Eighteen year Mary Kay veteran Julia A. Simon has been promoted to be the cosmetic and personal care company’s top corporate lawyer. Addison-based Mary Kay announced Thursday that Simon, who has been the company’s deputy general counsel, is its new chief legal officer.
Stacey Doré named GC at Hunt Utility Services & InfraREIT
Hunt Consolidated has named former Energy Future Holdings General Counsel Stacey H. Doré as its new senior vice president and chief legal officer for two of its affiliated companies, Hunt Utility Services and InfraREIT.
Stacey Doré named GC at Hunt Utility Services & InfraREIT
Hunt Consolidated has named former Energy Future Holdings General Counsel Stacey H. Doré as its new senior vice president and chief legal officer for two of its affiliated companies, Hunt Utility Services and InfraREIT.
Ten Things: How to Plan a Legal Dept. Offsite
Corporate executives have used “offsite” meetings to develop strategy, set goals, energize the team, enhance teamwork and cooperation is the offsite. Legal departments seldom use this tool, but general counsel should reconsider.
Legal department offsites can bring big benefits to the department and the company. This edition of “Ten Things” discusses how to plan and host a successful legal department offsite.
Exclusive – GC Forum Names Corporate In-House Lawyers of the Year
The GC Forum awarded its prestigious Magna Stella Awards to lawyers in corporate legal departments at American Air Liquide, Dell, Marathon Oil, Parkland Hospital, Total Petrochemicals, Waste Management and Vinmar Group. GCs and and their top deputies were honored for the extraordinary projects and successes during the past year.
Exclusive: We Have Not Heard the Last of Retiring ExxonMobil GC Jack Balagia
Jack Balagia, who turned 65 on Wednesday, officially retires next week as ExxonMobil’s general counsel. In an exclusive interview with The Texas Lawbook, Balagia discusses his career, his biggest successes, his epic golf matches against former AT&T GC Wayne Watts, his efforts to diversity the legal profession, life inside the ExxonMobil legal department, his view of law firm rankings and the biggest legal issues facing the world’s largest oil and gas company. Balagia made one point career: he may be retiring, but he’s not done as a lawyer.
American Midstream Names New GC: Regina Gregory
Regina Gregory has been the top lawyer at Houston-based American Midstream Partners for only six weeks, but she has already overseen a $2 billion acquisition. A 1996 graduate of the University of Oklahoma School of Law, Gregory was named American Midstream’s new general counsel, corporate secretary and senior vice president in September.
Updated – AT&T’s David McAtee, John O’Connor & David Lawson Lead Time Warner Deal
AT&T General Counsel David McAtee, Associate General Counsel John J. O’Connor, Assistant General Counsel David Lawson and teams of lawyers from Sullivan & Cromwell and Arnold & Porter are leading the communications giant’s efforts to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion.
Updated – AT&T’s David McAtee, John O’Connor & David Lawson Lead Time Warner Deal
AT&T General Counsel David McAtee, Associate General Counsel John J. O’Connor, Assistant General Counsel David Lawson and teams of lawyers from Sullivan & Cromwell and Arnold & Porter are leading the communications giant’s efforts to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion.
AT&T’s John O’Connor & David McAtee Lead TWC Deal
© 2016 The Texas Lawbook. By Mark Curriden (Oct. 24) – AT&T General Counsel David McAtee, Associate General Counsel John J. O’Connor and a team from Sullivan & Cromwell are
AT&T’s John O’Connor & David McAtee Lead TWC Deal
© 2016 The Texas Lawbook. By Mark Curriden (Oct. 24) – AT&T General Counsel David McAtee, Associate General Counsel John J. O’Connor and a team from Sullivan & Cromwell are
EFH & TCEH In-House Legal Departments Take Shape
Energy Future Holdings General Counsel Stacey Doré is out. Stephanie Zapata Moore and Andy Wright are in. When EFH officials announced two weeks ago that TXU En
EFH & TCEH In-House Legal Departments Take Shape
Energy Future Holdings General Counsel Stacey Doré is out. Stephanie Zapata Moore and Andy Wright are in. When EFH officials announced two weeks ago that TXU Energy and Luminant had emerged from bankruptcy, it also meant a shake up in the power giant’s legal department. Cecily Gooch, Dan Kelly and Gabe Vazquez have been named top assistant general counsel at TCEH. The Texas Lawbook has the details.
