Winners and More Winners at DFW GC Forum Golf Tourney

It was a hot day, but a cool event, for participants in the annual golf tournament of the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the General Counsel Forum. One stroke separated the first place team of GCs from Charles River Associates and Bell Helicopter and the second place team sponsored by Precision Discovery. FlexJet's Amanda Willis took the prize for the longest drive. Although no one hit a hole-in-one and won the Model S Tesla, a good time was had by all.

June 12, 2013 Mark Curriden

American Airlines Names Post Merger VP Over Legal and Regulatory Affairs

Long-time AA General Counsel Gary Kennedy is leaving after nearly three decades working in the airlines’ corporate legal department. AA CEO-in-waiting Doug Parker announced that his current executive vice president for corporate and government affairs at US Airways Group, Steve Johnson, will oversee the company’s legal and regulatory affairs.

June 10, 2013 Mark Curriden

Texas Law Firm GCs Watching Georgia Supreme Court Case

Do communications between a law firm's lawyers and its in-house GC fall under the attorney-client privilege and work product when a dispute arises between the law firm and one of its current clients? The Georgia Supreme Court is currently handling that exact dispute. “This is a case that every law firm and every corporate general counsel’s office should be watching,” says Randy Johnston, a Dallas legal ethics and malpractice expert.

June 6, 2013 Mark Curriden

Bob Dedman: Post ClubCorp, Guiding New Chapter of Family Business, Golf Legacy

Longtime Dallas businessman and SMU law graduate Bob Dedman is known for his thoughtful and deliberate decision-making. Yet, when presented with one of the most important deals of his career, he took fewer than five minutes. The back-story takes a bit longer to tell. It involves historical research, a golf legacy, a few colorful characters, a billionaire’s vision and even Mother Nature – not necessarily in that order.

June 3, 2013 Mark Curriden

Austin Industries Names D. Steven Henry New Chief Legal Officer

Prominent Gardere constructional lawyer D. Steven Henry will become CLO on July 1. Austin Industries, which is one of the largest construction firms in the U.S., said Henry is joining the company now because long-time General Counsel Charles Hardy is scheduled to retire at the end of 2014.

May 30, 2013 Mark Curriden

Baker Botts Makes Debut Law Firm Appearance at the Bush Center

Guests of the firm's Spring Enterprising Women's Series learned about the Bush Institute's Women's Intiative.

May 10, 2013 Mark Curriden

Be a Leader? Why Should I? I’m just the Lawyer

Lawyers are trained to be leaders in their firms and in their communities. But in a time where risks to in-house and law firm counsel are significant - and sometimes even personal - will lawyers step up and take the leadership helm? Even though authentic leadership is so often lacking in today’s day and age, will the fear of very real consequences win out over the courage to lead?

April 19, 2013 Mark Curriden

GCs Added to Expanded Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee

Texas’ two U.S. Senators have named a 35-member commission to review and evaluate candidates interested in filling six open federal district judgeships and two openings on the federal circuit court of appeals. The Federal Judicial Evaluations Committee, appointed by Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, is stacked with high-profile Texas lawyers from the state’s largest and most prestigious law firms. New on the list, however, are four corporate general counsels, including chief legal officers or lawyers-turned-executives at JC Penney, Apache Corporation, Pride and Goldcrest Investments and Valley Baptist Health Systems. The panel will advise the two senators regarding the qualifications of federal judicial candidates nominated by President Obama for federal judicial positions that are currently open or become open during the next four years.

April 16, 2013 Mark Curriden

UT GC Burgdorf Moves to Beatty Bangle and VuCOMP

“The job has changed in recent times,” he says, giving a nod to the recent controversy within the UT Board of Regents.

April 12, 2013 Mark Curriden

A G.C.’s Taste of Wine: Swirl. Sniff. Sip. Savor. Repeat.

Greg Blair’s love affair with wine began innocently enough early in the new millennium with the winning bid for a wine tasting at a fundraising auction for a school in Austin. Today, the general counsel for Amvensys Capital Group is back in Texas and generous with “how-to” advice for novice oenophiles.

March 11, 2013 Mark Curriden

Fulbright Survey: Corporate Litigation has Stabilized

Companies are facing more litigation over governmental regulatory investigations and proceedings, but fewer class action lawsuits and fewer labor and employment disputes, according to the Annual Litigation Trends Survey.

February 26, 2013 Mark Curriden

AMR Legal Fees in Bankruptcy Exceed $170 Million

With a few months of bankruptcy proceedings still to go, AMR's legal fees continue to mount, topping more than $170 million so far.

February 17, 2013 Natalie Posgate

AMR Lawyers: Bankruptcy and Merger Deal “Extraordinarily Unique, Complex” and Expensive

American Airlines GC Gary Kennedy and his lead outside counsel, Thomas Roberts and Glenn West of Weil, provide an exclusive insight into how the AMR and US Airways deal came together. "It is an intense deal with lots of moving parts," says West.

February 17, 2013 Natalie Posgate & Mark Curriden

Oil & Gas Legal Experts: MENA Still Very Risky Investment

Hunt Oil's Dennis Grindinger, ConocoPhillips Counsel Harry Sullivan, and SMU Law Professor John Lowe discuss the Middle East and North Africa.

February 8, 2013 Mark Curriden

Oil & Gas Legal Experts: MENA Still Very Risky Investment

Hunt Oil's Dennis Grindinger, ConocoPhillips Counsel Harry Sullivan, and SMU Law Professor John Lowe discuss the Middle East and North Africa.

February 8, 2013 Mark Curriden

V&E Advises Pioneer in $1.7 Billion Deal with Sinochem

Pioneer GC Mark Berg says the issues in this type of JV "may be common, but every deal focuses on the specific nature of the assets and the specific needs of the parties."

January 31, 2013 Mark Curriden

V&E Advises Pioneer in $1.7 Billion Deal with Sinochem

Pioneer GC Mark Berg says the issues in this type of JV "may be common, but every deal focuses on the specific nature of the assets and the specific needs of the parties."

January 31, 2013 Mark Curriden

The ‘Ethics Follies’: Lee Cusenbary Makes Music With Legal Issues

San Antonio General Counsel and former actor Lee Cusenbary is the director of a musical parody, way-off-Broadway production and continuing education program that shows that the slippery slope of ethics provides ongoing fodder that teaches ethics while entertaining audiences.

January 9, 2013 Mark Curriden

Texas Mutual GC: Strategically Thinking Several Steps Ahead

Mary Nichols didn’t invent the Texas workers’ compensation system, but she may be its most ardent and aggressive defender. The article examines the 17 years Nichols has been GC at Texas Mutual, her landmark courtroom victories, and her relationships with outside counsel.

November 29, 2012 Mark Curriden

General Counsels: Not Just Lawyers Anymore

Top in-house lawyers say their job responsibilities have tremendously expanded. Today, general counsels find themselves involved in every aspect of their corporate operations

October 10, 2012 Mark Curriden