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GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.

AT&T GC Wayne Watts Retires

AT&T says David McAtee, a former partner at Haynes and Boone, will replace Wayne Watts as its chief legal officer on Oct. 1. Watts, widely recognized as one of the most influential business lawyers in the U.S., was directly involved in negotiating dozens of mergers and acquisitions with a combined value of nearly $250 billion. He did the legal work on nearly every deal that transformed Southwestern Bell, the smallest of the Baby Bells, into the world’s largest communications business. Watts notes he was raised in southwest Dallas.

“920 South Oak Cliff Boulevard,” Watts said this week in an exclusive interview with The Texas Lawbook. “If you look at that house, nobody would have predicted my career.”

AT&T GC Wayne Watts Retires

AT&T says David McAtee, a former partner at Haynes and Boone, will replace Wayne Watts as its chief legal officer on Oct. 1. Watts, widely recognized as one of the most influential business lawyers in the U.S., was directly involved in negotiating dozens of mergers and acquisitions with a combined value of nearly $250 billion. He did the legal work on nearly every deal that transformed Southwestern Bell, the smallest of the Baby Bells, into the world’s largest communications business. Watts notes he was raised in southwest Dallas.
“920 South Oak Cliff Boulevard,” Watts said this week in an exclusive interview with The Texas Lawbook. “If you look at that house, nobody would have predicted my career.”

10 Things: How to be a Successful In-House Counsel

Whether you are new to the in-house department or a long-term veteran, the general counsel or just a basic contract lawyer, there are a number of things that can help make you more successful in your career. Learn the business. Don’t let the boss get surprised. And realize there’s never going to be enough money, time or people. The GC Suite is a new column written by in-house lawyers and CLOs about their experiences, challenges and concerns.

JC Penney Slashes Corporate Legal Dept. Staff

The Plano-based retailer laid off about two-dozen lawyers and staff last week. The company had about 50 in-house lawyers just three years ago, but now has less than 25 after deciding to outsource most litigation, employment and labor law and tax law needs.

Texas Lawyers Differ on New US-Cuba Relations

Fluor Corp. General Counsel Carlos Hernandez vividly remembers Christmas Eve 1958. He and his family were huddled in their house in Cuba as warplanes flew overhead. Weeks later, they fled Cuba for the United States in fear of their lives. Hernandez admits there is a split among Texans of Cuban descent about the Obama Administration’s softened stance toward his homeland.

“We lost our freedoms. They took all of our property,” Hernandez says. “I am not yet prepared to forgive them. They should be held accountable for the atrocities they committed.”

Corporate Counsel Magazine: GC Compensation Inches Up

The general counsel at 20 of the largest Texas businesses earned $1 million or more during 2014, according to a new study conducted by Corporate Counsel magazine. Texas-based companies employ 13 of the 100 highest paid chief legal officers and 33 of the top 350. The general counsel at AT&T, Baker Hughes, Energy Future Holdings and Marathon Oil each earned more than $2 million a year in salary, bonuses and stock options.

Exclusive: EFH Bankruptcy Fees Top $230 million

Energy Future Holdings is spending more than $600,000 a day – including weekends and holidays – in legal and financial advisory fees and expenses as part of its restructuring efforts in federal bankruptcy court, putting the case on track to be one of the costliest bankruptcies in U.S. history.

Since filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 in April 2014, lawyers and financial advisers have charged EFH $230 million through June 1. More than 50 lawyers, including 29 from Kirkland, are charging EFH more than $1,000 an hour.

AlixPartners Selects Kathryn Koorenny as New GC & Managing Director

Kathryn Koorenny was a star in-house lawyer at American Airlines. She guided the Fort Worth airline through the potentially crippling 9/11 litigation and the massive bankruptcy reorganization. Now, she’s the new general counsel at billion-dollar global consulting firm AlixPartners, running a legal department of 15 and dozens of outside counsel relationships.
Only one question: Can she cook a world-class bowl of chili for AlixPartners Chili Cook Off? Koorenny answers all the questions.

AlixPartners Selects Kathryn Koorenny as New GC & Managing Director

Kathryn Koorenny was a star in-house lawyer at American Airlines. She guided the Fort Worth airline through the potentially crippling 9/11 litigation and the massive bankruptcy reorganization. Now, she’s the new general counsel at billion-dollar global consulting firm AlixPartners, running a legal department of 15 and dozens of outside counsel relationships.

Only one question: Can she cook a world-class bowl of chili for AlixPartners Chili Cook Off? Koorenny answers all the questions.

Dena Stroh Settles in as NTTA GC

Exactly three months ago, the North Texas Tollway Authority named Dena DeNooyer Stroh its new general counsel. Stroh, the former GC at Murchison Oil & Gas and a former partner at two prominent Dallas law firms – Gruber Hurst and Carrington Coleman – said her first 90 days on the job have shown her the position is perfect for her.