Exclusive: Trinity Fights for Legal Principle, Dignity & Billions of Dollars
Two years ago today, an East Texas jury ruled that the Dallas-based Trinity Industries violated the False Claims Act when it failed to inform federal officials that it modified its highway guardrails but kept promoting the product as approved. The verdict was $663 million – the largest in the history of the FCA – and opened the door to a flood of lawsuits that seek billions of dollars in damages against the company.
Now, Trinity Industries is in a legal war for its financial life and its reputation. What happens next could impact whistleblower lawsuits for decades to come. The Texas Lawbook examines the case and Trinity’s legal strategy.
Exclusive: Trinity Fights for Legal Principle, Dignity & Billions of Dollars
Two years ago today, an East Texas jury ruled that the Dallas-based Trinity Industries violated the False Claims Act when it failed to inform federal officials that it modified its highway guardrails but kept promoting the product as approved. The verdict was $663 million – the largest in the history of the FCA – and opened the door to a flood of lawsuits that seek billions of dollars in damages against the company.
Now, Trinity Industries is in a legal war for its financial life and its reputation. What happens next could impact whistleblower lawsuits for decades to come. The Texas Lawbook examines the case and Trinity’s legal strategy.
Ten Things GCs Need to Know When Searching for the Perfect Arbitration Clause
In this edition of “Ten Things,” I search for the perfect arbitration clause. Alas, much like Moby Dick, El Dorado, Sasquatch, and honesty in politicians, the search comes up dry. But, with a little work, you can come up with a “really damn good” arbitration clause that will better suit your company’s interests and goals. It requires time and effort, such as taking a long look at the clauses you are using now and asking yourself some tough questions about what you really want to get out of an arbitration process. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves, here are some things you need to consider and think through when drafting an arbitration provision.
Exxon Mobil GC Jack Balagia Passes Baton to Randall Ebner
Exxon Mobil General Counsel Jack Balagia has announced he is officially retiring as the Irving-based oil and gas giant’s top lawyer in three weeks. Balagia, who has been with Exxon Mobil for 18 years, says current assistant general counsel Randall Ebner will succeed him as the company’s chief legal officer.
Ten Things GCs Need to Know: How to Create a Great Legal Dept. Website
Corporate legal department can use internal websites to market their services to their business and provide useful information and materials to the workforce. It also allows company employees to find answers and documents on their own without having to directly utilize the time of the in-house legal team. This edition of “Ten Things” discusses some practical things you can do to create (or improve) your Legal Department website.
Exclusive: General Counsel Forum Honors Hunt GC David Hernandez for Ethics
Dallas billionaire Ray L. Hunt told 300 business lawyers Tuesday night attending the General Counsel Forum’s annual Robert H. Dedman Award for Ethics and Law that he’s not a lawyer and has “no clue what general counsel do, but I know that you could not have picked a better person [to honor] than David Hernandez.” In an exclusive interview with The Texas Lawbook, Hernandez discusses his career, his worries about the legal profession and the reasons he became a lawyer. Plus, we have photos from the GC Forum gala.
Ten Things GCs Need to Know: How to Market the Legal Dept. to the Business
It sucks being a cost center. General counsel can argue all day about the value the legal department is adding to the company, but it is still a cost center to the business. If executives see Legal as just a cost center, it could feel the budget axe when times get tough.
This edition of “Ten Things” discusses basic and straight-forward ways you can “market” the legal department to the business in order to help them understand what the department does and the value it brings to the company.
The Cowboys’ Legal Star: Meet Jason Cohen
Dallas Cowboys General Counsel Jason Cohen helped negotiate eight-digit stadium naming rights with AT&T his first week on the job. The second week, he led legal talks for the Jones family on the development of the practice facilities and headquarters in Frisco. He has written contracts for Cowboys’ players and coaches, negotiated multimillion-dollar media and sponsorship deals, sued to enforce Cowboys intellectual property and represented the owners in discussions with the NFL over league policies and procedures. Did I mention he’s only 36?