The panel that judged the Transaction of the Year category stated that both legal teams are “highly deserving” of the award. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook will honor the four and more than a dozen other corporate in-house lawyers on May 19 at the 2022 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards. The Texas Lawbook has exclusive details.
TX GC Forum Honors Mary Kay’s Julia Simon for Ethics and Law
Last week, the Texas General Counsel Forum honored Mary Kay Chief Legal Officer Julia Simon with its Robert H. Dedman Award for Ethics and Law. Kimberly-Clark Deputy GC Shonn Brown introduced Simon, calling her “a fierce advocate for justice and equity.” Simon said she accepted the award “knowing it’s my job to strive to live up to standards this award represents every day. I accept it knowing it’s not just for what I have done in the past but what I intend to do, now and in the future.” The Texas Lawbook has the exclusive details.
Updated — Answering a Call of Duty, KRCL Attorney Johnathan Jordan Joins Envy Gaming as VP of Legal
With the move, Johnathan Jordan becomes one of the first in-house counsel at a professional esports and gaming organization.
Dawud Crooms Joins Atlantic Aviation as GC
Dawud Crooms, an in-house lawyer who led Dallas retail giant 7-Eleven through 15 acquisitions with a combined deal value of about $30 billion during the past seven years, is the new general counsel at Atlantic Aviation, a private airline support-services operation. During his seven years at 7-Eleven, Crooms played a leading role in the convenience store chain’s purchase of Sunoco for $3.3 billion and its 2020 acquisition of Speedway for $21 billion.
Texas Mutual’s GC Retires After 26 Years as Workers’ Comp System’s Most Ardent Advocate
Mary Barrow Nichols retires Friday after 26 years as general counsel with a new startup building upon the wreckage in the mid-1990s of the Texas workers’ comp system. The new startup? Texas Mutual Insurance Co. “You are now the person who cares more than anyone else about how the new Texas workers’ compensation law works,” her then-mentor, David Brown, told her as she left Vinson & Elkins. “It turns out,” she says, “he has been right for 26 years.”
Spring Cleaning for Lawyers: Meeting Ethical Obligations and Minimizing Litigation Risk in Today’s Remote Environment
Remote work, though offering greater flexibility, comes jam-packed with risk. This article offers tips for ethical communications and gives special attention to the ubiquitous workplace platform Slack.
Exxon Mobil’s Tom Sikora: ‘The Master of International Arbitration’
Exxon Mobil senior counsel Tom Sikora has argued cases in scores of courts and tribunals in countries around the world. Sikora has led more than 50 international arbitrations with more than $80 billion at stake. He has tried cases against countries and national oil companies in more than 20 countries, including Argentina, Chile, Trinidad, Nigeria, Angola, Libya, Brazil, Canada, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, India, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Iraq.
“There are few people in the world with the experience and skillset of Tom Sikora,” said Norton Rose Fulbright partner Kevin O’Gorman.
Sikora’s first international law case was in 1980. He was just 15. His family’s freedom was at stake.
Q&A: Tom Sikora, Exxon Mobil Senior Counsel
For Premium Subscribers: Exxon Mobil senior counsel Tom Sikora is considered one of the top international arbitration lawyers in the world. Sikora has led more than 50 international arbitrations with more than $80 billion at stake.Texas Lawbook founder Mark Curriden had the opportunity chat with Sikora about his remarkable career path and his outlook as a senior in house counsel at one of the largest corporations in the world.
No Surprises, No Inflated Bills – Four High-Profile Texas GCs’ Pet Peeves
The top legal officers at AT&T, Southwest Airlines, Toyota and Trinity Industries have strategic suggestions for law firms who want their business: Help them solve problems. Diversify your legal teams. Write brief, to-the-point memos. And be a team player, even with other law firms. They also have definite pet peeves for the firms they hire.
Q&A with Charles Schwab Deputy Chief Counsel Jay Johnson
The former federal prosecutor and Jones Day partner discusses his first months at Schwab, important developments in cybersecurity and data privacy and how he keeps winding up working with Shamoil Shipchandler.
NAESB Force Majeure Provisions After Winter Storm Uri: Key Considerations for Legal Departments
Last year saw a flurry of litigation in Texas state and federal courts arising from the February 2021 extreme cold weather event known as Winter Storm Uri and whether it constituted a force majeure event under the terms of natural gas contracts. With the one-year anniversary of Winter Storm Uri upon us, and with many of these cases still winding their way through the courts, prudent players within the natural gas supply chain should conduct a review of their natural gas contracts to prepare for future adverse weather events. There are key considerations legal departments in the natural gas sector must consider when reviewing their company’s NAESB contracts.
