The Texas Access to Justice Commission has presented its 2020 Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award to Toyota Managing Counsel Scott Young. Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman said Young “has an unwavering commitment to pro bono work.”
Five Texas GCs Ask Congress to Increase Legal Aid Funding
The chief legal officers at AT&T, Dell, Kimberly-Clark, LyondellBasell and Pioneer Natural Resources joined colleagues from across the U.S. in asking the U.S. Congress to significantly raise the amount of funding it provides to the Legal Services Corporation.
Northwest Texas Legal Aid Celebrates Women Advocacy Awards, Needs Funding
Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht says domestic abuse cases are “up quite a bit” during the past 15 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are not enough lawyers doing pro bono to help abused women and children. The chief justice’s comments came during a webcast conducted by the Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, which celebrated the 2020 Women’s Advocacy Awards.
CenterPoint, ETP, Prosperity Bank – More 2020 Houston Corp. Counsel Award Winners
They are general counsel who engineered major mergers, acquisitions and restructurings and senior counsel who won bet-the-company litigation. They are corporate in-house counsel preaching diversity and pro bono activities in the legal profession. ACC’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honored to announce the final six recipients.
7-Eleven and Perkins Coie Win 2020 ACC Value Champions Awards
The Association of Corporate Counsel has announced that 7-Eleven and the law firm Perkins Coie have been named one of its annual 2020 Value Champions, a national honor that recognizes innovative technology and the use of creative operating systems to enhance efficiency and value in corporate legal departments.
Eight Words: ‘You Need to Stay Out of This Neighborhood’
Julia Simon’s son was jogging a few blocks from the North Dallas home the family has lived in for 20 years, when a white woman saw him and screamed. The message was clear, but it took a while to fully sink in. The Mary Kay CLO explains to Natalie Posgate how the incident shook her family.
2020 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards Winners Announced
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honored to announce the 2020 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards recipients. Eleven of the 13 winners are women. One-third are lawyers of color. One is a previous finalist and one is a back-to-back winner. Three winners are from the same business. Six of the in-house counsel work at energy related companies. Pictured: Veronica Foley of Precision Drilling.
‘STOP and Read this Story. This is my Black Son’s Life’
UPDATED: Sonic officials late Thursday apologized directly to the families of seven African-American teenagers for the discriminatory treatment they endured at one of the company’s North Dallas drive-in restaurants. The parents included a Dallas judge and several prominent in-house lawyers. Natalie Posgate’s update includes the full text of Sonic’s public statement.
Dykema Employer Survey Examines Return-to-Work Issues
Much has been written about what steps employers can and should take in the face of the global pandemic. In an effort to better understand what employers actually are doing, Dykema recently sent a flash survey to employers. Here is an analysis of the results.
GC Brandy Treadway Leads J.C. Penney into Chapter 11
On Page 15 of J.C. Penney Company’s bankruptcy filing Friday late afternoon, there is the signature of the corporation’s general counsel and corporate secretary, Brandy Treadway. “Attached hereto is a true, complete, and correct copy of the resolutions of the Board of Directors of the Company.” Here is a profile of J.C. Penney’s GC, who will play a critical role in the retailer’s restructuring.
Low Tax Revenues, Interest Rates Sap Legal Aid Funds
The two-fisted beating of an coronavirus shutdown and an oil market crash is begetting yet another crisis on the horizon in Texas: the need for legal aid. Zero interest rates and dwindling tax revenues are sapping low-income legal resources, even as the need for them is set to explode. “That’s the next big story,” says SCOTX Chief Justice Nathan Hecht. Janet Elliott explains.
Arnold Ventures’ Roxanne Almaraz – A GC doing ‘Personally Meaningful’ Legal Work
Roxanne Almaraz was four when she told her parents that she planned to be either a lawyer or a cardiothoracic surgeon. Thirty-five years later, she is the general counsel of a multibillion-dollar philanthropic and public policy-oriented LLC in Houston. Along the way, Almaraz worked on some major energy M&A transactions. This is her story.
Chasity Henry Joins CECO Environmental as GC
Chasity Henry, a veteran of the Kimberly-Clark and Dr Pepper Snapple legal departments, officially moved into the corporate C-suite Monday as a general counsel of Dallas-based CECO Environmental. At age 39, Henry is widely recognized as one of the leading voices on diversity in the legal profession.
Airline Bailouts and Bankruptcy – Not So Simple
The government is closing in on a $50 billion infusion of emergency aid to the airline industry in light of the extraordinary decrease in demand for air travel following the onset of COVID-19. While well-intended, the proposed package is insufficient to ward off catastrophic airline failures.
AT&T and Toyota GCs to Federal Courts: Fix Expert Witness Testimony Rules
The chief legal officers of 50 U.S. corporations, including the general counsel at Dallas-based AT&T and Plano-based Toyota, are asking federal judges to revisit the evidence rules regarding the admission of expert testimony.
Texas GC Forum Honors SMU’s Paul Ward
Southern Methodist University General Counsel Paul Ward received the 19th Annual Robert H. Dedman Award for Ethics and Law this week from the Texas General Counsel Forum. The Texas Lawbook has details.
Corporate GC Seeks Slice of Contingency Fee Agreement, Then Dies, Then Sues
Ruhrpumpen General Counsel Eugene Moore hired the Cokinos law firm to handle a patent infringement case on a contingency fee. Moore then wanted a share of the fee for himself. But Moore died without informing his bosses he made such a deal. Now his wife wants Cokinos to pay up. But the Dallas Court of Appeals has the final word.
Winners, Finalists Feted at ACC-DFW Awards
GALLERY ADDED With more than 100 nominations, 27 finalists and 13 separate categories, the DFW/ACC and The Texas Lawbook hosted more than 400 corporate lawyers at the 2019 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards.
Ann Bruder – Steady Hand, Multifaceted Skill Set Make Her a Top GC
Blucora Inc.’s journey last year to acquire Dallas-based competitor 1st Global Inc. for $180 million faced several obstacles. Those involved in the deal say Blucora CLO Ann Bruder’s steady hand and strategic maneuvering is the reason the transformational transaction closed.
Glen Hill – The Definition of a Heavy Lifter
An eight year veteran of the U.S. Army, Glen Hill had no idea what public finance was. But after a decade of training in the Bracewell muni-bond practice, Hill is the assistant general counsel at Preston Hollow Capital and has “touched” more than 80 financial transactions. He’s worked on 35 deals that have closed.
Curiosity, Precociousness and Hard Work Take Forterra’s Lori Browne to the Top
Lori Browne attended her first law school class when she was seven and she immediately gave up her dream of being a rock star in favor of practicing law. Three decades later, Browne is the GC of a pipe manufacturer that employs 5,000 people, operates 85 manufacturing facilities and has a market cap of $922 million. And she’s had a really big year.