Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
The awards for Business Litigation and M&A Transaction are unique in that they recognize both the in-house counsel and the outside lawyers who worked on the matters. Finalists include in-house lawyers from Marathon Oil, Waste Management, Baker Hughes, and McDermott.
Energy and infrastructure dominated a significant portion of the corporate legal work of Texas lawyers in 2024. Calpine, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Energy Transfer, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Phillips 66, Shell and Weatherford International all played integral roles. So, it should not be a surprise that corporate in-house counsel for these companies are among the finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards, which recognizes the legal and business successes achieved by lawyers employed by these iconic companies.
Rudy Rodriguez recently found a new home with another strong brand with a fiercely loyal customer base serving kids and families. He spoke with The Lawbook about his move.
Texas General Counsel Forum CEO Lynn Switzer Bozalis lost her battle with cancer. She was 60. North Texas Tollway Authority GC Dena Stroh said Bozalis "brought energy, good humor and drive to succeed. FullSpeed Automotive General Counsel Kelvin Sellers said she “had such an incredible spirit” and is “a big reason for the success of the Forum.” And Halliburton CLO Van Beckwith said Bozalis was "the consummate leaders’ leader. She brought an extraordinary excellence to every situation. Lynn simply made life better."
More than 400 corporate general counsel, senior in-house counsel and prominent business lawyers across North Texas celebrated the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards Thursday night at the George W. Bush Institute. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook presented awards to 15 in-house counsel who achieved extraordinary successes during the past 18 months.
Change management requires a leader who values continuous learning and team building. It begins with empathy and effective listening to identify how to best utilize each person’s skills for team success. This role is similar to that of a point guard or a quarterback, where collaboration and a broad perspective are key to achieving larger organizational goals efficiently.
Upon becoming vice president of legal affairs and general counsel at FirstService Residential Inc., LaToyia Pierce Frink began the task of uniting six regional offices into one cohesive team to consolidate the company’s legal approach and streamline its strategies, and improved internal communication to inform managers about cross-regional legal issues that could impact their work.
For these attributes and more, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have selected Pierce Frink as one of two finalists for the 2024 DFW General Counsel of the Year Award for a Midsize Legal Department, which is six to 20 lawyers.
Kaleisha Stuart was the only Black lawyer working in-house for an NFL team when she joined the Dallas Cowboys legal team in 2016. “Over the years, legal departments have grown and diversified,” Stuart told The Texas Lawbook. “Noticing this trend, I decided to create a group for the Black women lawyers working at NFL teams. The goals of the group were to make Black women taking on these new roles feel immediately welcome, to have a safe, supportive outlet to share ideas or ask questions and to make new friends."
As deputy GC for the most valuable sports franchise in the world, Stuart has achieved some extraordinary successes in business, law and diversity. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving of recognition for the DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion than Kaleisha,” Cowboys CFO Tom Walker said. “Kaleisha’s leadership ‘off the field’ in our internal DEI initiatives has been instrumental since early in her career here, which is matched only by her success ‘on the field’ in helping guide our legal department through a period of unprecedented business growth. If you get five minutes to spend with her, you’ll understand why I feel as strongly about her recognition as I do.”
As general counsel at Caris Life Sciences, Russ Denton has made a significant impact in just two years, gaining the respect of both executives and outside counsel. His expertise has facilitated the launch of FDA-approved products while successfully leading an appeal that corrected a District Court's legal misapplication. Outside counsel praises Denton for his ability to navigate complex M&A deals and multi-faceted litigation, always aiming to minimize risks for the company. His innovative approach and skillset are why he is the recipient of the 2024 DFW General Counsel of the Year Award for a Small Legal Department.
When Micheal W. Dobbs took his first in-house job and joined Texas Pacific Land Corporation in August 2020, the pandemic was raging and the company was in the midst of arguably the biggest change in its more than 132-year history: transitioning from operating as a liquidating business trust to a Delaware corporation. He is now the senior vice president, secretary and general counsel of TPL, which is one of the largest landowners in the state. Dobbs and his outside counsel at Sidley have been named as one of two finalists for the 2024 Business Litigation of the Year Award by the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook.
Helmerich and Payne International Drilling learned in 2020 that a direct competitor and sometimes business partner was suing H&P claiming that it had infringed on eight of Nabors’ patents related to technology on its automated drilling products and sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The plaintiffs sought an immediate preliminary injunction to stop H&P’s sale of the disputed products and asked the federal judge for an expedited jury trial. Working under intense pressure and deadlines, H&P GC Debra Stockton aggressively led H&P’s discovery efforts, initiated an investigation into Nabors’ own automated drilling technology and filed counterclaims of infringement against Nabors. This case is an incredibly rare example of an accused party "flipping the v" and vindicating itself from baseless allegations of wrongdoing while at the same time exposing the aggressor party as the real wrongdoer. Citing this extraordinary courtroom success, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook named H&P, Stockton and Baker Botts as one of two finalists for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Business Litigation of the Year.
