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.

February 2, 2018 Mark Curriden

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.

January 31, 2018 Mark Curriden

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.

January 30, 2018 Mark Curriden

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.

January 29, 2018 Mark Curriden & Makenna Brooks

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.

January 29, 2018 Mark Curriden

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.

January 26, 2018 Mark Curriden

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.

January 24, 2018 Mark Curriden

Vistra’s Ashlie Alaman & Dan Kelly Lead by Example on Pro Bono

One could have forgiven the lawyers at Vistra Energy if they didn't go overboard on their pro bono requirements. With the the $45 billion bankruptcy, the spin-offs of Luminant and TXU Energy and the move from Downtown Dallas to Irving, it's not like there wasn't enough to do. But Dan Kelly, Ashlie Alaman and the rest of the Vistra legal department did far more than enough. They're now finalists in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. The Texas Lawbook shows how they give their volunteer work a personal touch.

January 24, 2018 Mark Curriden

David Monk is a ‘Great Boardroom and CEO Counselor’

Summary: Dave Monk's first work experiences included landscaping and roof maintenance for a multi-family housing complex in Louisiana. The experience caused him to value the benefits of an air-conditioned office job. Now, as General Counsel of Richardson-based RealPage, a global software provider, Monk not only enjoys air-conditioning, he is also a finalist in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read about Monk in The Texas Lawbook. Bonus: the story includes a rock band.

January 22, 2018 Mark Curriden

Juanita Harris is a ‘Force of Nature’ for Diversity

Her passion was evident years ago, when she mentored high school students while working as an accountant. None of that changed when she moved on to become a trial lawyer. Now, as senior legal counsel at AT&T, Juanita Harris heads all diversity and inclusion efforts for the communications giant. Harris is a finalist in the 2017 Outstanding Legal Counsel Awards, and in this Texas Lawbook profile, she describes how companies and law firms can make the legal profession truly diverse.

January 22, 2018 Mark Curriden

Wingstop’s Darryl Marsch Enjoys International Dealmaking & Boneless Wings with Hot Sauce

What do New Braunfels, David Crosby, Krispy Kreme, William Rehnquist and bone-in chicken wings have in common? Answer: 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards finalist Darryl Marsch. See how all that strings together in Mark Curriden’s profile of Marsch in The Texas Lawbook.

January 22, 2018 Mark Curriden

Tom Mason & Tonja De Sloover are Energy Transfer’s One-Two Punch

Tom Mason and Tonja De Sloover and their legal department at Energy Transfer Equity are finalists in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards for Business Litigation of the Year. And they’ve had a lot of that to deal with: In Delaware, a $33 billion fight over a failed merger: in North Dakota, endless legal struggles over the Dakota Access Pipeline; in Texas, they’re leading the battle to restore a $535 million jury verdict on appeal. Learn more about the philosophy behind their aggressive approach to litigation in The Texas Lawbook.

January 22, 2018 Mark Curriden

Michelle Brookshire: Preventing Litigation is Better than Winning

Michelle Brookshire says she had no idea what lawyers did. But her thoughtful approach to legal issues at LSG Sky Chefs has earned her a nod as a finalist in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. The Texas Lawbook has details of her work in an unusual and highly-regulated food services company.

January 22, 2018 Mark Curriden

EFH, Oncor, Vistra – A Corporate Restructuring for the Decades

In some ways, it was more saga than bankruptcy: A four-year-long, $45 billion corporate restructuring that included the elimination of more than $20 billion in debt, four corporate M&A divestitures valued at $18 billion each, heated battles with state regulators that caused two of those deals to collapse, and the $20 billion spin-off of two subsidiaries. And now its a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Mark Curriden describes the EFH journey through the courts in The Texas Lawbook.

January 19, 2018 Mark Curriden

Dena Stroh & NTTA’s Law Firms Finalists for Biz Litigation and M&A Deal of Year

Dena Stroh says she had no idea that government law could be fascinating. But in 2017, she guided the North Texas Tollway Authority through one of the largest government bond issues in the U.S., as well as a potentially major class-action lawsuit. For that, and more, she and what she calls her “excellent lawyers” are nominated in two categories of the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read the details in The Texas Lawbook.

January 18, 2018 Mark Curriden

Michael Sukenik is ‘Adept at Operating Across Diverse Markets’

Michael "Misha" Sukenik travels a lot. He's the legal officer behind two of the best known franchise names in the Yum! Brands inventory in 120 countries. He's also a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read about him in The Texas Lawbook.

January 18, 2018 Mark Curriden

Chasity Henry is a ‘Recognized Problem-Solver’

Chasity Wilson Henry had barely graduated from law school in 2006 when she found herself handling nine-figure M&A deals with some of the savviest corporate lawyers in North Texas. Now Assistant General Counsel at Kimberly-Clark—and a finalist in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards—Henry is leading the legal department in strategic acquisitions and joint ventures. The Texas Lawbook lays out the reasons Henry is a fast-rising legal star.

January 17, 2018 Mark Curriden

Blake Rice’s Job is ‘Problem-solving with Really High Stakes’

For Blake Rice, the work day starts early. Though he is based in Dallas, the lifelines of Neuberger Berman, the fast-rising investment services company he represents, stretch across time zones from London to Hong Kong and beyond. His grasp of complicated global transactions has earned him both respect and a nomination for a 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award. Learn about him in The Texas Lawbook.

January 17, 2018 Mark Curriden

Trinity Industries: Their Hard-Fought Fifth Circuit Win Yields Three Outstanding Corporate Counsel Finalists

A 2014 East Texas jury verdict that Trinity Industries violated the False Claims Act resulted in a $663 million judgment against the Irving-based manufacturer of highway guardrails. Instead of cratering, Trinity launched a counter-offensive led by the company’s top legal officers, Theis Rice and Sarah Teachout. In 2017, the duo and their outside counsel scored an historic reversal—earning them nominations as finalists in three categories of the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. The Texas Lawbook explains.

January 17, 2018 Mark Curriden

David Hernandez Serves as Trusted Counselor & Adviser to Hunt Family

Baltimore-born David Hernandez made his reputation in Texas as a tax lawyer and a strategic thinker. After years in the law firm trenches, he has emerged as a masterful in-house counsel at Hunt Consolidated and a trusted Hunt family adviser in a time of delicate transition. For this, and more, Hernandez is a finalist in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Learn more about him in The Texas Lawbook.

January 16, 2018 Mark Curriden