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 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.
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
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?
Ten Things General Counsel Need to Know: How to Delegate – The Essentials
Most lawyers suck at delegating, primarily because no one ever taught us how to delegate. They just told us to delegate, which is about as helpful as telling us to invent rocket fuel. Becoming good at delegation, however, will allow you to be more productive and get your work done within a reasonable set of hours every day. This edition of “Ten Things” discusses “how” to delegate:
Texas Bitcoin Distributor Hires Arnold Spencer as General Counsel
Spencer, who is a private equity holder in the company, represented Coinsource last year as a partner at Akin Gump in Dallas.
Ten Things You Need to Know as In-house Counsel: A Primer on Litigation Financing
Corporate legal departments have a common refrain: how do we get enough money to do the things we need to do to protect the company? A growing solution for many businesses is “litigation financing.” Like it or not, litigation financing is only going to become more prevalent. In-house counsel need to be able to provide guidance to the company and the senior management about whether it is something the company should explore further.
Exclusive – EFH Bankruptcy Fees Approach One-Half Billion-Dollars
Energy Future Holdings has paid its lawyers and financial advisers about $600,000 a day for each and every one of the 827 days – including weekends and holidays – since it filed for bankruptcy in April 2014. The Texas Lawbook reviewed 450 federal court records and discovered that more than 380 business lawyers and more than 240 financial advisers have billed EFH thousands and thousands of hours for work they’ve done on the bankruptcy – some of them charging as much as $1,400 an hour. As a result, the Dallas power company bankruptcy is now one of the five most expensive corporate restructurings in U.S. history.
Former Bush Education Official: Improve Pipeline for Hispanics to be Lawyers
University of Texas Regent Sara Martinez Tucker said Wednesday that she is “stunned to find the legal profession among the least diverse” for people of color – notably Hispanics.
SMU Assc. Law Dean is New GC Forum CEO
GC Forum leaders say they selected Lynn Bozalis because of her deep contacts in the legal profession and her extensive experience in programming and fund-raising.
New Federal Overtime Pay Rules Will Impact More Workers in Texas Than Any Other State
The U.S. Department of Labor recently finalized its controversial changes to federal overtime pay exemption rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). These changes are expected to affect approximately 1.2 million employees in Texas – more than any other state. Fisher & Phillips partner Michael V. Abcarian explains why and how general counsel should immediately begin working with employers to comply by the Dec. 1 deadline to implement the new policies, which will more than double the minimum salary needed to be exempt from overtime pay.
Enterprise Products Names Hap Weitzel as GC
Houston-based Enterprise Products has named career commercial litigator Harry “Hap” Weitzel, a 1987 graduate of Texas Christian, as its general counsel, according to the company’s website. The oil and gas pipeline company also named Craig Murray, who served as the company’s GC for the past 15 months, as its new vice president of regulatory affairs.
Kate Cassidy Takes You Out to The Ballgame
Lawyers 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.