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

Janie Perelman: ‘People Just Want to be Treated with Respect’

A massive data breach in 2014 could have been catastrophic for Michaels Stores. The arts and crafts company had to explain what happened to regulators, notify 2.6 million customers and fend off no less than five massive lawsuits. But Michaels has recovered, and many credit the rapid and transparent response by Janie Perelman, the company’s assistant general counsel. And now she’s a finalist in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read how she did it in The Texas Lawbook.

January 16, 2018 Mark Curriden

Liberty Mutual Corporate Counsel Kimberly Houston “Sees the Bigger Picture”

Kimberly Houston’s fascination with the law may have begun with “Matlock,” but it’s grown into an expertise on such weighty subjects as employment misclassification and regulatory compliance. As Corporate Counsel for Liberty Mutual, the insurance giant, Houston has wrestled with large-scale undertakings, from a class action defense to the development of the company’s new corporate campus in North Texas. And now she’s a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read about her in The Texas Lawbook.

January 15, 2018 Mark Curriden

Chris Luna Uses ‘Carrots and Sticks’ to Push for Law Firm Diversity

Chris Luna, chief counsel at MetroPCS, has been a fixture in Dallas business and public life. He is an outspoken proponent of diversity in both the legal profession and the businesses they serve. His legal department is a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Find out why in The Texas Lawbook.

January 15, 2018 Mark Curriden

Stacie McNulty ‘Embodies the Spirit’ of the Public Service & Pro Bono Award

Stacie McNulty is a highly-respected authority on intellectual property. Her observations on the subject have been cited by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. But her long-standing commitment to programs dealing with HIV and other public health issues commands something close to awe. As a result, she’s a finalist in the upcoming Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Details in The Texas Lawbook.

January 12, 2018 Mark Curriden

Award Finalist: Oncor’s Complex Asset Swap with Sharyland

When Oncor Electric Delivery Company and Dallas-based Sharyland Utilities swapped assets in 2017, it was more than another $400 energy distribution deal. It was a solution to a problem that had plagued and perplexed 60,000 rate payers. That’s one of the reasons the deal is a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read about what made it unusual and who made it happen in The Texas Lawbook.

January 12, 2018 Mark Curriden