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GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.

Zachry Legal Team ‘Gets to Yes Without Compromising Legal Integrity’

San Antonio trial lawyer Jay Old scored major courtroom successes in his 38-year career but the biggest hits have come in 2024 and 2025 when he and his legal team helped guide Zachry through a turbulent period of extraordinary challenge, including leading the energy services company to a transformational corporate restructuring. In addition, Old and his team of six attorneys and 17 other professionals this year negotiated an historic engineering, procurement and construction contract with Duke Energy for a natural gas power plant in North Carolina and separately signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Engineering and Construction that created a partnership focused on nuclear power construction.

Citing the Zachry legal team’s achievements in 2024 and 2025, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Lawbook are awarding the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for Corporate Legal Department of the Year.

Mark Curriden

VSP Visions’ Two Lisas and Their Historic Constitutional Fifth Circuit Win

Lisa Fields and Lisa Hill, top corporate counsel at VSP Vision, faced a critical legal and business decision in 2023 that would have a monumental impact on the future of their companies. A new Texas law posed an existential threat to their business. Fields and Hill recognized that suing the state of Texas to block the law would be extremely expensive. "We knew we had to take a direct attack, and we knew it would be a bold move to sue the state. And we knew we had to make a statement that we would not have our constitutional rights trampled,” Fields told The Texas Lawbook.

On May 23, Hill and Fields received an email at 10:43 a.m. from Dykema partner Christopher Kratovil. The subject line: “Good news from New Orleans.” A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit had unanimously awarded Visionworks a complete victory. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Lawbook are honoring Fields, Hill and the litigation team at Dykema with the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for Business Litigation of the Year.

Mark Curriden

UT San Antonio CLO Hailey Mullican Led ‘Historic Merger with Transformative Impact’

In September, the University of Texas San Antonio completed a merger with UT Health that legal experts agree was one of the most unique and complex deals of 2025 and will create the third-largest public research university in Texas and is expected to generate $7 billion in economic impact for San Antonio. “The merger is probably the most important decision the board of regents have made in the last 50 years,” UTSA CLO Hailey Mullican told The Texas Lawbook, pointing out that the deal was handled completely in-house. “Pretty quickly, the team realized that no one really knew how to do this. And I mean no one."

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Lawbook are awarding the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for M&A Transaction of the Year to Mullican and her legal team at UT San Antonio.

Mark Curriden

Valero GC Rich Walsh Fought the EPA and Won at the U.S. Supreme Court

Valero Energy GC Rich Walsh watched in astonishment in 2022 and 2023 as major petroleum-related companies were silent as the EPA allowed California to set more stringent fuel admission standards than required by federal law, creating an existential threat to their businesses. The California rules would force consumers to purchase vehicles that run on electricity instead of liquid fuels. Walsh led the charge to file lawsuits challenging these regulations. On June 20, Walsh’s efforts paid off when the U.S. Supreme Court handed Valero a sweeping victory.

“Sometimes it is very evident when we are very right, and I knew from the start that this was one of those times,” said Walsh, who is the recipient of the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department.

Mark Curriden

‘What-a-Lawyer’ — Meet the Fast-Food Chain’s CLO Elena Kraus

“I have witnessed Elena transform not just our legal department but also how the company operates in many positive ways, with an emphasis on legal and business ethics at all times,” said Whataburger VP of legal affairs Jeff Hagelman. "From Day One, Elena emphasized the ethical and respectful treatment of others, not just within the company but also with those outside the company, including adverse counsel and business competitors. From a legal community perspective, Elena has pushed each of us in the Whataburger legal department to take active roles in the communities we serve, including our home city of San Antonio. Elena is more than just a lawyer — she is helping run and lead the company."

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring Whataburger Chief Legal Officer Elena Kraus with the 2025 C. Lee Cusenbary Ethical Life and Leadership Award.

Mark Curriden

Updated — BioBridge GC Richey Wyatt Used Problem-Solving Skills to Bring Students Back to Class

BioBridge Global GC Richey Wyatt was walking into his gym in June 2020 when he received a text message from San Antonio entrepreneur Graham Weston, who was seeking solutions to help get the city's children back to in-person learning. Minutes later, the two men were on the phone. The result was the creation of Community Labs and Bridge converting its blood testing laboratories to accommodate rapid Covid-19 testing of thousands of San Antonio school children, teachers and staff.

“We went from zero to 180 miles per hour really frickin’ fast,” Wyatt told The Texas Lawbook. “It was a wild ride that we knew would have a big impact on our community."

Citing his extraordinary legal and community achievements, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Lawbook are honoring Wyatt with the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement. Wyatt and 11 other San Antonio corporate general counsel will be recognized on Nov. 6 at the inaugural San Antonio Corporate Counsel Awards ceremony.

Mark Curriden

USAA AGC Daniel Andrews Has an ‘Infectious Commitment to Pro Bono Service’

Daniel Andrews jokes that becoming a lawyer was always somewhere behind astronaut and movie star on his list of dream jobs. But when the Oklahoma City native started college at Trinity University, family influence nudged him toward the legal path. Eight years into his in-house career at USAA, Andrews has built a reputation that extends far beyond his litigation expertise. This year, he’s being honored with the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service. “Dan’s demonstrated commitment to legal services for the poor, especially indigent veterans, makes him a terrific candidate for the Pro Bono Award,” said Michael Danforth, vice president of the San Antonio Legal Services Association and USAA associate general counsel, who nominated Andrews.

