A Google search of Marita Covarrubias yields two results. The first is a recurring character on The X-Files whose day job was a United Nations employee while being a secret agent for the Syndicate and leaking classified documents to FBI agent Fox “Spooky” Mulder.
The second is the deputy general counsel of Tenet Healthcare, who has led the Dallas-based company through some of the largest and most complex business litigation and employment law disputes of the past quarter century.
X-Files creator Chris Carter named the character on the show after the real-life lawyer, according to Covarrubias’ husband, Derek Lipscombe, who is a former award-winning newspaper reporter and now the managing counsel for Toyota North America.
“I’ve probably said too much,” Lipscombe said after revealing the connection. “You should ask Marita.”
“Your readers don’t have the security clearance to know the real reasons for the character being named after me,” Covarrubias told The Texas Lawbook.
Both lawyers of color, Covarrubias and Lipscombe have represented their multibillion-dollar corporations in bet-the-company litigation matters — from class action lawsuits involving cybersecurity and data breaches to massive antitrust challenges — in courtrooms across the country, and both have become critical advisors to the top executives and board members at Tenet and Toyota.
“Healthcare and employment law has always been complicated, but it has become even more so with this current administration and Congress,” Covarrubias said. “Winning big cases involving hundreds of millions of dollars in court is always wonderful, but the best days are when you work to help your HR leaders and a longtime employee who has developed MS figure out ways to accommodate the needs of the employee and keep him as a valued member of the team. That to me is being the best that a lawyer can be.”
Earlier this year, Covarrubias and Lipscombe were honored by the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook with the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement. They are the first husband-wife duo to win the award.
“Marita and Derek exemplify what it means to dedicate a lifetime of excellence, integrity and the betterment of the legal profession and the North Texas business community,” said ACC-DFW President Alvin Benton, who is senior counsel for corporate compliance at Capital One in Dallas. “Their shared journey has left an indelible mark on our community, and their partnership is truly inspiring.”
Toyota North America Chief Legal Officer Sandra Phillips said “Marita and Derek are truly a power couple.”
“They are both great lawyers who have achieved extraordinary successes,” Phillips said. “They are role models to many others. Derek and Marita are some of the most down to earth people you will ever meet.”
Law Was Not Planned in the Early Years
Covarrubias and Lipscombe grew up worlds apart. Both were the first lawyers in their immediate families.
Covarrubias was born in Helsinki. Her mom is Finnish and her dad is Mexican American. The family moved to California when Covarrubias was three years old. Her father served in the U.S. Air Force and used the G.I. Bill to become an architect.
“My father’s love of design took him to Finland,” she said, noting that her mother stayed home to raise her and her two younger sisters. “When we could care for ourselves, she took a job at the Finnish consulate, giving her the chance to keep a connection with her homeland and the Finnish community in Los Angeles.”
“My sister Rea was a ballet dancer, and my sister Elina was the athlete,” she said. “I was the bookworm who loved to read and spend time in the library.”
Covarrubias was raised without a TV in her home.
“While not unique, my first thoughts about being an attorney came when I read and then saw To Kill a Mockingbird,” she said.
Covarrubias said she became more interested in the legal system while majoring in history and ethnic studies in college at the University of California Berkeley. She went to Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, where she received her law degree in 1991.
Lipscombe was born and raised in New Jersey about 35 miles southwest of Manhattan, though his mother was a native of Longview and worked for the U.S. Postal Service. His stepfather worked for insulation manufacturer Johns Manville for 26 years.
“Yes, that Johns Manville,” he said. “The house I grew up in was full of asbestos — floor and ceiling tiles, wallpaper — because it was flame retardant and the materials were cheap from the company store.”
When Lipscombe was five, his parents bought a local bar in downtown Somerville and renamed it Lip’s Lounge, which played on the first few letters of the family’s name.
“It was the only Black bar in town and the customers became extended family to me and helped shape my life,” he said. “My mom also cooked and served food at the bar — the best Southern food around. Ribs, fried chicken, smothered pork chops, collard greens, black-eyed peas, homemade mac and cheese were just some of the staples. They worked long hours — usually double shifts of seven to eight hours, Monday through Saturday, and then midafternoon to evening on Sunday after church.”
