The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook received more than 90 nominations for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards, which recognize and honor corporate in-house lawyers for their successes in helping their businesses navigate increasingly complex legal and business issues.
Today, ACC Houston and The Lawbook announce the finalists for the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards for M&A Transaction of the Year and Business Litigation of the Year.
The awards for Business Litigation and M&A Transaction are unique in that they recognize both the in-house counsel and the outside lawyers who worked on the matters.
M&A Transaction of the Year
The two finalists for the M&A Transaction of the Year are:
Former Marathon Oil General Counsel Kim Warnica in Marathon’s $22.5 billion sale to ConocoPhillips, which closed in November 2024. To lead the deal, Warnica, who is now the chief legal officer at Apache Corp., turned to Kirkland & Ellis partners Debbie Yee and Sean Wheeler.
Waste Management Chief Legal Officer Charles Boettcher for the company’s $7.2 billion acquisition of Illinois-based Stericycle. Boettcher turned to Vinson & Elkins partners Doug McWilliams and Steve Gill. Gill is now a partner at Skadden Arps.
Business Litigation of the Year
Baker Hughes Vice President of Litigation Teresa Garcia-Reyes, who led the energy and industrial infrastructure giant to a groundbreaking patent infringement victory in 2024. Garcia-Reyes turned to Yetter Coleman partner Jeffrey Andrews as lead outside counsel.
McDermott General Counsel Rachel Clingman, senior director of legal compliance Barry White, vice president of corporate legal and securities Kimberly Wolford and senior litigation counsel Kathleen Brien and a team of other in-house counsel in a high-stakes and complex billion-dollar dispute involving the construction of its Freeport LNG facility. As outside counsel, Baker Hughes turned to Baker McKenzie and its Houston partner Jack Massey.
“The Houston Corporate Counsel Awards showcase the tremendously sophisticated legal work done by corporate general counsel, senior counsel and their legal teams,” said Texas Lawbook publisher Brooks Igo. “In-house counsel are part lawyers and part business counselors, guiding their corporate executives through challenging conflicts and helping them find solutions.”
The finalists will be celebrated and the winners announced at the annual Houston Corporate Counsel Awards ceremony on May 22.
The other Houston Corporate Counsel Award finalists already announced include:
Senior Counsel of the Year
The sole finalist and thus the recipient of the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year of a Midsized Legal Department (six to 20 attorneys) goes to Maverick Natural Resources Senior Litigation Counsel Sarah Payne. Payne was nominated by Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing partner Ryan Hackney.
The judges selected two finalists for the Houston Senior Counsel of the Year Award for a Large Legal Department. They are Phillips 66 Legal Counsel Kathleen Bertolatus, who was nominated by her P66 colleague Michael Voutsinas; and Weatherford International Deputy General Counsel Christi Morrison, who was nominated by Baker McKenzie partner Justin Whittenburg.
Creative Partnership
The 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Creative Partnership goes to the Black Women in Environmental Law (BWEL) and its founders. This is a truly creative initiative started in 2023 by Baker Botts associate Teresa Jones and Chevron Phillips Chemical Assistant General Counsel Cheryl-Lynne Davis. Other founding members include Calpine Corporation Head of Federal Affairs Zoe Cadore, Major League Soccer Associate GC Jordan Franklin, Fervo Energy Corporate Counsel Pilar Hastings-Smith, Shell USA Senior Litigation Counsel Cisselon Hurd, Shell General Manager of Developing Assets Tonya Lewis, Energy Transfer Counsel Celena Loeb, Shell Legal Counsel Taylor Moore, ExxonMobil Counsel K.K. O’Neal, TC Energy Corporation Senior Counsel Tracy Penn, Halliburton Assistant GC Tramaine Singleton and Venture Global LNG Senior Public Affairs Associate Claire Stevenson. Baker Botts partners Russell Lewis and Scott Janoe nominated BWEL and its founders for this award.
Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy Award
The 2025 Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy Award recognizes achievements in pro bono and public service, including offering legal aid to the poor, military veterans and others who need legal assistance but cannot afford to hire a lawyer. The award is named after legendary Vinson & Elkins trial lawyer Harry Reasoner, who championed legal rights for the disadvantaged and under-represented throughout his five-decade career.
The 2025 Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy Award goes to the legal department at Baker Hughes and Baker Hughes Senior Counsel Ivett Hughes. She was nominated by Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program Executive Director Jessica Howton Stool.
Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion
The 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion promotes efforts to encourage people of all economic levels, all backgrounds, and all ethnicities and genders to consider law as a profession.
The 2025 Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion Award goes to Shell USA Managing Counsel Adam MacLuckie and Shell Legal Counsel Huyen Luong. They were nominated by their colleagues at Shell, Abigail Farmer and Joel Talley.
The finalists will be celebrated and the winners announced at the annual Houston Corporate Counsel Awards ceremony on May 22. In addition, The Lawbook plans to write and publish in-depth feature articles on each award recipient.