Jacobs GC Justin Johnson began his legal journey inspired by criminal law depicted in TV dramas. Initially pursuing criminal defense, he worked on felony appeals during law school. However, a 2L summer assignment shifted his focus to M&A. Captivated by its pace and complexity, Johnson is now known for his ability to calmly direct complex deals — and that’s why he is a 2024 finalist for the DFW M&A Deal of the Year Award.
Cale Curtin's plan was to be a landman, but Chesapeake wasn’t hiring. So, he went to law school. Now, instead of negotiating with individual property owners to acquire mineral rights, Curtin is negotiating billion-dollar credit deals to acquire competitors. As such, Curtin has been recognized as a finalist for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel of the Year Award for Rookie of the Year.
Brennan Champion is assistant general counsel for ECI Software Solutions Inc., a provider of cloud-based business management software serving small and medium-sized enterprises. As one of two full-time lawyers at the Westlake company, he oversees a wide array of litigation and transactional matters across North America. He is praised for his can-do mentality and exceptional legal skills that often surpass those of more experienced lawyers. He has established himself as a trusted advisor within ECI, adeptly balancing legal risks while providing practical, business-focused legal advice across the company's diverse global operations. For these attributes and others, Champion has been recognized as a finalist for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel of the Year Award for Rookie of the Year.
For six weeks in 1981, three-year-old Ashley Nguyen Ahn was stranded in a small boat in the middle of the ocean with her family in an effort to flee certain execution by the Viet Cong. They ran out of food and then water. She witnessed her eight-year-old neighbor die of starvation and dehydration first. Her uncle died next and then her father, whose body she watched being pushed overboard. Ahn experienced more trauma, death and desperation as a toddler than the rest of us face in a lifetime. And she remembers it all. “All of these early events made me who I am today,” she told The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview. Ahn is now the associate general counsel at Texas Capital, where she and her team spent the last three years rebuilding and transforming Texas Capital into a premier financial services firm in the state. And she is a finalist for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department.
Days after becoming the new Drake Software GC in 2022, Willa Kalaidjian learned Cinven was buying Dallas-based digital tax filing platform TaxAct for $720 million. Kalaidjian's assignment: Help develop a new name for the combined businesses and lead the integration. Enter TaxAct senior counsel Nicola Hobeiche, who joined the new company via the merger. The duo immediately started the lengthy process integrating legal, compliance, procurement and legislative affairs. But they also had to simultaneously address a potentially devastating threat to the company: a series of class-action lawsuits filed in California, Illinois and Pennsylvania and separate charges brought by multiple state attorneys general related to the allegations of improper use of personal and financial information by a third-party vendor for TaxAct. Citing the extraordinary achievements of the legal department of five, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Taxwell as one of two finalists for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Corporate Legal Department of the Year.
Kelsey Williams almost didn’t become a lawyer. She bucked her parents’ efforts to persuade her to follow in her father’s footsteps. But it was in a specific moment during her undergraduate literature studies that she realized she may be a natural fit for the legal profession. Today, her peers say she has a “signature brand of meticulous and thoughtful legal work” that has transformed Workrise’s profitability and stability. And she is a finalist for the 2024 DFW Senior Counsel of the Year Award.
Bryan Stevenson’s career has been marked by bold moves and transformative moments, culminating in his role as chief legal officer at Arcosa, where his strategic vision helped orchestrate the largest deal in the company’s history, earning him recognition as a finalist for the 2024 DFW M&A Deal of the Year Award.
Steffen Horlacher has been instrumental at American Airlines during his 26-year career, helping the airline navigate significant challenges like 9/11, the 2011 bankruptcy, the merger with US Airways and the pandemic. He has managed various business initiatives and partnerships that support daily operations.
Recently, Horlacher led negotiations with motorcoach carrier Landline, making American the first airline to offer service in all 50 states. He also advised on a new alliance with Alaska Airlines that created international routes from Seattle and Los Angeles.
In recognition of his contributions, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named him the 2024 Senior Counsel of the Year for Large Legal Departments. This is his story.
Anna Alvarado has an extraordinary life story. And she has experienced extraordinary success. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Alvarado grew up in government-subsidized housing at a work camp in Central California, picking grapes and selling cassette tapes. Neither of her parents spoke English. Her dad was an addict and felon who served prison time.
“Had it not been for all of those things and having to deal with all of those things, I would not be sitting here today,” Alvarado said in a 2022 interview. Today, she is a finalist for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel of the Year Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department.
Jones Day construction litigation partner Joseph Van Asten, the dad to two rescue dogs, was looking for a pro bono project earlier this year. Chris Luna, former T-Mobile chief counsel-turned-CEO of SPCA needed a large corporate law firm with experience in several different practice areas. The result: The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring SPCA's Luna and Jones Day with the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Creative Partnership. During the past year, Jones Day has had 10 different lawyers work more than 200 pro bono hours on seven different matters for the SPCA, including drafting and negotiating construction agreements for the SPCA expansion project, providing advice on SPCA’s corporate bylaws and corporate governance issues and advising the nonprofit on its trademark portfolio. This is how the partnership came together.
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