Neither of his parents went to college, though Lipscombe’s mom started encouraging him to be a lawyer from an early age. Still, he grew up “wanting to be a baseball player, but in high school I realized that dream was going to be tough and being a sports reporter would be the next best thing.”
Lipscombe, when he was 15, got a job as a Houston Astros batboy and then worked for a radio station getting interviews in the locker room.
But he also loved to write. As a high school sophomore, he covered high school football games for The Courier News, a Gannett newspaper for the Central New Jersey area.
“I decided then that I would be a sportswriter, but one of my mentors told me that I needed to know how to cover any news articles because sportswriter jobs were tough to find,” he said. “So I then started covering school board meetings in addition to high school sports. My senior year, I was able to cover the New Jersey Generals of the USFL for a local paper. I went off to Northwestern University and got my undergrad and master’s degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.”
During college, Lipscombe worked for a spring semester at the Waco Tribune-Herald, where he covered a private bank that was laundering money.
“I realized that doing investigative reporting was just as much fun as covering sports,” he said.
Lipscombe moved to Michigan after graduating from college in 1988 to work for The Flint Journal, where he covered school board meetings, city council meetings, the police beat on the weekends and General Motors and the United Auto Workers union. In 1990, he moved back to New Jersey to be a reporter for the Asbury Park Press.
Lipscombe’s biggest story was a weeklong series he did with a fellow reporter on hazardous materials for The Flint Journal.
“The primary focus was the lack of preparedness for local firefighters to deal with chemical spills and fires,” he said. “But the series also looked at a number of Superfund sites in the area, including one that was the largest at the time, and the difficulty and high costs to get the areas cleaned.”
Despite loving his work as a journalist, Lipscombe’s mom kept pushing and pushing him to go to law school.
“When I was a teenager, she had me meet her local attorney in town to see if I was interested. I wasn’t. And that didn’t change,” he said. “In fact, I covered legal issues — mostly criminally related — and dealt with a lot of attorneys. I really didn’t like them and didn’t see that as a path. But my mom was relentless.”
When Lipscombe’s stepfather died in 1990, he “decided to at least try it.”
“I didn’t want to have a ‘what if’ moment years later if I hadn’t at least tried,” he said.
Lipscombe self-studied for the LSAT, took it in February 1991 and “hours later got on a train and went to Mardi Gras to see friends,” he said. “My focus was not on the test.”
Even so, Lipscombe did well and was accepted by his first choice — Michigan Law School.
“I’ve loved Michigan football and those winged helmets from back in high school,” he said.
No Job, Just a Date
In 1997, Lipscombe was an associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius but seeking a new challenge. Covarrubias was a new partner at Loeb & Loeb in California who was assigned the duty of interviewing possible lateral hires.
“We offered him the job, but he declined and instead later asked me out,” Covarrubias said. “If you ask Derek the same question, he will likely tell you a longer story. We work well together for that reason.”
Lipscombe’s version of the story is much more detailed.
“After rounds of interviews and wining and dining, I got an offer but ended up turning it down,” he said. “But there was something about Marita. I didn’t quite know what beyond that I was intrigued by and attracted to her.”
After the last interview, Covarrubias told Lipscombe to “look me up if you are ever on the West Side and we will have lunch.”
“I learned later that is the L.A. way of saying ‘fuck off,’” Lipscombe said.
A few months later, Lipscombe asked Covarrubias on a date, and she said yes.
“Eighteen days after our first date, I asked her to marry me, and I asked every day for about four months,” he said.
Covarrubias said yes, and they married a little over a year later.
‘Sheer Breadth of Marita’s Achievements is Awe-inspiring’
As a young lawyer, Covarrubias represented Tenet Healthcare in dozens of labor and employment cases. In 1999, executives at the healthcare giant asked her to officially join the company as its first in-house lawyer handling employment-related matters. Then in 2006, Tenet gave Covarrubias a big promotion, which required that she move to Texas. In 2023, the corporation promoted her to deputy general counsel.
