Fluor Corp’s long-time chief legal officer Carlos Hernandez is now the company’s interim CEO. While Fluor has not announced who will replace Hernandez as CLO, it lists two lawyers , Dawn Stout and Kevin Hammonds, as holding the general counsel title. This article looks back at Hernandez’ extraordinary life and career.
Photo Gallery: 2019 ACC Houston Corporate Counsel Awards
April 25, Four Seasons Hotel On April 25, ACC Houston and The Texas Lawbook hosted the annual Corporate Counsel Awards with more than 300 Houston lawyers and corporate executives in
The 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards – A ‘Spectacular Evening’ in Words and Pictures
Halliburton GC Robb Voyles stepped to the podium to accept his award for General Counsel of the Year and saw a photo of himself on the ballroom’s big screen. “I’m not getting this award for picture of the year obviously,” Voyles told the audience at the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards. ACC Houston and The Texas Lawbook honored 14 corporate legal departments and their lawyers. The Lawbook has exclusive details and photos from the event.
Precision Drilling’s Veronica Foley: ‘A Superstar in All Respects’
Precision Drilling GC Veronica Foley is fluent in Spanish, fluent in French and talented in ways that her colleagues regard her as “a superstar.” From unique legal projects to everyday functions she helps keep the company out in front of issues. And now she is a finalist for GC of the Year for a Mid-sized Legal Department in the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards.
Superior Energy’s Blaine Edwards – From Small Claims Court to a $70M Jury Victory
Blaine Edwards began his legal career as a teenager, filing in small claims court to collect unpaid bills for his parents’ petroleum wholesale business. Now he’s being honored as a finalist for Senior Counsel of the Year in the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards. Mark Curriden tells his story.
Tim Johnson – A Plane Crash and a Painful Turnaround
When Tim Johnson’s friend and boss – the founder of the company he worked for – died tragically in a plane crash, it was a “punch in the gut.” But things were about to get worse. In the wake of his friend’s death, Johnson uncovered a massive fraud at his company. The skill and determination with which he approached that problem, as well as others that emerged at Peak Completion Technologies, has resulted in his nomination as GC of the Year for a Small Legal Department in Houston’s 2019 Corporate Counsel Awards.
Buc-ee’s & Tracy Richardson – Business Litigation of the Year
In a trademark lawsuit that began with a coffee cup plopped on his desk, Tracy Richardson led the charge to protect the distinctive Buc-ee’s beaver grin from corporate copycats and poachers. Now, he and Buc-ee’s are winners in the Business Litigation of the Year category of the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards. Read Mark Curriden’s account of this award-winning litigation.
CenterPoint’s $6B Acquisition of Vectren is the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Award’s M&A Transaction of the Year
Monica Karuturi, an associate GC at CenterPoint Energy was visiting relatives in India when she first got word that CenterPoint was interested in acquiring Vectren, an Indiana-based utility. Within days she was on a flight to New York City to begin fleshing out the agreement. In the next few months Karuturi’s team put together a $6 billion deal that has been named M&A Transaction of the Year in the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards. Mark Curriden has the background on the remarkable, award-winning transaction.
Buc-ee’s, CenterPoint, Precision Drilling, Peak Completion, LyondellBasell & Superior Energy Win Big at 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced Thursday night that Buc-ee’s Deputy General Counsel Tracy Richardson is the winner of the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards’ Business Litigation of the Year.
CenterPoint Energy Associate General Counsel Monica Karuturi and her outside lawyers at Akin Gump and Baker Botts are the winners of the 2019 M&A Transaction of the Year.
More than 300 leaders of Houston corporate legal departments and the most prominent business lawyers in Texas celebrated the annual 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel awards Thursday evening at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston.
We have exclusive coverage of the event and a list of winners in The Texas Lawbook.
Carriage’s Mike Elliott & Shook Hardy – Creative Partnering
Legal Counsel Mike Elliott of Carriage Services, a $300 million funeral operations company, has a distinctive approach to litigation: he likes his company to avoid it. To do so he has formed a creative alliance with law firm Shook Hardy Bacon that involves a shared vision of legal needs and something close to absolute professional trust. Their relationship is the sole finalist and thus the winner of the 2019 ACC Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Creative Partnership. Mark Curriden describes that award-winning relationship.
