The Houston Bar Foundation names its new chair and recognizes many more for their pro bono work. Dallas lawyers at one firm advocate for people of color incarcerated by outdated drug laws. The North Texas Chamber of Commerce names new lawyer leadership on its board. All that and more in this week’s P.S. column.
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Q&A: Sarah Decker of McAfee
For Premium Subscribers In this Q&A with McAfee CLO Sarah Decker, she dishes on what she seeks in hiring outside counsel, $2,000 hourly rates, the role of GCs in promoting
McAfee ‘Fortunate Beyond Words’ to Have Sarah Decker In-House
In the four years since Sarah Decker joined computer security giant McAfee, she has had a few items on her plate, including an $8.6 billion IPO amid the Covid pandemic, which meant doing all the legal work necessary for listing on the NASDAQ; a $4 billion sale of its enterprise business; a $450 million securities offering; and a $14 billion take-private transaction in 2022.
Citing numerous successes last year, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Decker as the 2022 DFW General Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department (21 attorneys or more).
Banks Seek to Postpone Multibillion-Dollar Trial in Final Stanford Civil Case
One of the banks being sued for billions of dollars for allegedly aiding and abetting Houston financier R. Allen Stanford and his investment firm in a massive Ponzi scheme has asked a federal appeals court to stop the 13-year-old case from going to trial later this month. Lawyers for the four banks want the trial set for Feb. 27 in Houston to be postponed because they say the judge in the case has issued orders that are “rife with clear and indisputable errors.”
CDT Roundup: 17 Deals, 15 Law Firms, 140 Lawyers, $8.1B
Numbers for the week ending Feb. 4 were actually far better than the week prior, or even the same week a year ago. More on that, and a spot-check on what Simpson’s Chris May is up to in this week’s Corporate Deal Tracker Roundup.
Thompson Petroleum Gets Win Against Its Former CFO
Dallas County District Judge Emily Tobolowsky granted family-owned Thompson Petroleum’s motion for summary judgment on Jan. 19, days before a trial was slated to begin in the case where its former chief financial officer argued the company should have to pay his legal fees in a dispute with its former general counsel. Plaintiff Paul Rudnicki filed notice of appeal in the case Monday.
New Texas Munis Were Down in 2022, But the Need Remains Durable
The slight drop in the number and value of new bond issues in Texas last year was more a reflection of the market than infrastructure needs in one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. The Lawbook’s Nushin Huq and Texas bond experts examine the year-that-was. She also has rankings for the firms behind the issues and underwriters for what was — in spite of the decline — a very busy year.
Litigation Roundup: Samsung Inks $150M Settlement, Jury Hits Boston Scientific with $42M Judgment
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Samsung agrees to a $150 million settlement in an intellectual property suit, a group of Texas lawyers secures a $42 million win against Boston Scientific in Delaware and U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes gets reversed, again.
Senior Exxon Mobil Counsel’s Move to Gibson Dunn is ‘Very Personal’
Exxon Mobil assistant general counsel David Woodcock has departed the energy giant to join the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as the firm’s SEC enforcement practice co-head. The move surprised many within the legal department at Exxon Mobil because Woodcock, who was a past regional director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth office, was viewed as a likely candidate to be the company’s next chief legal officer.
P.S. — More Legal Aid Announcements; Meet Weil’s Newest “Lend-A-Lawyer”
This week’s edition of P.S. features details on the next Weil associate to be selected for the firm’s unique pro bono volunteer program, how to get free legal help if you were the victim of the Jan. 24 tornado that hit the Houston area and the February dates for the Dallas Bar Association’s legal hotline. Natalie Posgate has the details.