“I had realized over time that, while I enjoyed the litigation process, I wanted to handle more the prelitigation work,” she said. “I generally see myself as a problem-solver, and once you are locked in litigation the resolution options are limited.”
During her 26 years with Tenet, the company has expanded Covarrubias’ role and significantly increased her influence as an advisor for top executives and board members.
“I still support our hospitals and physician practices on day-to-day issues and oversee our employment litigation but also taken on oversight of our business litigation and our class action matters,” she said. “I am also part of the leadership team and through my tenure have become more a trusted advisor to our operations teams.”
Covarrubias said her biggest accomplishments at Tenet has been “building trust with our business leaders so that they view me and my team as critical business partners whose role is not to impede them but rather to protect them and the organization.”
King & Spalding litigation partner Veronica Moyé said Covarrubias has a “rare combination of skills,” including a “deep knowledge of substantive legal areas” while also getting up to speed on “key concepts in new legal areas quickly.”
“Marita is not afraid of risk, has great judgment and always displays respect and kindness,” Moyé said. “She has been called upon to step in and save the day multiple times on matters that she began to lead long after they had gone south.”
For example, Covarrubias inherited a privacy class action filed against a Tenet subsidiary in Louisiana that involved sensitive medical information and presented high financial exposure as well as reputational risk.
“Marita was able to reposition the case and obtain an unprecedented favorable settlement for the company in a relatively short period of time,” Moyé said.
Covarrubias was forced to tackle two antitrust class actions — one in Michigan and the other in West Texas — that Tenet inherited when it purchased a subsidiary. The other co-defendants in the litigation had settled, and the courts had certified the classes in the cases.
“Marita once again used her impressive strategic skills to obtain a favorable settlement for the company” in the Michigan case, Moyé said. “And she went on to defeat class certification in the parallel Western District of Texas matter, a victory that she held in the Fifth Circuit [Court of Appeals].”
Haynes Boone partner Stacy Brainin describes Covarrubias is “experienced and unflappable — both critical assets.”
“Marita is a trusted adviser to Tenet leaders because she can provide a candid assessment of an issue that balances legal risk with the practical business implications of a decision,” Brainin said.
Anne Sparks, assistant general counsel at global heating solutions provider Thermon and the former GC at LSG Sky Chefs, has been a close friend with Covarrubias for more than a decade.
“She is the real deal, proving that you can be it all — a great mom, a great friend and a great attorney,” Sparks said.
At Toyota, ‘Derek Does Not Shy Away from a Challenge’
Lipscombe worked for nine years as a practicing lawyer in California before following Covarrubias by going in-house as corporate counsel with the Auto Club of Southern California.
“I realized that I wanted to spend more time with the family and have a better work/life balance, which was difficult as a full-time litigator and also having client development responsibilities,” he said. “However, I also struggled with giving up litigation at the time and only managing it. I still loved going to court.”
The Automobile Club of Southern California, which owned AAA Texas, was “the best of both worlds,” Lipscombe said.
“We still litigated all of our single-plaintiff litigation in-house and provided advice and counseling for our internal clients, and only farmed out class action litigation,” he said. “And there were no billable hours.”
In 2011, Lipscombe joined the legal department at Plano-based J.C. Penney as senior managing counsel.
“I was with J.C. Penney, which went through a number of ups and downs from the beginning of the Ron Johnson era and subsequent changes,” he said. “Our legal department was somewhat in flux, and I was looking for a more stable situation.”
Lipscombe saw that Toyota North America, which was relocating from the West Coast to Texas, was advertising for lawyers who would be willing to move to the DFW area.
From the start, Lipscombe had an impact by handling matters in-house that had previously been farmed to outside lawyers charging Toyota hundreds of dollars an hour.
“I began working more and more with our HR teams responsible for those efforts,” he said. “I was assigned those responsibilities and began doing more and more of the work in-house. In the first year, I was able to reduce our legal spend on those traditional labor issues by more than $1 million by doing the work myself. Those efforts have continued for the past six years, and we have expanded our efforts to be more proactive and focused on our team members who we love to say are the heart of Toyota.”
But Lipscombe said he still likes going to trial.
Last year, for example, he successfully defended an arbitration action involving a former executive in California who sued for discrimination and wrongful termination. The two-week proceedings resulted in a complete victory for Toyota.
