In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, LyondellBasell Associate GC Andrew Gratz learned that South Africa-based Sasol wanted to sell 50% of an ethane and polyethylene operation in Louisiana for $2 billion, but there was a time crunch. Gratz, his in-house legal team and lawyers at Kirkland worked 16-hour days to accommodate the time differences between Houston and South Africa. Due diligence and negotiations over the JV’s management and marketing took place virtually. Plus, it was difficult to build trust when negotiating teams are not face-to-face. But lawyers say Gratz was a force of nature that kept dealmakers moving forward and getting the transaction done. Thus, Gratz and Kirkland are finalists for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Transaction of the Year.
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Q&A: Andrew Gratz
Premium-Only Content Andy Gratz oversees the vast legal work required at LyondellBasell, the petrochemical giant. The Lawbook’s Mark Curriden interviewed him about his approach to the job, how his work in government relations helped shape that approach and his expectations of those who work with and for him.
The Top Texas Legal Stories of 2021
The year’s list of top Texas legal stories as determined by the staff of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.
Delaware Judge to ETE in $410M Merger Breakup Case w/ Williams: ‘Pay the Piper’
A Delaware chancery judge Wednesday ordered Dallas-based Energy Transfer to pay Tulsa-based The Williams Companies a $410 million breakup fee for the megamerger between the two companies that Energy Transfer called off in 2016 after market conditions in the energy industry became abysmal. The decision follows a six-day trial in May in Delaware that The Texas Lawbook covered in-depth.
V&E’s Odd Couple Exits Stage Right
Mark Kelly and Scott Wulfe took over as co-leaders of Vinson & Elkins 10 years ago. This Friday at 11:59 p.m., their reign ends. Some V&E partners were skittish about them leading the firm. Together, they faced existential threats to the firm’s existence and implemented fundamental challenges during the past decade. They saw scores of partners leave to join elite national corporate firms that open offices in V&Es backyard. But Texas’ largest law firm by headcount also achieved record revenues and record profits. Kelly and Wulfe say 2021 was another record-breaking year for one of the most influential law firms in Texas history. For V&E, it is the end of an era.
CDT Roundup: 21 Deals, 11 Firms, 176 Lawyers, $4.7B
There are fundamental changes taking place in healthcare and biotechnology transactions. As in energy deals, those changes involve more than the sums of their bottom lines. Two of the 21 deals in this week’s CDT Roundup help make the point.
Premium Subscriber Q&A with METRO GC Cydonii Fairfax
Premium-Only Content: Cydonii Fairfax is a finalist for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. The Lawbook’s Mark Curriden had a chance to ask her about what outside counsel need to know if they want her business and her efforts at the University of Houston to increase diversity in the legal industry pipeline.
METRO GC Cydonii Fairfax is ‘Building a More Equitable Foundation’
Cydonii Fairfax has emerged as a leader of the Houston corporate legal community and one of the most influential role models on diversity and public service in Texas. As general counsel of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO), Fairfax is playing a critical role in the implementation of a $7.5 billion transformation of one of the largest public transportation systems in the U.S. She also has implemented internal policies and practices that have led to substantive results. Nearly two-thirds of the lawyers in METRO’s legal department are women or ethnic minorities, including the top two posts. And she aggressively sends work to minority-owned law firms.
Continued Uncertainty About Eviction Regulations in Texas
While there has been a focus on how eviction protections impact residential tenants, commercial landlords who own multifamily or mixed-use projects must be informed of current restrictions and procedures to understand the implications of evicting residential tenants. This article summarizes our path to this point, the current situation and the future for evictions in Texas.
Sarah Weddington, Advocate in the Landmark Case Roe v. Wade, Dies in Austin at 76
Austin attorney Sarah Weddington’s death Sunday left a legion of colleagues and admirers following her abortion-rights legacy from her world-shaking win in Roe v. Wade.