[Diversity, equity and inclusion] “should be more than an initiative or a once-a-year conversation. This has to be part of the DNA, like safety in a corporation, like culture in any relationship,” said Sempra Infrastructure Carolyn Benton Aiman. “You must tend to it. Legal departments and law firm leadership should set an expectation, and leaders should be selected for their ability to develop people across all demographics. Leaders not only talk diversity, but their actions should match their words, including who they surround themselves with and with whom they work.”

The Association of Corporate Counsels Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook agree and have named Aiman as a finalist for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion.

For 162 days in 2020, EP Energy General Counsel Jace Locke was in bankruptcy hell. In early March, Locke and lawyers at Weil convinced a bankruptcy judge to approve a highly contentious and complex multibillion-dollar plan to exit Chapter 11. Then Covid hit. The world went into lockdown. Saudi Arabia and Russia were in a feud that flooded the world with oil. Commodity prices plunged. The bankruptcy deal: Dead. All in 11 days.

Locke and Weil went “back to the drawing board.” There were negotiations and concessions. Cuts were made, losses were accepted and new funds were committed. A publicly traded oil company once worth billions was taken private. Restructuring successful. Locke and Weil are now finalists for the Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Transaction of the Year.

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, LyondellBasell Associate GC Andrew Gratz learned that South Africa-based Sasol wanted to sell 50% of an ethane and polyethylene operation in Louisiana for $2 billion, but there was a time crunch. Gratz, his in-house legal team and lawyers at Kirkland worked 16-hour days to accommodate the time differences between Houston and South Africa. Due diligence and negotiations over the JV’s management and marketing took place virtually. Plus, it was difficult to build trust when negotiating teams are not face-to-face. But lawyers say Gratz was a force of nature that kept dealmakers moving forward and getting the transaction done. Thus, Gratz and Kirkland are finalists for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Transaction of the Year.

Cydonii Fairfax has emerged as a leader of the Houston corporate legal community and one of the most influential role models on diversity and public service in Texas. As general counsel of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO), Fairfax is playing a critical role in the implementation of a $7.5 billion transformation of one of the largest public transportation systems in the U.S. She also has implemented internal policies and practices that have led to substantive results. Nearly two-thirds of the lawyers in METRO’s legal department are women or ethnic minorities, including the top two posts. And she aggressively sends work to minority-owned law firms.

Only a year out of college, Charlie San Miguel was hit with a frivolous lawsuit by his former employer because he went to work at a competitor. He made $9 an hour but still had to hire a lawyer. The experience was painful but it also gave him the idea to go to law school. Today, San Miguel is now the VP of legal at Enterprise Products, where he recently completed a $2 billion M&A deal. He’s also the GC of Texas Monthly and a musician who plays for two rock bands. He’s also the recipient of the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department.

Victoria Lazar has designed, negotiated and closed numerous multibillion-dollar, high-profile M&A deals for corporate giants such as Electronic Data Systems and General Electric during her three decades practicing law. She worked on EDS’s separation from General Motors and GE Oil & Gas’s $32 billion purchase of Baker Hughes. She worked in Russia for Baker Botts representing the Azerbaijan International Oil Co. She became an expert on evaluating the risks of offshore, deep-water drilling equipment following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. She guided Bristow Helicopter Group out of a multibillion-dollar bankruptcy. Now TechnipFMC’s chief legal officer, Lazar recently completed a billion-dollar corporate spinoff.

But it was a pro bono divorce case Lazar handled when she was a young corporate transactional associate at Baker Botts in Houston that she considers her first memorable moment practicing law. Meet Victoria Lazar and her lifetime of achievements.

Three years ago, Mary Isensee made some big changes in her career. After six years of practicing corporate law at three different large law firms in Houston, she decided to go in-house. Isensee went from oil and gas to technology and artificial intelligence – during a pandemic when PROS clients, many in the travel industry, were hit hard. “Mary is a young attorney practicing at an experience level beyond her years,” AZA’s Todd Mensing says. Isensee is also the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Rookie of the Year.