DHLF Nets More than $106K at Annual Luncheon

More than 200 lawyers, judges, law school deans and law students were in attendance at the Belo Mansion Thursday to celebrate the future generation of Hispanic lawyers and veteran Hispanic lawyers at law firms and corporate legal departments that have “paid it forward.”

Texas Rangers Corporate Counsel Kate Cassidy has a Room with a View

Lawyers often boast about the view from their office windows, but none can match the scene from Kate Cassidy’s desk: home plate at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Baseball is in her DNA. Her father was a catcher in the Minnesota Twins farm system. She was sitting in the centerfield bleachers when Kenny Rogers pitched a perfect game.

“My job is very similar to lawyers who work in just about any corporate legal department, except..” Cassidy says. “I love baseball.”

Eight Oil & Gas General Counsel and Investment Bankers Talk M&A – Or the Sudden Lack Thereof

Since 2009, Texas energy companies and private equity firms have been on the buying or selling side of more than 760 mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures that had a combined deal value of $546 billion. That red hot deal market for upstream companies crashed in Q1 of 2015 when oil and gas M&A plummeted 55 percent.
The Texas Lawbook interviewed eight oil and gas general counsel impacted by the drop in oil prices. The GCs discuss cuts to their legal budget, upcoming redetermination on oil reserves and their expectations for the M&A upstream deal market.
“We’ve been blowing and going for the past several years. We are using this opportunity to step back and take a deep breath,” said RSP Permian GC Jim Mutrie.

Eight Oil & Gas General Counsel and Investment Bankers Talk M&A – Or the Sudden Lack Thereof

Since 2009, Texas energy companies and private equity firms have been on the buying or selling side of more than 760 mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures that had a combined deal value of $546 billion. That red hot deal market for upstream companies crashed in Q1 of 2015 when oil and gas M&A plummeted 55 percent.

The Texas Lawbook interviewed eight oil and gas general counsel impacted by the drop in oil prices. The GCs discuss cuts to their legal budget, upcoming redetermination on oil reserves and their expectations for the M&A upstream deal market.

“We’ve been blowing and going for the past several years. We are using this opportunity to step back and take a deep breath,” said RSP Permian GC Jim Mutrie.

Updated – Exxon Mobil’s William Buck to Lead Houston Pro Bono Effort

William Buck, the GC of Exxon Mobil Corporation’s Upstream Companies, has a message for corporate legal departments: Do your fair share of pro bono. The new Houston Bar Foundation chair, who specializes in transactional law, says, “I plan to remind all companies that we in-house lawyers also have pro bono obligations. We in-house lawyers are more than capable of handling some of these pro bono needs.”

Robert Hart has the Coolest Lawyer Job on Earth – Meet Mark Cuban’s General Counsel

For nearly three decades, Hart has been Cuban’s friend and chief legal adviser. “Mark goes at a very fast pace,” he says. “He’s out there everywhere. My job is to be his backstop… fill in the holes behind him. I’m here to help Mark do what he does best, but to make sure that he avoids legal pitfalls.”

In this in-depth profile, Hart discusses the challenges of being Mark Cuban’s top lawyer, the complexity of the deals he’s handled and the millions of dollars he spends annually on outside legal fees. Cuban, of course, also weighs in.

“[Robert’s] job is to be super conservative and to piss me off… but also to protect me,” Cuban says. “Here’s the thing: When I don’t follow Robert’s advice, it usually bites me in the ass.”

Houston Lawyer Craig Glidden Named GM’s New GC – UPDATE

General Motors announced Thursday that it has selected LyondellBasell Industries Chief Legal Officer Craig Glidden of Houston to be its new general counsel. LyondellBasell didn’t waste time replacing Glidden. The company confirmed that Jeffrey Kaplan, the company’s deputy general counsel, will be its new GC.

Tread Carefully When Writing a Social Media Policy

The NLRB has plenty to say about companies’ social media policies and it hasn’t been too complimentary. The agency believes a significant number of social media policy restrictions are unlawful. We list six red flags that companies need to know. “My advice is to be very aware of the recent guidance from the NLRB,” said General Datatech GC John Ansbach.

TMI on Social Media? How to Keep Company Policies Lawful

A quiet work complaint voiced over beers at a corner pub 10 years ago can now go viral on Facebook or Twitter. The popularity of social media brings risks for employers who should tread carefully when placing social media limits into a company policy. The National Labor Relations Board is watching. It is a very fluid area of the law that employers should watch, legal experts said.

Posting, Tweeting, Tagging #Gagging

Hey, did you know that you can get yourself in a whole lot of trouble on social media? No, seriously, you can! Wait, you already knew that? Everyone knows that? Well then, why does it keep happening?

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