Andrew Gratz’s first big assignment at LyondellBasell a decade ago was to work on the multinational petrochemical company’s complex bankruptcy. Now, he’s leading the $35 billion corporation’s strategic growth efforts, including last year’s $2.25 billion acquisition of A. Schulman Inc. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Gratz a finalist for the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Senior Counsel of the Year Award for a Large Legal Department. The Lawbook has a complete profile.
TLB Exclusive: Dozens of Texas Law Firms Experience Cyber Incidents/Data Breaches
At least 42 corporate law firms operating in Texas have experienced a “cyber incident” or an actual data breach during the past two years, according to an exclusive new Texas Lawbook survey. But 90% of law firms report that one of the vendors they use has been the victim of a cyber attack. GCs, including those at Match Group and Halliburton, say they are concerned about the safety of client information and law firms, according to the survey, are finally paying attention to cyber threats.
Former BP Associate GC Moves to Vorys in Houston
At BP, Jeff Heller managed the British multinational oil and gas company’s global legal teams responsible for employment and labor law, immigration, data privacy and benefits.
Halliburton GC Robb Voyles – GC of the Year for a Large Legal Department
Robb Voyles faced a mountain of legal issues when he became Halliburton’s GC in 2014. There was a securities class-action lawsuit seeking billions of dollars in damages, an SEC investigation into alleged misconduct at its operations in Nigeria, a nine-figure tax dispute with its former KBR subsidiary and scores of lawsuits with billions of dollars at stake related to the deadly Deepwater Horizon explosion. Voyles successfully disposed of all of those risks to Halliburton’s balance sheet during a time when the industry faced significant financial pressures.
The Texas Lawbook has an in-depth profile of Voyles, who is the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Award’s General Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department.
Three Texas GCs Offer Advice on Becoming GCs
What does it take to become a corporate general counsel in Texas? The chief legal officers at Toyota, J.C. Penney, Match Group and a leading corporate executive headhunter gave their advice this week to a group of 130 members of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter. The Texas Lawbook was there and has the exclusive details.
Buc-ee’s to Shell Oil – 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists Announced
GCs from Apache, ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, CenterPoint, LyondellBasell and 18 other Houston area businesses have been selected as finalists for the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards, which are hosted by the Houston Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook. The awards recognize the successes of corporate in-house counsel.
Meet Frank McElroy: Weaver’s New GC
McElroy is the first in-house lawyer and general counsel for the Texas accounting firm. At Weaver, McElroy will work on both the litigation and transactional side. In addition to managing the firm’s corporate needs, he’ll be active in the firm’s contract and acquisition negotiations, quality review teams and risk management.
Report: Pier 1 lenders have retained legal counsel
Several Pier 1 lenders have retained legal counsel in anticipation of a coming overhaul as the home furnishings retailer’s earnings continue to plummet, Retail Dive reported, citing a report from Debtwire. This article from the Dallas Business Journal has more details.
Updated: It was the ‘Right Time and Place’ for Amy Yeager to Become Children’s New GC
During a break from orientation, Children’s newest GC told The Texas Lawbook why she decided to join the country’s eighth largest pediatric care provider. Litigation writer Natalie Posgate has the details.
Shonn Brown Joins Kimberly Clark as Deputy GC
Dallas trial lawyer Shonn Brown had an interesting Friday. In the early morning hours, she won a 10-digit jury verdict in Dallas County District Court. After lunch, she packed up her office at Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst and moved her litigation practice to Irving-based Kimberly-Clark Corp., where she is now the deputy general counsel over litigation and regulatory.
Texas Lawbook Hits 11K Subscribers, Launches Insider Newsletter
Buoyed by partnerships with the DFW and Houston chapters of the Association of Corporate Counsel, The Texas Lawbook now has more than 11,000 paid subscribers, including 2,470 corporate in-house counsel. To celebrate, we are launching The Texas Lawbook Insider, a free newsletter that provides insider details about the inner workings of The Lawbook team and offers behind-the-scenes descriptions on how specific stories came together. Here are the details.
ACC Houston & The Texas Lawbook 2019 Corporate Counsel Awards: One Day Left for Nominations
Law firms, corporate legal departments and others have only one day left to submit nominations for the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards.
There are 15 categories, including General Counsel of the Year, Senior Counsel of the Year, Business Litigation and Corporate Transaction of the Year. The awards event is set for Thursday, April 25, at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Catherine Callaway James Named Kinder Morgan GC
Former Dynegy GC Catherine Callaway James was named to the top legal job at infrastructure giant Kinder Morgan Inc. She replaces Curt Moffatt who died unexpectedly in December. Claire Poole has more.
Sysco Elevates Eve McFadden to GC
The Houston food and service company has selected Eve McFadden to replace Russell Libby as general counsel and corporate secretary.
Houston Private Equity Firm Promotes Max Klupchak to GC
Houston-based The Sterling Group announced this month that it has promoted Max Klupchak to general counsel. Klupchak joined the private equity firm in 2015 from Kirkland & Ellis, where he
Remembering Nancy Dunlap: 1946-2019
Nancy Dunlap, general counsel at Rosewood Properties Corporation, died on January 21. We asked longtime friend and colleague Alan Loewinsohn about her. His response was thoughtful and warm.
Former Jones Day Real Estate Leader Joins Mill Creek as GC
David Lowery, who spent 37 years at Jones Day in Dallas, has left the firm and is now general counsel of Mill Creek Residential Trust, an apartment developer, acquirer and operator.
AT&T and Toyota Win Multiple 2018 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards
The chief legal officers at Adeptus Health, EnLink Midstream Partners and Match.com won General Counsel of the Year awards. Senior counsel at Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, Capital One and NGP Energy also were honored for significant successes during 2018. The Texas Lawbook has exclusive details.
RSP’s James Mutrie: Putting Himself Out of a Job
It’s not much fun to be general counsel of a company going through a sale which, if successful, would likely put you out of a job. But Jim Mutrie handled his company’s $9.5 billion sale to Concho Resources last year like a pro. Now he’s RSP Permian’s former general counsel and a finalist for an Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award.
Updated: Toyota Legal One Builds Creative Partnerships, Promotes Diversity
Five years ago, Sandra Phillips Rogers started an effort to analyze and revamp how the auto giant’s corporate legal department selected and worked with outside counsel. The idea was a more collaborative relationship between Toyota’s in-house counsel and its outside counsel. Today that idea is more than a success: it’s a model for cooperation and diversity.
Updated: Jared Sine Leads Match’s ‘World Class’ Legal Department
Jared Sine has never swiped right on Tinder, but he is making all the right legal moves for Match.com. In his 30 months as GC, Sine has tripled the size of the Match legal department, unveiled a major data privacy effort and successfully litigated a patent infringement claim against a competitor. The Texas Lawbook tells what Sine then did after lunch.