The Texas General Counsel Forum unveiled 10 winners of the 2018 Magna Stella Awards, including the top legal officers at Dr. Pepper Snapple, Varsity Brands, Hanger and the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. The Texas Lawbook has full details.
From Coffee High Protein Almond Mocha to Complex Franchise Agreements, Michael Sukenik is the Right Blend as Smoothie King’s New GC
Michael Sukenik spent a week behind the counter at Smoothie King making Slim-N-Trim Orange Vanilla and Pure Recharge Mango Strawberry shakes. He took orders, blended, washed and stocked shelves – a requirement for all new Smoothie King execs. Nearly three months on the job as GC, Sukenik tells The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview that he’s tackling issues related to the headquarters relocation to Dallas, getting to know the C-team, trying to hire a lawyer for his legal department, re-evaluating our outside legal support and talking with a few Texas law firms.
The Texas Lawbook Surpasses 10,000 Paid Subscribers
Today, I am pleased to announce that The Texas Lawbook has reached and surpassed 10,000 paid subscribers – 2,359 of whom are general counsel or corporate in-house counsel.
Op-Ed: Bankruptcy Venue – A Time for Change
The time has come to eliminate venue shopping in corporate bankruptcies and restructuring. Based on my first-hand experience leading American Airlines’ corporate restructuring in a distant locale, it is my view that Congress should amend the bankruptcy laws and eliminate venue shopping. U.S. corporations should be required to file bankruptcy cases in their hometown jurisdiction. This exclusive Texas Lawbook article explains why.
Talen Energy Names Andy Wright as GC
(June 8) – The Woodlands-based Talen Energy has hired former Energy Future Holdings General Counsel Andy Wright as its new top lawyer. Wright, who leads a legal team of four lawyers, talks about his reasons for the move after 14 years at EFH in Dallas.
Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation Looks to the Future
[tribulant_slideshow gallery_id=”2″] © 2018 The Texas Lawbook. By Mark Curriden (June 4) – One by one, young women and men of color stood as their names were called. Brenda Balli.
Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation Announces 2018 Scholarship and Grant Recipients
(May 22) — Since its creation in 2006, the Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation will have awarded almost $400,000 in scholarships and internships to Hispanic law students and provided numerous grants to Hispanic high school and college students with interests in the law. At this year’s Amanacer Luncheon, the Foundation honors and awards 15 deserving Hispanic students with scholarships and grants, and 6 students will receive judicial internships. T-Mobile’s Chris Luna writes about the program and its upcoming event in The Texas Lawyer.
SEC Senior Lawyer Joins FlowServe
Michael Jackman’s departure is the latest blow for the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office, which has seen several of its top and most experienced lawyers leave for the private sector during the past year.
Judges, GCs Speak of the Golden Rule at DBA Day of Civility
Though that legal degree on your wall is kind of important in order to practice law, it turns out that everything you need to know about civility in the profession boils down to the ‘Golden Rule’ that you already learned in kindergarten: treat others the way you would want to be treated.
New Oncor GC Matt Henry: ‘I Really Know My Client’
On Matt Henry’s first day as a lawyer, he was assigned a research project for a subsidiary of Texas power giant TXU Energy. Twenty-three years later, that company, now called Oncor Electric Delivery, has named Henry to be its general counsel. In exclusive interviews with The Texas Lawbook, Henry and Oncor CEO Allen Nye discuss how they met 25 years ago, the legal needs facing the business and their plans for outside counsel.
Lennox Int’l CLO John Torres – The ‘Gold Standard’ for Corporate General Counsel
© 2018 The Texas Lawbook. By Mark Curriden (April 2) – For John Torres, there was no inspirational story or significant life experience that led him to become a lawyer.
Sabre’s Top Lawyer, Rachel Gonzalez, Heads to Starbucks
Rachel Gonzalez, who has held senior in-house legal positions at several Texas companies, will no longer have to pay for a cup of coffee starting next month.
Dallas Lawyers, Including AT&T GC McAtee, Take Center Stage in Historic Antitrust Trial
This week, a potentially epic and landmark trial gets underway in a federal courtroom in Washington, D.C., pitting the mighty power of the United States government against telecommunications giant AT&T of Dallas. A handful of Texas lawyers, including several AT&T in-house counsel and partners in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, are playing prominent roles in the litigation. The Texas Lawbook has details.
