LyondellBasell’s Andrew Gratz is a ‘Force of Nature’ in $2B M&A Deal

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.

January 3, 2022 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Andrew Gratz

Premium-Only Content Andy Gratz oversees the vast legal work required at LyondellBasell, the petrochemical giant. The Lawbook's Mark Curriden interviewed him about his approach to the job, how his work in government relations helped shape that approach and his expectations of those who work with and for him.

January 3, 2022 Mark Curriden

Premium Subscriber Q&A with METRO GC Cydonii Fairfax

Premium-Only Content: Cydonii Fairfax is a finalist for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. The Lawbook’s Mark Curriden had a chance to ask her about what outside counsel need to know if they want her business and her efforts at the University of Houston to increase diversity in the legal industry pipeline.

December 29, 2021 Mark Curriden

METRO GC Cydonii Fairfax is ‘Building a More Equitable Foundation’

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.

December 29, 2021 Mark Curriden

Q&A: David Rassin

Premium Subscriber Q&A SAExploration offered David Rassin the GC job in March 2020. There were a few things they thought he should know: the last GC and CEO had been fired

December 27, 2021 Mark Curriden

SAExploration GC David Rassin is a ‘Real Fixer Upper’

SAExploration offered David Rassin the GC job in March 2020. There were a few things they thought he should know: the last GC and CEO had been fired and faced federal criminal charges; the SEC was investigating the company for securities fraud; the company was restating five years of financials and faced being delisted by Nasdaq; and bankruptcy was a possibility. Rassin accepted the challenge and SAE is glad he did.

“It was the most intense year of my life,” said Rassin, who is a finalist for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards GC of the Year for a Small Legal Department.

December 27, 2021 Mark Curriden

Charlie San Miguel Does Billion-dollar Deals for Enterprise Products, GC of Texas Monthly

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.

December 23, 2021 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Charlie San Miguel

Premium-Only Content: Charlie San Miguel is recipient of the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department. The Lawbook's Mark Curriden had a chance to ask him about the current issues facing in-house counsel and what he looks for in any relationship with an outside firm.

December 23, 2021 Mark Curriden

TechnipFMC’s Victoria Lazar Solves Billion-Dollar Problems

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.

December 20, 2021 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Victoria Lazar

Premium-Only Content: During her three decades practicing law, Victoria Lazar has designed and negotiated multibillion-dollar, high-profile M&A deals for corporate giants like Electronic Data Systems and General Electric. Even as a young lawyer, she worked on the separation of EDS from General Motors in what was at the time the largest IPO in history. Here, Lazar shares her perceptions about the role of corporate counsel.

December 20, 2021 Mark Curriden

Mary Isensee is a ‘One-Woman Army at PROS’

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.

December 17, 2021 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Mary Insensee

In an exclusive Texas Lawbook Q&A with Mary Isensee, the technology counsel at PROS, Inc. explains the challenges facing in-house counsel, her pet peeves about outside counsel and what lawyers need to know about her if they want her business.

December 17, 2021 Mark Curriden

It’s Up to You! Leadership Lessons from the Ancients for GCs Today

The lessons of the ancients are as fresh and relevant today as they were thousands of years ago, perhaps even more-so as we face similar challenges brought on by war, pandemics (plagues), weather or social and political upheaval. Especially instructive for a general counsel today are the enduring leadership lessons of Alexander III (the Great) of Macedon, Marcus Aurelius of Rome, Socrates of Greece and Confucius of China.

December 15, 2021 Stratton Horres

Sarah Hurt: A Big Impact in a Short Time at Jefferson Energy

Sarah Hurt has been the GC at Jefferson Energy Companies for a year and has scored huge achievements. Three separate pipeline systems have been placed into service. The issuance of $425 million in Port of Beaumont bonds and a major terminal project well underway. The Houston Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook announce Hurt is a finalist for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.

December 14, 2021 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Sarah Hurt

In an exclusive Texas Lawbook Q&A with Sarah Hurt, the general counsel at the Jefferson Energy Companies squares off on the kinds of challenges facing in-house counsel, her pet peeves about outside counsel and what lawyers need to know about her if they want her business.

December 14, 2021 Mark Curriden

MilliporeSigma’s Christallyn Williams: A DEI Leader in the Texas Legal Community

Christallyn Williams was a junior in high school when she demonstrated her courage to step forward on issues of race, diversity and inclusion. The leadership she showed in a Houston classroom a couple decades ago continues today. Williams is senior corporate counsel for labor and employment law at MilliporeSigma, a multibillion-dollar global life-sciences company. She is also one of the most successful lawyers in Texas in pursuing diversity and inclusion in the profession and a finalist for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion.

December 14, 2021 Mark Curriden

Q&A: Christallyn Williams

An exclusive Texas Lawbook Q&A with MilliporeSigma senior counsel Christallyn Williams on challenges facing in-house counsel, her pet peeves about outside counsel and what lawyers need to know about her if they want her business.

December 14, 2021 Mark Curriden

2021 Houston CCA Winners: TechnipFMC CLO Victoria Lazar, HP’s Brad Hartz, PROS’ Mary Isensee

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are pleased to announce the final three categories for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards and the recipients for each of those honors. Those categories are Rookie of the Year, Business Litigation of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award. In-depth profiles of the finalists and winners will be published over the next month.

December 6, 2021 Mark Curriden

Houston Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists for Achievements in D&I and Pro Bono and Public Service Revealed

Each year, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook honor corporate in-house counsel who are true role models for improving the legal profession from the inside and out. There are three finalists for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion and one finalist for Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service.

December 1, 2021 Mark Curriden

TX GC Forum Honors Lawyers Dawud Crooms, Farah Bhayani, Rishi Varma, Robert Bell and Others with Magna Stella Awards

The Texas General Counsel Forum honored seven top in-house counsel and the corporate legal departments at CenterPoint Energy and Toyota Motor North America on Thursday night with the 2021 Magna Stella Awards. Lone Star Circle of Care GC Tillery Stout received the award for GC of the Year for a Non-Profit. And legal leaders at Diamondback Energy, Enterprise Products, G6 Hospitality, SAExploration and Intercontinental Terminals were honored for their accomplishments.

The Texas Lawbook attended the Texas Forum annual meeting in Austin and has these exclusive details.

November 20, 2021 Mark Curriden