For Premium Subscribers: Exxon Mobil senior counsel Tom Sikora is considered one of the top international arbitration lawyers in the world. Sikora has led more than 50 international arbitrations with more than $80 billion at stake.Texas Lawbook founder Mark Curriden had the opportunity chat with Sikora about his remarkable career path and his outlook as a senior in house counsel at one of the largest corporations in the world.
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Under Judicial Pressure, Brazos, ERCOT to Mediate $1.9B Dispute for What’s ‘Best for Texans’
Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones encourages the two sides to reach an agreement and move forward for ‘the person that lives in a trailer in Central Texas… that can’t afford a doubling of their electric bill.’
CDT Roundup: 12 Deals, 8 Firms, 149 Lawyers, $5.1B
Online gaming, along with outright gambling, is gaining traction in M&A. As the lines between fantasy sports, sports books, remote gaming and casino-based gambling blur, the deals, whether domestic or international, are getting bigger and more involved, even for Texas lawyers. More on that, along with the weekly roll call of Texas-related deals in the CDT Roundup.
Texas Lawyers in Moscow Face Dilemma
As sanctions against Russian companies and those that do business with Russian entities expand daily, the role of lawyers is increasingly in the spotlight. Some law firms are being pressured to fire their Russian clients. Fourteen corporate law firms operating in Texas have Moscow offices, including Akin Gump, Baker Botts and Norton Rose Fulbright. Some law firms, such as Baker Botts, are reevaluating their operations in Russia. A few firms secretly encouraged their attorneys to leave Moscow as quickly and quietly as possible, as they fear retribution from the Kremlin. The Texas Lawbook has the details.
CEO: Brazos in Great Shape Until Crippling Uri Bills
Clifton Karnei also testified that the emergency pricing of electricity during the storm at $9,000 per megawatt hour – hundreds of times the normal rate – did nothing to accomplish what state regulators intended.
No Surprises, No Inflated Bills – Four High-Profile Texas GCs’ Pet Peeves
The top legal officers at AT&T, Southwest Airlines, Toyota and Trinity Industries have strategic suggestions for law firms who want their business: Help them solve problems. Diversify your legal teams. Write brief, to-the-point memos. And be a team player, even with other law firms. They also have definite pet peeves for the firms they hire.
Brazos Execs Knew Electric Prices Would Soar Even Before Winter Storm Uri Hit
Brazos, the state’s largest and oldest electric co-op, contends that it was plunged into bankruptcy by the $9,000-per-megawatt-hour price imposed by ERCOT during the deadly storm.
Chevron Buys Renewable Energy Group for $3.15B
Leading the legal team from Chevron is Siva Barnwell Adams, managing counsel in the major transactions law group at Chevron Upstream in Houston.
Is Diversity a Pipeline Problem, or a Reservoir Problem?
Many assumptions animate the backlash to Black people’s audacity to be highly educated. The one that really angers me is the suggestion that Black families do not value education as highly as other families. As a result, the theory goes, Black children are destined to fail when admitted to prestigious (aka predominantly white) schools. I always roll my eyes at this one. I have never known a Black child who was not ashamed to bring bad grades home. Also, I did just fine at the two predominantly white schools that I attended — Harvard and Duke Law.
Once Alone, Now Empowered
I embrace the opportunity and recognize the magnitude of being a Black female associate in Big Law, especially one who graduated from UNT Dallas College of Law. But my comfort in this did not happen overnight. It was cultivated by seeing others who look like me navigate the legal field and exude confidence even when they may have been the only Black lawyers in the room. And while it may seem cliché, it started with my mother.