SEC Loses Three Senior-Level Enforcers to Dallas Financial Services Firm – Updated
SEC Associate Director Jessica Magee and two other key SEC lawyers are leaving the Fort Worth office to join the Beneficient Company Group, an alternative asset management firm led by Dallas financial titans Brad Keppner, Richard Fisher, Tom Hicks and others. The loss of the three senior SEC leaders leaves a huge void in the federal agency’s regional operations and could impact several high-profile prosecutions and investigations. The Texas Lawbook has full details, including interviews with SEC’s Shamoil Shipchandler and BEN CEO Brad Keppner.
Q&A: Former American Airlines GC Gary Kennedy Discusses ‘Twelve Years of Turbulence’
For more than a decade, Gary Kennedy was a steady hand leading the corporate legal department at American Airlines, which faced tremendous turbulence and head winds – from the use of two of its plans by terrorists on 9/11 and the deadly crash of Flight 587 into a neighborhood in Queens to battles with its own labor unions and with Southwest Airlines over expansion at Love Field to its federal bankruptcy and merger with US Airways. In a new book to be released this week, Kennedy provides an extraordinary behind-the-scenes tour of these events and what really happened. Kennedy talked with The Texas Lawbook about the revelations in the book.
TX Lawbook & ACC-DFW Host CLE Featuring Former American Airlines GC Gary Kennedy
Gary Kennedy, in his new book Twelve Years of Turbulence, takes readers behind closed doors and into previously private, confidential meetings at the world’s largest airline. From the decision to ground all plans on 9/11 and a secret lunch between legendary NFL QB and American Airlines board member Roger Staubach and Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison regarding expansion of Love Field to key confidential meetings involving AA’s bankruptcy and merger with US Airways, Kennedy provides a front row seat for one of the most complex, expensive and successful corporate restructurings in history. The Texas Lawbook and the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter give lawyers an exclusive opportunity to meet with Kennedy and hear the real story of American Airlines tumultuous journey.
Sally Beauty Names John Henrich as Interim GC
Denton-based Sally Beauty announced a change in the top of the company’s legal department last Friday. Matthew Haltom resigned as GC and received a $500,000 separation package. Deputy GC John Henrich is serving as interim general counsel.
Dr Pepper GC Jim Baldwin Leads $18.7B Deal with Keurig
Dr Pepper Snapple General Counsel Jim Baldwin and the soft drink maker’s in-house legal team – including assistant GCs Art Swanson and Wayne Lewis – led the Plano company’s $18.7 billion merger negotiations with Keurig Green Mountain. Morgan Lewis, Skadden Arps and McDermott are advising in the transaction, but none of the key lawyers are based in Texas.
Meet Frost Bank’s New GC: James Waters
James Waters, administrative partner of Haynes and Boone’s Dallas office, will start as the new general counsel and executive vice president at San Antonio-based Frost Bank at the end of February. He replaces long-time Frost GC Stanley McCormick. The Texas Lawbook has an exclusive interview with Waters.
Corporate GCs Pushing Law Firms on Diversity
Leaders at corporate legal departments in Texas appear ready to use their considerable influence to push – or possibly even force – law firms to recruit, retain and promote minority and women lawyers. Corporate general counsel – also known as the clients paying the bills of the lawyers – are growing impatient with the lack of law firm diversity and many are considering taking hard-line approaches against firms that are not aggressive enough. Corporate legal departments at AT&T, Kimberly-Clark, Liberty Mutual, MetroPCS and other major businesses are speaking out.
CHC GC Hooman Yazhari Finds Solutions & Survival in Chaos
Hooman Yazhari has an amazing story to tell. His family was forced to flee their native Iran in the revolution of 1979 or face imprisonment by the Revolutionary Guard. He’s guided three billion-dollar businesses through bankruptcy and restructuring, including one where he discovered the CEO was stealing from the company. But Yazhari’s amazing legal work in the CHC Helicopter restructuring earned him a spot as a finalist for the the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award for GC of the Year for a Small Legal dept.