“Derek does not shy away from a challenge — in fact, he runs toward it,” said Phillips, Toyota North America’s CLO. “He is always looking for solutions, not just spotting issues. Derek has a deep understanding of labor issues and excels at promoting positive team member relations.”
Phillips said that Lipscombe is “passionate about providing pro bono services to first responders.”
“Derek’s leadership in diversity and inclusion has been game changing for our legal department,” she said. “He brings this perspective to everything he does.”
Lipscombe points to his spouse as a primary reason for his success.
“Marita has never sought the limelight even though her name was used as a recurring character on The X-Files,” he said. “And she still has imposter syndrome which keeps her humble, even though she has managed some of the largest employment and general business litigation matters throughout the country.”
Ann Marie Painter, a partner at Perkins Coie, said that Lipscombe and Covarrubias are great lawyers who are also “advocates for justice, equality and inclusion.”
“As good as Derek and Marita are individually, they are even better as a couple,” Painter said. “They are so supportive of each other in their professional endeavors. They complement each other so beautifully and have an almost palpable passion for life.”
Fun Facts: Marita Covarrubias
- Favorite book: Middlesex. I read this book years ago, and as I sit here today I cannot tell you why it was my favorite book. It may be because it covers so many eras and locations. Or maybe it is the story of immigrants and generations of family. But likely it is because the narrator Cal is such a profound and unique character whom I have never gotten out of my head.
- Favorite music group: The Avett Brothers
- Favorite movie: The Color Purple (1985)
- Favorite restaurant and food: Little Kitana and any kind of sushi and sashimi
- Favorite beverage: A good iced chai latte
- Favorite vacation: A recent trip to Minori on the Amalfi Coast that I replay in my mind whenever I need to escape.
- Hero in life: My father. He is the child of Mexican immigrants who has always seen the world as an amazing place with no limitations. After serving in the Air Force in the 1950s, he went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and got a degree in architecture. Then he and one of his buddies went to Europe, bought a Vespa and travelled until they had to stop and work to fund the rest of their journey. He worked as a draftsman and met my mother. He loves books, art, the theater and at 93 still has the most amazing memory of all his adventures. Most importantly, he has a sense of joy and excitement that has never dissipated. Just this Thanksgiving he was sharing stories about his time in the 1950s working as a bartender in the officer’s hall in Adak, Alaska. I love that he is still here to share his memories and passion for life with my children and his other grandchildren. When I feel overwhelmed, I just remember how he finds joy in every new book he picks up or when he shares the story of a new artist he discovered. It is such a different space from the legal world that consumes my days, but because of him I have always remembered that there is so much out there to experience and explore.
Fun Facts: Derek Lipscombe
- Favorite book: The Catcher in the Rye. It is focused on the loss of innocence as one is moving into adulthood. One of the lines that has stuck with me is: “If they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off.” You have to take those leaps of faith in life. You may be successful. You may fail. But you have to take the chance when its available and not fear the potential failure.
- Favorite music group: U2. I’ve seen them live eight times, including last year with Marita at The Sphere in Vegas.
- Favorite movie: Raging Bull.
- Favorite restaurant and food: Sushi. Tatsu in Dallas is amazing. Jokingly we like to say that we have gone to a Michelin-star restaurant (even though technically we went there a few months before it received its star).
- Favorite beverage: Non-alcoholic IPAs from Athletic Brewing.
- Favorite vacation: Barcelona. Marita and I went there our honeymoon in 1999 and again in 2018 with two of our children.
- Hero in life: My mother. She was the driving force in my success always pushing hard for me to do my best. Her college opportunity was derailed but not because of her brains. She went to the school of hard knocks and worked harder than anyone I’ve ever known, overcoming obstacles both as a woman and a Black woman. She was a highly successful businesswoman who was the primary provider. When I started working as an attorney and found out that my initial annual salary in 1994 was only $10,000s less than what my parents made in their best year, I felt guilty. It’s not that I wasn’t working hard, but that work was not as physically and mentally demanding as the work my mom had done since 1971 and continued doing for 28 years running the bar-restaurant.