In a year of huge M&A deals, in-house lawyers at Pioneer Natural Resources, MoneyGram and Matador Resources stood out. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announce that the two finalists for the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for M&A Deal of the Year are Matador Resources and MoneyGram. ACC-DFW and The Lawbook also announce that Pioneer Natural Resources’s Akshar Patel is the sole finalist and recipient of the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Corporate Secretary/Legal Counselor of the Year.
Pro Bono and DEI Awards Go to Counsel at Nexstar Media, Toyota
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook received dozens of nominations for the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards, which recognize the successes and leadership demonstrated by in-house counsel in North Texas. ACC-DFW and The Lawbook put together an independent group of judges to review the nominations and select the best of the best in 13 categories. During the next 10 days, The Lawbook and ACC-DFW will announce the finalists for GC of the Year, Senior Counsel of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Deal of the Year, Corporate Secretary/Legal Advisor of the Year and Lifetime Achievement.
Texas GC Forum Honors Eight Corporate Counsel for Leadership, Successes
Eight general counsel and senior counsel from Baker Hughes, Beneficient, Cart.com, City of Grand Prairie, McDermott, Transocean, Trillium Flow Technologies and Westlake Chemical, were honored Thursday night in Austin by the Texas General Counsel Forum for their accomplishments and leadership in 2022 and 2023. The 17th annual Magna Stella Awards went to four women and four men on topics ranging from major transaction and major litigation of the year to general counsel for large and small corporate legal departments. The Texas Lawbook was there and has full details.
Photo: Andres Sotomayor
From the Courtroom to the Classroom to ADR: An Austin-Based Attorney’s Professional Journey
Now in my third “career” as a JAMS neutral, I’ve had a front row seat to the rise of alternative dispute resolution as a litigator and a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. The unknown of what the state business court will look like, an increasing reliance on artificial intelligence and a growing focus on ESG are a few reasons to be bullish on ADR.
Three Senior In-House Lawyers on How to Gain (and Lose) their Business
During a panel discussion last Friday at the Texas Minority Counsel Program’s 31st annual conference in Houston, the three high-ranking in-house lawyers at Goldman Sachs, Energy Transfer and Republic National Distributing went into detail on what they look for in outside counsel, and also offered a plethora of ways law firms could immediately land in the doghouse — if not lose their business immediately.
TMCP Panel: Diversity Fatigue Rampant on Both Sides of the Corporate Aisle
White lawyers, a word of caution: Your colleagues of color are sick of having to constantly educate you on racial issues and the nuances of diversity, equity and inclusion. Lawyers of color: We know you are exhausted, but there are still benefits — both institutional and personal — in continuing to play the game.
These were the two main takeaways during a panel discussion of law firm partners Thursday afternoon at the Texas Minority Counsel Program’s 31st annual conference in Houston.
Four Texas GCs: ‘The Why for [DEI] is Especially Important’
Four Texas-based general counsel — Justin Johnson of Jacobs, Monica Karuturi of CenterPoint Energy, Aparna Dave of the Texas Dow Employees Credit Union and Clay Allen of the Houston Rockets — kicked off the 31st Annual Texas Minority Counsel Program conference discussing the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion to them personally and how it comes into strategic play at their organizations. The four GCs also talked about their preferences and dislikes about law firm business development efforts. Texas Lawbook pro bono, public service and diversity reporter Natalie Posgate is at the event and filed this report.
Texas Attorneys for Chevron Co-Lead on $60B Acquisition of Hess
A pair of in-house attorneys for Chevron in Texas is co-leading on the company’s purchase of New York-based Hess Corp. for $60 billion, including debt. Paul Weiss is serving as outside counsel to Chevron, while Wachtell Lipton advised Hess.
DLA Piper L&E Lawyers Outline New Employment Laws, Federal Agency Priorities to Watch
Recent laws are creating a more worker-friendly environment, panelists said at a CLE program for the DFW chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel.
The ‘Lasso Way’: Lessons for Lawyers from Ted Lasso Season Three
Season Three provided more takeaways for enriching attorneys on “The Lasso Way.” And of course, more quotable pearls of wisdom.
Enbridge Hires Former Marathon Oil GC as its New CLO
Reggie Hedgebeth has been named as the next chief legal officer at Canadian-based midstream oil and giant company Enbridge Inc.
Corporate Policies on the Use of AI Tools: A Q&A with Yokogawa’s George Niño
While this exciting new AI technology is at the core of several useful applications, it is still developing and can provide inaccurate results. The use of these AI tools by companies also raises a number of legal, ethical, privacy and security risks. George Niño, the general counsel and corporate secretary for two Yokogawa companies, in this Q&A goes behind the scenes of the development of Yokogawa’s corporate AI policy.
