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 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.
Winners will be announced and finalists celebrated at the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards ceremony on Jan. 25. More details will be announced soon.
Independent judges reviewed dozens of nominations for the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards, which recognize the successes and leadership demonstrated by in-house counsel in North Texas, and selected finalists and winners in 13 different categories.
“As a past attendee at the DFW Corporate Counsel Awards, I always walked away impressed with the year’s finalists wondering how the selection committee selects finalists who provide so much value to their companies, their companies’ goals and objectives and the overall Dallas legal community,” said ACC-DFW President Alvin Benton, who is lead product counsel for fintech company Upstart and former senior counsel at Goldman Sachs. “This year’s finalists present the same conundrum.”
“These fine lawyers represent the best of the best, and once again demonstrate the great value that DFW lawyers add to their company’s leadership and objectives,” Benton said. “This group also represents the great diversity of business sectors and success stories. So, with that being said, I still walk away with the same impression I’ve had in the past and this year’s candidates continue to raise the bar of what in-house counsel success looks like. Kudos to all of the finalists and I am grateful to all of the finalists and their nominators who will allow these stories to be shared with our legal community.”
M&A Deal of the Year is one of four annual DFW Corporate Counsel Awards that honors in-house counsel and its outside lawyers for their joint achievements:
• At Matador Resources, General Counsel Bryan Erman and his team of in-house lawyers, including Bradley Hart and Cale Curtin, led their company in 2023 through the $1.6 billion acquisition of Advance Energy Partners from EnCap Investments. Matador used Baker Botts and partners Preston Bernhisel and Jon Platt as its lead outside counsel.
• At MoneyGram, General Counsel Robert Villasenor and his team of in-house counsel on the company’s $1.8 billion take-private transaction involving Madison Dearborn Partners. MoneyGram used Vinson & Elkins and its partners Lande Spottswood, Alan Bogdanow, Cris Dewar and Fry Wernick as its lead outside counsel.
Congratulations are also in order for Pioneer Natural Resources corporate secretary and vice president of legal Akshar Patel for his leadership role and extraordinary legal counsel to Pioneer’s directors and executives in its $64.5 billion sale to Exxon Mobil. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher corporate partner Jeff Chapman, who was lead outside counsel on the transaction, nominated Patel for the honor.
ACC-DFW and The Lawbook receive dozens of nominations for DFW Corporate Counsel Awards each year, which recognize the successes and leadership demonstrated by in-house counsel in North Texas. Throughout the month of January, The Lawbook will publish in-depth profiles of the finalists.
Last week, ACC DFW and The Lawbook announced two other award winners. They are:
• Nexstar Media Group General Counsel Rachel Morgan is the sole finalist and recipient of the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service. Sidley partner Aimee Fagan nominated Morgan for the honor.
• Toyota Motor North America Managing Counsel Kelly Chen is the sole finalist and winner of the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. Toyota managing counsel Meyling Ly Ortiz, a past recipient of a DFW Corporate Counsel Award, nominated her colleague Chen for the honor.
During the next ten days, The Lawbook and ACC DFW will announce the finalists for General Counsel 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.