since the tragedy led to widespread praise and acclaim from company leaders, the board of directors and employees. Citing Walton’s success and leadership under pressure, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Walton a finalist for the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department.
Q&A: Brittany Ringel Walton
For Premium Subscibers LyondellBasell’s Brittany Ringel Walton shares what outside counsel needs to know about her and more. The Texas Lawbook: What are the factors you consider when deciding about