Alan Dorantes worked on the set of Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July.” He was once Matthew Broderick’s stand-in and he is almost certainly the only corporate lawyer in Texas with an award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The AT&T senior counsel is a national expert on diversity in the legal profession and is involved in several groundbreaking public service projects in Texas. He’s also packing his bags and leaving town.
Being Gary Kennedy – A Sky-High Career of Challenges and Achievements
Former American Airlines GC Gary Kennedy was at the center of extraordinary growth, extreme tumult and radical change at one of the world’s largest commercial airlines. He implemented groundbreaking mandatory pro bono and diversity efforts. He navigated American through the tidal wave of litigation set in motion after the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks and negotiated an historic agreement that settled a decades-long dispute with Southwest Airlines regarding Dallas Love Field. Most of all, Kennedy guided American through one of the largest, most complex and financially successful bankruptcies in U.S. history.
‘Landslide’ Luna’s Lifetime of Achievements
Chris Luna won his Dallas City Council election by 156 votes, earning him the nickname Landslide Luna. Now chief counsel for Metro by T-Mobile, Luna is one of the leading and most influential voices in the Texas corporate legal community. During his 35-year career, Luna has played a critical role in several major corporate transactions and advocated tirelessly for increased diversity in the legal profession. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honored to give the 2019 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement to John Christopher Luna.
DFW M&A Deal of the Year and Pro Bono/Public Service Finalists
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced Monday the finalists for both the 2019 Pro Bono and Public Service Award and the M&A Deal of the Year Award.
Updated – Halliburton Names Van Beckwith its Next General Counsel
Halliburton GC Robb Voyles is being promoted to CLO and he has named Baker Botts litigation partner Van Beckwith as his successor. The Texas Lawbook has exclusive interviews with Voyles and Beckwith, who is relocating to Houston and starting the new position Jan. 1.
Kimberly Phillips Takes Over as Shell Oil’s Head of Global Litigation
Houston appellate law expert Kimberly Phillips has long been an advocate for increased diversity in the legal and energy sectors. Now, she is advocating from a new lofty position: general counsel of global litigation at Shell Oil Company.
Dearth of Legal Aid for Low-Income Texans ‘Really Dire’
Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht says the number of Texans needing legal assistance but who cannot afford an attorney is increasing so fast that the state’s legal profession is not equipped to handle the demand for basic legal services for military veterans, abused spouses and children and other low-income residents. Even so, new Texas Lawbook data shows that most corporate law firms in Texas are not doing their share of pro bono work, even as those same firms achieve record profits. The solution may rest with in-house corporate legal departments and general counsel. The Texas Lawbook has an in-depth report.
$20M HOA Verdict Becomes Personal for Coinsource GC Arnold Spencer
Arnold Spencer has tried around 100 cases in his legal career. But a recent Perry Mason moment during an insurance negligence trial came to him while wearing a different hat: a fact witness. Natalie Posgate tells his tale and how he and lawyers at Hedrick Kring secured a $20 million jury verdict this week on behalf of residents of a burned down Dallas condominium.
Nominations Open for 2019 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are officially accepting nominations for the 2019 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards, which recognize the best of the best legal work being performed by corporate in-house counsel. There are 14 categories this year, including three categories that also recognize successful partnerships between general counsel and their outside law firms. The Lawbook has full details.
The 2019 Magna Stella Award Goes To…
The Texas GC Forum chose in-house lawyers at AT&T, Boeing Global Services, ExxonMobil, Platinum Dermatology, Southwestern Energy and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas to receive the Magna Stella Award. The biggest winner is Houston-based Mattress Firm. The Texas Lawbook has the names.
American Airlines Names Priya Aiyar as New GC
The Fort Worth-based airline conducted a national search to replace Paul Jones, who retired earlier this year. Willkie Farr partner Priya Aiyar, whose practice specialized in litigation and global trade and investment disputes, will start the job in September and will relocate to American’s DFW headquarters.
Worldwide Flight Services GC Baron Oursler’s ‘Crazy Year’
The past six months have been a whirlwind for Baron Oursler. He played a critical role in the sale of his employer, FleetPride, to a New York private equity firm. His wife gave birth to their first child, who was born six weeks prematurely and spent a month in the hospital. And he recently started a new job as GC of Worldwide Flight Services. The Texas Lawbook has the inside details.
Two ACC-DFW Members Win Global Award … and One gets a New Job
For the first time, members of the DFW Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel – J.C. Penney Senior Counsel April Goff and Pinnacle Group GC Erin Stewart – have been named Top 10 30-Somethings by the global group of in-house lawyers. One of them starts a new job this week.
Former V&E Lawyer Appointed GC of EQT After Activists Win Proxy Fight
Houston attorney Will Jordan was appointed general counsel of Pittsburgh-based EQT Corp. after the Rice brothers took control of the company in a bitter proxy fight.
Orrick Partner Becomes GC of ROX Financial
Orrick partner David Ronn is moving in-house, becoming general counsel of a company that plans to create exchange-traded securities that will allow investment in single-property real estate.
TechnipFMC’s Lisa Wang: From Scooping Ice Cream to Expertise on Multijurisdictional, Dually Traded Public Companies
Widely viewed as one of the brilliant young stars in the corporate in-house legal community, Lisa Wang played a leading role in the incredibly complex $13 billion merger of Houston-based FMC Technologies and Technip of Paris in 2017 and guided the newly formed company through a $460 million debt offering in 2018. The Texas Lawbook has an in-depth profile of Wang’s life and career.
Fluor Promotes CLO Carlos Hernandez to Interim CEO
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.
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.