Krista Torralva

Howard EP GC T.J. Campbell is ‘In the Room Making the Critical Decisions’

T.J. Campbell and his legal team at Howard Energy Partners have had a busy year. During the past 16 months, he has negotiated the acquisition of Epic’s ethylene pipeline, acquired Cheniere’s interest in Midship Pipeline, raised nearly $3 billion of proceeds, successfully resolved a major litigation matter — a wrongful death case resulting from a fire at a natural gas processing plant in Orla, Texas — and negotiated the transaction documents for the Outer Loop Utility Project, a new 60-mile natural gas pipeline designed to connect local gas supply to existing energy infrastructure in San Antonio and the surrounding areas. Citing his extraordinary successes, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are awarding the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department to T.J. Campbell.

Mark Curriden

Stakeholder GC Jonathan Ellis ‘Turns Adversity into Opportunity’

Jonathan Ellis traces his desire to be a lawyer to the third grade when his mother told him about a former landlord who refused to refund her a $100 deposit under false pretenses. "This was a time in her life when $100 was life-changing money," he said. But a lawyer who employed his mom as a bookkeeper wrote a letter to the landlord who quickly refunded the money. That's when he realized lawyers have influence. Three decades later, Ellis is the general counsel of San Antonio-headquartered Stakeholder Midstream, which focuses on in-field natural gas and oil gathering as well as transportation and storage.

“Jonathan has faced numerous high-pressure challenges, which has frequently required him to manage multiple projects at once using outside counsel from different law firms,” said Clifford Chance partner Todd Lowther.

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are awarding the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Solo Legal Department to Ellis.

Mark Curriden

Lee Cusenbary’s ‘Career Shows How Much One Person Can Do to Make a Difference in a Community’

Lee Cusenbary is a legend in the Texas business and legal communities. His name and reputation will forever be connected to elevating ethics — so much so that the Association of Corporate Counsel San Antonio Chapter named its highest honor after him. During 17 years as the GC at Mission Pharmacal, Cusenbary successfully led the San Antonio company through several complex multidistrict litigation cases, highly-technical patent infringement disputes, and guided it through numerous acquisitions and divestitures.

"Lee has left a lasting mark on the in-house counsel community, the San Antonio legal profession and the broader public," said Dykema member Jeffrey Gifford. "Lee made his career about being more than an excellent corporate counsel. He also made it about building a culture of ethics and of giving back.”

ACC San Antonio and The Texas Lawbook are awarding Cusenbary the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Mark Curriden

UTSA, USAA, BioBridge, VSP Vision — More San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award Recipients Announced

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have announced the recipients of the inaugural 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Awards for Lifetime Achievement, Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Transaction of the Year and Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service.Two prominent and long-time San Antonio corporate legal leaders — retired Mission Pharmacal General Counsel Lee Cusenbary and BioBridge Global GC Richey Wyatt — have been selected to receive the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Mark Curriden

New GE Vernova GC of Wind Energy Dionne Hamilton: ‘We’re Working to Make the World a Better Place’

Dionne Hamilton was not looking to leave Honeywell Smart Energy where she has served as general counsel for the past five years. The Houston corporate legal veteran had rejected several recruiting efforts over the years. But GE Vernova presented a vision of the company’s vision that Hamilton found enticing. “They are leading a new era of energy — electrifying the world while simultaneously working to decarbonize it,” Hamilton, who is in her second week as GE Vernova’s GC, told The Texas Lawbook.

Mark Curriden

How Candidates and Employers Can Avoid AI Pitfalls in the Hiring Process

Artificial intelligence has quickly worked its way into every corner of the hiring process, from resumes to job descriptions. In theory, that should make life easier for both candidates and employers. But when used as a crutch, it produces documents that are inaccurate, inflated or so vague that they mislead both sides of the hiring table. My diagnosis: Too much AI, not enough human oversight.

Stacy Humphries

Daria Russell Has Helped Mattress Firm Navigate a Decade of Highs and Lows

Daria Russell has experienced a lot since she joined the legal team at Houston-based Mattress Firm in 2015 — more than a dozen M&A transactions, including a 2016 $3.8 billion merger, a crippling accounting scandal involving the company’s former corporate parent, a subsequent 2018 multibillion-dollar corporate bankruptcy and then a $5 billion merger with Tempur Sealy that closed earlier this year. In May, Mattress Firm rewarded Russell for her decade of extraordinary legal work by promoting her to general counsel, overseeing five in-house lawyers, two health and safety professionals and seven loss-prevention contractors. Russell, like most corporate chief legal officers, is dealing with issues ranging from artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights and data privacy issues to ESG compliance and everything digital.

Mark Curriden

Keurig Dr Pepper Legal’s ‘Visionary Leadership’ and ‘Transformational Influence’

Anthony Shoemaker tracks his success as a lawyer and a leader back to his high school days when he worked at a local golf club repair shop in the Houston suburbs. He learned a lot and has implemented those life lessons in his three years as the chief legal officer at Keurig Dr Pepper. The results have been extraordinary successes for Shoemaker, for the corporate legal department he leads and for the beverage giant, which is why the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook honored Keurig Dr Pepper with the DFW Corporate Legal Department of the Year in January at the DFW Corporate Counsel Awards. 

This morning, KDP agreed to acquire JDE Peet’s for $18.4 billion. We are resharing The Lawbook's profile of Shoemaker and KDP's in-house team from earlier this year.

Mark Curriden

What In-House Lawyers Can Learn from Gerri Kellman of HBO’s Succession

Amid the boardroom battles and backroom scheming of HBO’s Succession, the character Gerri Kellman — general counsel of media empire Waystar Royco — delivers one of the most compelling portrayals of in-house legal work in recent years. Unlike the show’s headline-grabbing characters, Gerri operates in whispers and carefully chosen words. For general counsel and in-house attorneys, she offers a unique case study in navigating gray areas — a study that reveals how complex, high-stakes corporate law is navigated not just by rules but by relationships, judgment and discretion.

Brent Turman

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