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GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.

Energy Transfer, KBR, LyondellBasell, Plains All American & P66 Win Top 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced Monday the recipients of the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards for Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Transaction of the Year, Creative Partnership, Corporate Legal Department of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and Rookie of the Year.

ACC Houston and The Lawbook disclosed the GCs of the Year, Senior Counsel of the Year, Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy and Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion honorees last week.

"The Houston Corporate Counsel Awards celebrate the exceptional legal talent driving business success across our city, honoring the in-house counsel who work tirelessly behind the scenes to protect and advance the companies and communities that make Houston thrive,” said ACC Houston President Emily K. Shields. “When accomplished lawyers take time to nominate a peer, it speaks volumes about the standard of excellence this recognition represents.”

Mark Curriden

ACC Houston, Lawbook Name Annual GCs, Senior Counsel of the Year, Pro Bono and Diversity Honorees

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced more recipients of 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards. General counsel and senior in-house counsel from six of the world’s largest corporate energy and chemical giants, a handful of thriving midsized energy industry operators and the top lawyer for Houston Rockets owner and entertainment billionaire Tilman Fertitta have been named.

During the next week, ACC Houston and The Lawbook will unveil the 2026 award winners in 17 different categories.

Mark Curriden

Leadership Lessons We Weren’t Taught in Law School but Should Have Been

In law school, we were taught to think critically, communicate persuasively and pay attention to detail. Law firm training was much more of the same, except with even greater emphasis on precision, especially as an M&A attorney. Often, the best lawyers are promoted to managers because of their technical skills or business development success. That doesn’t mean they’re prepared to lead people. We were trained to advise. Not to lead. And when the promotion comes, we’re often thrown into the deep end. Leadership becomes a trial by fire. But it doesn’t have to be.

Chasity Henry

Leading With Purpose: Lessons from the Frontlines

In the legal profession, we’re trained to argue, advise and analyze. But leading is often left to chance.

This series explores what it really means to lead with clarity, courage and purpose — especially in high-stakes environments.

Drawing from her experiences as a law firm associate, in-house legal executive, board leader and mentor, Jacobs General Counsel Chasity Henry shares lessons that go beyond titles and job descriptions. Whether you're a junior attorney, law firm partner or general counsel, Henry invites you to reflect on how your values, choices and actions shape the culture you create and the legacy you build.

Chasity Henry

Walmart Names Erin Nealy Cox as New CLO

Walmart Inc., the largest corporate employer in the U.S., has named former Dallas prosecutor Erin Nealy Cox as its new chief legal officer. Cox, who has been a partner at Kirkland & Ellis in Dallas since 2021, will assume the job as the retail giant’s top lawyer April 13.

Mark Curriden

Chasity Henry Named New Jacobs GC

Dallas-based Jacobs has named Chasity Henry as its new general counsel, replacing Justin Johnson, who left last month to become the chief legal officer at Westinghouse.

Mark Curriden

2025 DFW Corp. Counsel Award Winners: ‘It Was a Challenging Year’

Brinker, Children’s Health, Comerica, Energy Transfer, Match, PGA, Schwab, Solo Brands and Trintech were the big winners Thursday night at the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards. Eight of the 14 award categories, including Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Transaction of the Year and Corporate Legal Department of the Year, featured multiple finalists, with judges describing them as photo finishes. More than 360 of the most prominent general counsel, senior in-house counsel and law firm partners celebrated the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards at the George W. Bush Institute. This was the ninth year that the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook partnered on the awards event.

Mark Curriden

Comerica Closes $10.9B Merger, Wins DFW Corp. Counsel Award for M&A Transaction of the Year

Fifth Third Bank's merger with Dallas-based Comerica was a complex mega-transaction put extraordinary pressure on the Comerica legal department, which was already being pushed to the limit on other matters. But the $10.9 billion transaction announced on Oct. 6 officially closed this morning at 12:02 a.m., a mere four months after the deal was announced. Citing their extraordinary accomplishments, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook this past Thursday night honored the Comerica legal department and its outside counsel at Wachtell Lipton with the 2025 DFW M&A Transaction of the Year.

Allen Pusey & Mark Curriden

Trintech CLO Heather Randall Is a ‘Force Multiplier’

Heather Randall joined Dallas-headquartered cloud-based software solutions company Trintech in August 2023 and immediately found herself immersed in one of the biggest challenges of her two-decade legal career. Just a month earlier, Trintech had completed its largest-ever acquisition — a $230 million purchase of Fiserv’s fintech and payment-solutions operations. The integration of the highly complex carveout transaction was just as complicated, and it fell to Randall to make significant parts of it work. And her accomplishments in 2025 have been equally as significant.

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Randall as one of three finalists for the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards for General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.

Mark Curriden

Elaine Rodriguez Steers DFW Airport Through Turbulent Times

Elaine Rodriguez was looking for a new job in 2011 when a recruiter asked if she was interested in being the general counsel of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

“The more I learned, the more intrigued I became. And after years of doing annual reports and proxy statements, I thought it might be interesting to learn new things,” she said. “And, boy, have I learned new things,” Rodriguez told The Texas Lawbook.

The 14 years since have been filled with steep challenges and major achievements. And now the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Lawbook are honoring Rodriguez with the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Mark Curriden

Caris Life Sciences Deputy GC Ginger Appleberry Guides the Biotech Company’s $494M IPO

Ginger Appleberry was a litigation partner at Locke Lord in Dallas when she received a call in December 2014 that an Irving-based biotech company was seeking an in-house lawyer.

“They think they want a contract lawyer,” the caller told Appleberry. “They think they want someone who can do hospital contracting. They don't. They need you. I think you should talk to them.”

Appleberry agreed, took the position and now, 11 years later, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Appleberry one of two finalists for the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department (2-5 lawyers).

Mark Curriden

A Shining Star Returns to Dallas: PepsiCo’s Nur Kara Is a Natural at Marketing Law

Nur Kara joined the corporate legal department at PepsiCo in January 2024 having never practiced marketing law.

But during the past two years, the native North Texan has played a monumental role in leading the legal efforts for major redesigns and portfolio transformations for more than 15 PepsiCo Foods brands, including top revenue-generating portfolios like Lay’s and Tostitos. Kara’s impact, according to PepsiCo executives, has been extraordinary.

Now the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Kara as one of two finalists for the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Rookie of the Year.

Mark Curriden

Chris Blevins: Navigating Solo Brands Through Crisis and Into Renewed Growth

As a teenager and college student, Chris Blevins watched his father — an accountant turned business entrepreneur — negotiate contracts, do deals with vendors and handle issues with clients and customers.

“I was taking a few business and law-related classes, and I started realizing that the things that frustrated him weren’t about the product or the customers, they were about navigating legal and contractual issues that felt foreign and risky,” Blevins said. “It clicked for me that I could be someone who helped businesses run better by removing the friction and risk around these issues, making things clearer and easier.”

For Blevins, the career strategy paid major dividends in 2025 when he scored some huge successes for Grapevine-based Solo Brands. As such, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Lawbook have named Blevins as a finalist for the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department (two to five attorneys).

Mark Curriden

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