Q&A: Mark Chavez, GC Ocean Point Terminals

When Mark Chavez was brought on board as general counsel at Ocean Point Terminals in June 2021, he knew he had his work cut out for him. Its major client, a refinery on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, had been shut down by the EPA after a series of environmental incidents and was barreling towards bankruptcy. As a result of his work during a critical time in Ocean Point's history, Chavez has been named a finalist in the 2023 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards as GC of the Year for a Small Legal Department (five or less lawyers).

Mark Curriden, founder of The Texas Lawbook, had a chance to discuss with Chavez some of his remarkable life experiences, the challenges of 2022 and what he expects from outside counsel when he seeks their help.

May 3, 2023 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Marilyn Moore Basso of TPC Group

For Premium Subscribers Executives at petrochemical processor TPC Group woke the morning of Nov. 27, 2019, to tragic news. Its refinery in Port Neches, Texas, had experienced a major explosion

May 3, 2023 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Hakim Effiom-Dauw of Mitsubishi

One year ago, Mitsubishi Corporation entered into a joint venture agreement with two other energy giants — Sempra Infrastructure and TotalEnergies — to develop and build a project that captures, transports and stores carbon dioxide to help produce cleaner liquefied natural gas for Mitsubishi’s business partner Cameron LNG. Lawyers involved in the monumental multibillion-dollar initiative say Mitsubishi’s point person for all things legal and compliance has been the company’s rising star corporate counsel Hakim Effiom-Dauw.

Lawbook founder Mark Curriden had the opportunity to ask Effiom-Dauw about his rookie year at Mitsubishi and what he looks for when dealing with outside counsel.

May 3, 2023 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Rob Ellis of Southwestern Energy

For Premium Subscribers As assistant general counsel of Southwestern Energy, Rob Ellis has notched big victories. None bigger than last October when Ellis and his team of lawyers at Yetter

May 2, 2023 Bruce Tomaso & Mark Curriden

Q&A: Averill Conn of Vitol

Averill Conn was working at home in the fall of 2020, as were most of us, due to the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown. Conn received “a cold call from a headhunter” looking to hire an experienced attorney to support Vitol’s power, gas and renewables businesses. She had never taken a job through a recruiter and wasn’t looking to make a move. She took the call, and Vitol is glad she did. Mark Curriden, founder of The Texas Lawbook, had a chance to ask her about her experiences, both at Vitol and in-house in general.

May 2, 2023 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Jeff McNabb of Patterson-UTI

Jeff McNabb's destiny to be a trial lawyer started in the first grade. Decades later, McNabb is head of litigation for Patterson-UTI Management, where he won two major courtroom victories in 2022 — one against former employees who allegedly took the company’s confidential information and the other involving an insurance coverage dispute for several underlying worksite injuries.

Mark Curriden, founder of The Lawbook, asked McNabb to share some of his thoughts about hiring outside counsel and the role of diversity in whatever he requires.

May 2, 2023 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Brookfield’s Fred Day

As managing director of investments at Canadian-based Brookfield Asset Management, Fred Day led six major infrastructure deals last year with a combined dollar value of more than $55 billion, including a $5 billion take-private transaction of British home repair services company HomeServ and the acquisition of a majority ownership in Deutsche Telekom’s tower portfolio in Germany and Austria for more than $19 billion.

Mark Curriden, founder of The Texas Lawbook, asked Day about the role of diversity in his rarefied world of dealmaking.

May 2, 2023 Mark Curriden

For Brookfield’s Fred Day, ‘No Fire Drills’ Just Multibillion Dollar Deals   

As a rookie deal lawyer, Fred Day’s first transaction in 2007 was valued at more than $1 billion. In the 15 years since, Day has handled dozens of M&A and capital markets transactions with combined price tags exceeding $100 billion. No year in his career, however, matches the magnitude of 2022.

As managing director at Brookfield Asset Management, Day led six major infrastructure deals last year with a combined dollar value of more than $55 billion, including a $30 billion “first-of-its-kind” JV with Intel Corp. for a semiconductor fabrication facility in Arizona. As a result, Day is a finalist for the 2023 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department.

May 2, 2023 Mark Curriden