Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Everyone has biases. Not everyone tries to identify theirs. Some don't realize they are discriminatory. And lawyers who see prejudice with judges or other lawyers "need to pushback against it," U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore told the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter in a CLE webcast last week called “Implicit Bias in the Courts.”
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County lawyer Kylie Loya was born in a refugee camp in Manila. She was still a baby when she was granted asylum and was still in high school when she represented herself in court. Today, Loya is a rising star in the Texas legal community; she is a legal expert on drone usage and helped bring Wi-Fi to public transit customers in Houston. She is also the recipient of the 2020 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department.
The Texas Lawbook provides unique and substantive content to our Premium subscribers. In this exclusive interview, METRO staff attorney Kylie Loya discusses the mentors in her life, discusses her best day on the job, provides insight what she looks for when hiring outside counsel and the need for more diversity in the legal profession.
Charlotte Rasche has handled more than 30 M&A transactions for Prosperity Bank – first as a lawyer at Bracewell and now as the financial institution’s chief legal officer. None of those deals, however, were close to being as large or important as Prosperity’s $2.1 billion purchase of Plano-based LegacyTexas Bank a year ago. Working with Bracewell's Will Anderson, Rasche completed one of the largest bank deals in Texas history in less than five months. Rasche and Anderson are the winners of the 2020 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for M&A Transaction of the Year.
The Texas Lawbook provides unique and substantive content to our Premium subscribers. In this exclusive interview, Prosperity Bank General Counsel Charlotte Rasche provides insight what she looks for when hiring outside counsel, key things that outside counsel need to know about her, how the role of the GC has changed and the need for more diversity in the legal profession.
Don't expect federal civil jury trials in Texas to increase for the next few months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, three federal judges told 200 Texas general counsel Thursday. The judges have some other pet peeves, too.
Texas Lawbook Premium Bonus Content: Q&A with Chevron Senior Counsel Alyssa Schindler The Texas Lawbook provides unique and substantive content to our Premium subscribers. In this interview, Chevron Senior Counsel
The 2020 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Creative Partnership goes to Chevron senior counsel Aylssa Schindler and Lauren Brogdon of Norton Rose Fulbright. The duo normally handle multimillion-dollar transactions and lawsuits, but they came together to co-engineer a major pro bono effort involving more than 20 lawyers from the energy giant and the global law firm to help 10 low-income victims of Hurricane Harvey.
Keith Calcote’s son was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome in the third grade. “We knew nothing about Tourette’s or what lay ahead,” said Calcote, who has served as an assistant general counsel at Shell Oil, Motiva and Waste Management. During the past three decades, Calcote has been involved in some of the biggest corporate civil lawsuits in Texas history. But his family’s experience with Tourette’s gave him an understanding and compassion that deeply affected his profession and faith.
The Texas Lawbook provides unique and substantive content to our Premium subscribers. In this interview, former Weatherford International General Counsel Christina Ibrahim provides personal insight into her life, how she selects outside counsel and key things outside counsel should know about her.
Christina Ibrahim’s accomplishments at Weatherford International include multiple large M&A deals and guiding the oil services company through a highly successful bankruptcy and restructuring that eliminated $6 billion in debt. But her achievement was much different, much deeper and much more important. The Association of Corporate Counsel Houston and The Texas Lawbook award the 2020 Houston Corporate Counsel’s General Counsel of the Year Award for a Large Legal Department to Ibrahim.
Diversity and inclusion must be personal. Making history and even just experiencing it can be difficult. Words followed up by actions on mandatory diversity by corporate general counsel equals progress and success. These were the messages that came from the Texas Minority Counsel Program's two-day annual meeting.
The Dallas in-house lawyer and ACC-DFW board member said it was her goal to join "the most talented team of attorneys in DFW."
Lauren Haller is the the daughter of a Houston judge and the great-great-granddaughter of an emancipated slave who became a Texas legislator during Reconstruction. Now legal counsel for operations at Pattern Energy, Haller created and launched a cutting-edge effort in the recruitment, professional development and retention of professionals at one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies. She is also the recipient of the 2020 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion.
The Texas Lawbook provides unique and substantive content to our Premium subscribers. In this interview, Pattern Energy Corporate Counsel Lauren Haller provides personal insight into her life, how she selects outside counsel and key things outside counsel should know about her.
The Texas Lawbook and the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel are now accepting nominations for the 2020 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. GCs and in-house counsel faced challenges like no other year and they did it with great success. Now, it is time to recognize and celebrate those achievements.
Judy Liu was 6 when she and her mom arrived in the U.S. from Taiwan. She learned English in less than three months, mainly by watching Sesame Street, but she also discovered that kids in Texas were not always so welcoming. Even so, Liu survived and thrived and is the quintessential immigrant success story. Four decades later, Liu one of the top lawyers at CenterPoint Energy, managing about 150 active lawsuits. She is also the 2020 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department.
In a bonus Q&A for Premium Subscribers, Judy Liu shares with Lawbook founder Mark Curriden her views on litigation management, how she hires special counsel and what outside counsel needs to know about her.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis in the oil patch have meant difficult times for many businesses. Through all of this, corporate general counsel and senior counsel at companies across North Texas have been called upon to do the best legal work of their careers. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter and The Texas Lawbook seek to identify and honor those in-house counsel for the great legal work and leadership they performed in 2020.
Mattress Firm senior counsel Mindy Harper had been on the job only a few months when the Houston bedding company became embroiled in a multi-year, bet-the-company dispute that was litigating in 14 states - all happening as Mattress Firm went through a $3 billion bankruptcy and restructuring. “Mindy was the quintessential ‘grace under fire’ since the date she started at the company,” Houston lawyer John Thomas said.
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