As winners of the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Pro Bono and Public Service, Mark Berg and Barry Thomas have more in common than the fact that they are high-ranking colleagues at Pioneer Natural Resources: They are both committed to leveraging their time and talents for the betterment of others.
Pro Bono Writer Natalie Posgate had the opportunity to chat with Berg and Thomas both about their pro bono projects and about ways that readers of The Texas Lawbook can help.
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What’s City Electric Supply’s Denton Muse Doing Today? Closing a Deal
In 2022, Denton Muse negotiated, drafted and closed more than 300 real estate acquisitions and commercial leasing transactions for City Electric Supply and its 642 locations in North America. That’s more than corporate law firms with hundreds of attorneys. As a result of Muse’s handiwork, City Electric significantly reduced leasing costs in 2022 and also increased the company’s negotiation leverage throughout the term. The Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook have named Muse as a finalist for the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department (five lawyers or less).
Kelli Roach: A ‘Ferocious Advocate’ for Black Mountain Sand
Kelli Roach became Black Mountain Sand’s first GC in July 2020, when the frac sand provider had closed two of its five mines and let go of half of its 500 people because of the Covid pandemic. Roach focused on how she would strategically help her new employer the fastest. She identified contract breaches and filed lawsuits, which led to $54 million being added to Black Mountain Sand’s bottom line. At the same time, she led the defense to have the company dismissed from a tragic wrongful death lawsuit, renegotiated several commercial contracts at considerably more favorable terms and implemented Black Mountain Sand’s first ESG program.
Citing these accomplishments, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Roach as a finalist for the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Solo Legal Department.
Q&A: Kelli Roach of Black Mountain Sand
For Premium Subscribers Black Mountain Sand GC Kelli Roach dishes on being a solo GC, her best day on the job, how she hires outside counsel, mentoring and her hero
White & Case Hires Three Bracewell Litigators in Houston
Sean Gorman, Chris Dodson and Andrew Zeve are joining a team of about 90 attorneys in White & Case’s Houston office after tenures at Bracewell that included leading the firm’s $1.6 billion win for BMC against IBM.
Matador Buys EnCap-backed Advance Energy for Initial $1.6B
Baker Botts counseled the company and Vinson & Elkins assisted the private equity firm on the deal, which at first blush makes sense given its valuation metrics and other factors, an analyst said.
CDT Roundup: 17 Deals; 16 Firms; 146 Lawyers; $5.8B
The new year has arrived with an uptick in O&G deals, typified by this week’s sale by Chesapeake of Eagle Ford assets. This week’s CDT Roundup takes a look at that deal and discusses the near-term market for similar transactions with one of the lawyers who advised Chesapeake. And as always, there’s the CDT review of the week’s transactions and the lawyers who advised on them.
Parties Nearing Settlement in $352M Injury Case
Allied Aviation and Ulysses Cruz filed a brief this week with the First Court of Appeals in Houston explaining they are close to finalizing a mediated settlement in the personal injury lawsuit and seeking an abatement of the appeal.
Q&A: Bill Dunne of Civitas Capital
For Premium Subscribers Civitas GC Bill Dunne talks about being a solo GC and what he seeks in outside counsel. Texas Lawbook: What is it like being a solo GC?
GC Bill Dunne Helps Civitas Navigate ‘Tricky Waters’
Every day, Bill Dunne deals with overlapping, even conflicting, interests as the GC of Civitas Capital Management — deal team members wanting to close on our latest endeavor, our international team needing immediate answers on the intricacies of marketing laws in up to 40 countries. But Dunne worked day and night for several months reading and analyzing hundreds and hundreds of pages of Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and guidelines to successfully register Civitas as an official investment advisor.
The achievement had a huge impact on Citivas’ business operations. As a result, Dunne is a finalist for the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Solo Legal Department.