Pizza Hut, Flowserve, Southwest Airlines, Crestline Investors, Crescent Real Estate Winners at DFW Corporate Counsel Awards
More than 150 fully vaccinated general counsel, senior in-house counsel and corporate lawyers gathered Thursday evening for the 2021 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards. Thirteen trophies were handed out for categories ranging from Business Litigation and M&A Deal of the Year to Rookie of the Year and Legal Innovation. Five of the categories had multiple finalists.
DFW Corporate Counsel Awards Ceremony – A Sneak Preview
This Thursday, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook host the 2021 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards. Nearly 70 in-house corporate counsel were nominated. Fifteen independent judges selected 17 finalists who did extraordinary legal work in 2021. They include lawyers from Toyota, Southwest Airlines, Tuesday Morning, Flowserve, Match Group, Crestline Investors and Pizza Hut.
Photo: The family of the late Clarence Brown, who will be honored at Thursday’s ceremony.
Kathy McCoy: ‘A Visionary in the Ranks of Corporate Counsel’
Lawyers in the world of natural gas know Williams Companies Senior Counsel Kathryn McCoy, a former FERC lawyer who has led groundbreaking legal work developing a partnership involving LNG bunkering for ships in the U.S. She played a leading role in Southern Company’s sale of subsidiary Pivotal LNG to Dominion Energy, tackled legislation involving efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and handled major force majeure issues related to Winter Storm Uri. McCoy’s knowledge of the energy industry is unparalleled and her value to her new employer, the Williams Companies, is immeasurable. She is the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.
Houston Corporate Counsel Awards to Chevron, METRO, EP Energy and Prosperity Bank
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook handed out the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards Thursday night to 14 in-house lawyers who achieved extraordinary success during the past two years.
Two Final DFW Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists/Winners
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announce the finalists for the last two 2021 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards categories: GC of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department and Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department. In-house counsel at Pizza Hut and City Electric Supply are the winners.
Q&A: Siva Barnwell Adams
Premium-Only Content:She likes a good story, as long as it’s a short one. She plays Texas “Hold ‘Em” on a regular basis. There’s a lot to know about Siva Barnwell Adams and her work, so The Lawbook’s Mark Curriden asked.
Siva Barnwell Adams Led Chevron Through Covid Gauntlet to Close Noble Deal
Chevron senior counsel Siva Barnwell Adams worked mornings, nights and weekends in 2020 as the top lawyer representing the energy giant in its $13 billion acquisition of Noble Energy, which was the largest oil and gas transaction during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her inspiration to give it her all came 37 years earlier, when she was working part-time at Arby’s and faced an angry Clear Lake High School track coach. “Today, when I think of giving 100%, I think of her.”
CenterPoint’s Dynamic Duo Karuturi & Ryan: Pro Bono is in their Bones
Monica Karuturi and Jason Ryan remember their first pro bono cases. Karuturi, now the GC at CenterPoint Energy, represented a middle-aged woman who had been violently assaulted by her long-time boyfriend. Ryan, now CenterPoint’s top regulatory and governmental affairs leader, handled a family law case involving a child-custody dispute. These were cases that deeply impacted them as lawyers. Both said their parents instilled in them a passion for community service and that they have not lost their commitment for helping those who are less fortunate and in need of legal services.
Last week, CenterPoint promoted both lawyers to executive VP of the $17.5 billion energy giant. Karuturi and Ryan are the recipients of the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service.
Q&A: Monica Karuturi and Jason Ryan of CenterPoint
The two top legal officers at the Energy Giant explain what they expect from outside firms they hire, aside from expertise. And it’s not just about pro bono.
Southwest Airlines’ Chief Legal Officer Mark Shaw – A Lifetime of Achievements
Since Mark Shaw joined Southwest Airlines 22 years ago, he has faced some monumental challenges, including the repercussions from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; the 2008 financial crisis; the $1.4 billion acquisition of AirTran Airlines in 2010; litigation with the grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes in 2019; and the Covid pandemic, which led SWA to raise an extraordinary $18.5 billion in capital from multiple securities offerings of debt, equity and convertible notes, as well as loans and grants from the federal government. To be sure, Shaw is not close to being finished.
Even so, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are pleased to announce that Shaw is the recipient of the 2021 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.