Sempra Infrastructure CLO Carolyn Aiman: A Leader in ‘Extraordinary Times’
During her three decade career, Carolyn Aiman practiced litigation at a national corporate law firm, handled employment law at former oil giant Texaco, served as managing counsel over corporate governance and capital markets at global energy titan Shell and is now chief legal officer at Sempra Infrastructure. Along the way, Aiman has shepherded some groundbreaking energy initiatives, including Sempra Infrastructure’s $13 billion joint venture to develop, build and operate a project that would supply liquified natural gas to Europe. In addition, Aiman has pioneered innovative and highly successful diversity and inclusion efforts at Shell and Sempra.
In May, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook recognized Aiman’s successes by honoring her with the 2023 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement. This is her story.
In Wake of Harvard Supreme Court Decision, Kanarys Founder Provides Practical DEI Tips
As higher education circles, prospective students of color and mainstream media grapple with the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision, so too does the legal industry. The Lawbook wanted a DEI expert’s take and got input from Kanarys founder Mandy Price, a Big Law attorney-turned DEI guru.
Talen Energy GC Moves Up, New GC Moves In, V&E Gets New GC
Three weeks after exiting bankruptcy, Talen Energy announced that GC Andrew Wright will be the company’s next chief administrative officer and V&E partner John Wander will be the energy firm’s next GC effective June 19. Wander also served as V&E’s internal GC. With his departure, the firm announced that partner Vanessa Griffith will be the Houston-based law firm’s new GC.
New Law Will Reshape Privacy Regulation in Texas
Over Memorial Day weekend, the Texas legislature passed the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act. Texas is now poised to join a rapidly growing list of U.S. states that have passed “comprehensive” privacy regulations, a trend that began in 2018 with the enactment of the California Consumer Privacy Act. The TPDSA will likely have a much broader impact than the similar laws enacted in Virginia, Utah, Colorado and Connecticut.
Meaningful Change Requires Personal Investment
As female attorneys who have worked in-house and in various firm environments, we have seen firsthand the challenges that women and marginalized communities face in the legal profession.
While there has been progress in recent years, there are still far too few female partners and other underrepresented leaders in the field, such that we can’t rely on structural and institutional change alone. More progress cannot occur without lawyers across the spectrum investing in the next generation of lawyers from underrepresented communities.
Joe Davidson – ‘A Proud Rice Owl’ Making a Difference
For 28 years, Joe Davidson has worked as an in-house lawyer at Rice University and is GC of Rice Management Company, the entity that includes Rice’s $7.8 billion endowment, which provides about 40 percent of the university’s operating revenues. His list of successes is long.
“My biggest accomplishments have been to be able to facilitate and support the big visions and thinking of Rice’s faculty, students and administrators — supporting them in obtaining research funding, conducting fieldwork, publishing their results and licensing them for further research and commercial development,” Davidson told The Texas Lawbook.
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Lawbook honored Davidson on May 4 with the 2023 Houston General Counsel of the Year Award for a Nonprofit Institution. This is his story.
Expert Voices: ‘Dear GC, You May Need to Amend Your Form Natural Gas Contracts’
The Uniform Commercial Code — in all its forms — tells us that the increased or unforeseen cost of selling a good alone does not excuse performance. After all, a rise in prices or the collapse of a given market is no justification, the UCC states, “for that is exactly the type of business risk which business contracts made at fixed prices are intended to cover.” But recent case law puts a finer point on the issue and may require lawyers to refine their form natural gas purchase and supply contracts to redefine force majeure in certain circumstances.
Big Winners 2023 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards: BMC Software, Brookfield, Sitio Royalties, Cactus, Ocean Point Terminals
The two finalists for the 2023 Houston General Counsel of the Year Award for Large, Small and Solo Legal Departments were each separated by one point in their respective categories. The finalists for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department were separated by a mere two points. On Thursday night, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced the winners at the 2023 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards ceremony.
The names included Dionne Hamilton, Fred Day, Carolyn Benton Aiman, Amy Blumrosen, Raymond Chang, Rishi Varma, Jude Andre, Brett Riesenfeld, Mark Chavez, Pat Tagtow, Sarah Menendez, William Marsh, Averill Conn, Hakim Effiom-Dauw, Rob Ellis and Joe Davidson.
Baker Hughes’ Amy Blumrosen Fights For ‘Equity, Equality and Inclusion for All’
Amy Blumrosen is a jack of all trades, both in her litigation work in Baker Hughes’ legal department and in her work to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal industry. She chairs the legal and compliance department’s DEI council at the company and outside of work has advocated for the LGBTQ community through her work with Lambda Legal, the Texas Minority Council Forum and more. She also fights inequities through volunteer work at the Houston Food Bank, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and more. All her efforts have landed her recognition by the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook as a finalist for the 2023 Houston Corporate Counsel Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion award.
“When she can’t get in through the door, she’s coming in through the window,” said Travis Torrence, a previous ACC winner and friend of Blumrosen. “If the window is closed, she’s going to break through the ceiling. Amy gets things done and achieves meaningful change.”
Blumrosen’s steadfast commitment to fight inequities comes from deep personal experience. This is her story.