For Premium Subscribers TGS GC Tana Pool discusses her biggest challenges, what she seeks in outside counsel, diversity efforts and how the role of the GC has changed during her
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TGS GC Tana Pool is a ‘Leader by Example’
Tana Pool is a self-described “small town girl.” The adopted daughter of Texas panhandle cotton farmers, she had never traveled outside the U.S. before becoming a lawyer. Then, a decade ago, Pool became the general counsel of a global Norwegian-based energy data and intelligence corporation that has a $1.7 billion market cap. She now has offices in Oslo, London and Houston. She is doing M&A deals around the world.
During her 17 years at TGS and Quanta Services, Pool has done more than a dozen acquisitions and joint ventures, negotiated more than $1 billion in credit facilities and is now on the verge of closing TGS’ largest M&A transaction — the acquisition of Oslo-headquartered Petroleum Geo Services (PGS) for 9.3 billion Norwegian crowns (roughly $864 million) in a merger of equals. Recognizing her long list of extraordinary achievements, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are awarding Pool with the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Todd Lowther Latest Key Hire for Clifford Chance’s Houston Office
Clifford Chance’s Texas expansion continued Wednesday as the firm announced a key lateral hire who bolsters its U.S. tax and energy & infrastructure practices.
Fifth Circuit Undoes $1.6B Judgment Against IBM
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined Tuesday that U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller got it wrong when he handed down a massive $1.6 billion judgment against International Business Machines for breach and fraud in a lawsuit against Houston-based BMC Software.
Q&A: Adel Sander
In this Q&A, Adel Sander discusses what she considers when hiring outside counsel, what it is about her job that gets her out of bed, how diversity became front and center for her and what diversity and inclusion initiatives law firms can be doing to create change.
Ascend’s Adel Sander Ensures Women are ‘Not Just a Pretty Face at the Counsel Table’
Adel Sander has been driven to succeed and advocate for others from the time she could talk to present day as director and deputy general counsel at Ascend Performance Materials. As a 2-year-old growing up in Baku, Azerbaijan, she pointed out to her mom that her dad in fact did split some of the domestic labor by going to the market every week. As an in-house lawyer, she bats for women and diverse professionals every day, whether it’s a new mom needing a part-time schedule, a female outside lawyer up for partner, a father who wants to spend more time with his newborn or a job applicant shunned by other employers because of their criminal history.
“I really, really like to push people into being promoted to the next level and to give people opportunity,” she said. “At one point or another, someone gave me an opportunity, so I like to return the favor.”
Sander is one of three finalists for the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston chapter and The Texas Lawbook’s 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. This is her story.
CDT Roundup: 10 Deals, 6 Firms, 28 Lawyers, $6.7B
M&A is “slowly on the mend,” according to a new PitchBook report on global M&A activity. But like most statements of fact these days, that may depend on your point of view. In the first three months of 2024, M&A is down from Q4 2023, but that’s okay. That previous quarter contained a few blockbuster deals and set a record valuation for energy M&A. The CDT Roundup this week looks a bit closer at the PitchBook metrics and even closer at the transactions reported last week. There are a few numbers that may surprise you.
Sorrels Law Adds Houston Lawyer Raina Spielman Newsome as Partner
The medical malpractice and personal injury lawyer left Big Law in 2020 to represent victims of negligence and medical malpractice and has recovered more than $40 million in damages for her clients. Newsome brings more than 25 years of litigation experience to Sorrels Law.
‘Rarer Than a Hen’s Tooth’ – Jury Deadlocks in Waco Patent Case
Hung juries, in general, are infrequent. One study estimates they occur in about 6 percent of all cases that go to trial. When it happens, it’s usually in state criminal cases where someone’s life or freedom is at stake, not in highly technical disputes over a patent.
Litigation Roundup: SMU Defeats Covid Suit, Shell Beats $16M Bonus Suit
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Fifth Circuit undoes class certification in an investor suit against Anadarko, Roku beats back a $318 million patent infringement claim in Waco, and a Houston appellate court brings an end to a heart surgeon’s defamation lawsuit against ProPublica and the Houston Chronicle.