Six years after the FBI stormed the offices of United Development Funding in Grapevine, CEO Hollis Greenlaw and three other controlling executives of the firm are in trial this morning on fraud and conspiracy charges in federal court in Fort Worth. The allegations, which the executives deny, involve dollar figures high enough to rank it among the nation’s largest financial fraud cases. The Dallas Business Journal is there for the trial and will have continuous coverage.
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Siva Barnwell Adams Led Chevron Through Covid Gauntlet to Close Noble Deal
Chevron senior counsel Siva Barnwell Adams worked mornings, nights and weekends in 2020 as the top lawyer representing the energy giant in its $13 billion acquisition of Noble Energy, which was the largest oil and gas transaction during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her inspiration to give it her all came 37 years earlier, when she was working part-time at Arby’s and faced an angry Clear Lake High School track coach. “Today, when I think of giving 100%, I think of her.”
Q&A: Siva Barnwell Adams
Premium-Only Content:She likes a good story, as long as it’s a short one. She plays Texas “Hold ‘Em” on a regular basis. There’s a lot to know about Siva Barnwell Adams and her work, so The Lawbook’s Mark Curriden asked.
CDT Roundup: 13 Deals, 11 Firms, 102 Lawyers, $8.3B
The oil & gas sector may have lost cachet, but its importance to Texas is enduring. And projections for investment in O&G and LNG show that 2022 isn’t going to change that. That and the lawyers who moved last week’s deals in the CDT Roundup.
Capital Markets Will Power the Energy Evolution
The world is embarking on what may be one of the greatest transformations since the Industrial Revolution, and it is a good bet Texas will have a role to play.
Arizona Firm Opens Dallas Office
Phoenix-based Snell & Wilmer is the latest new entrant — and the first of 2022 — in Texas.
CenterPoint’s Dynamic Duo Karuturi & Ryan: Pro Bono is in their Bones
Monica Karuturi and Jason Ryan remember their first pro bono cases. Karuturi, now the GC at CenterPoint Energy, represented a middle-aged woman who had been violently assaulted by her long-time boyfriend. Ryan, now CenterPoint’s top regulatory and governmental affairs leader, handled a family law case involving a child-custody dispute. These were cases that deeply impacted them as lawyers. Both said their parents instilled in them a passion for community service and that they have not lost their commitment for helping those who are less fortunate and in need of legal services.
Last week, CenterPoint promoted both lawyers to executive VP of the $17.5 billion energy giant. Karuturi and Ryan are the recipients of the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service.
Q&A: Monica Karuturi and Jason Ryan of CenterPoint
The two top legal officers at the Energy Giant explain what they expect from outside firms they hire, aside from expertise. And it’s not just about pro bono.
Dallas Civil Courts, Facing Omicron, Pause Jury Trials
Civil jury trials in Dallas County were halted Monday until Jan. 28 in light of the “high number of Covid cases and the wildfire spread” of the Omicron variant and other Texas courts were proceeding with restraint.
Southwest Airlines’ Chief Legal Officer Mark Shaw – A Lifetime of Achievements
Since Mark Shaw joined Southwest Airlines 22 years ago, he has faced some monumental challenges, including the repercussions from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; the 2008 financial crisis; the $1.4 billion acquisition of AirTran Airlines in 2010; litigation with the grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes in 2019; and the Covid pandemic, which led SWA to raise an extraordinary $18.5 billion in capital from multiple securities offerings of debt, equity and convertible notes, as well as loans and grants from the federal government. To be sure, Shaw is not close to being finished.
Even so, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are pleased to announce that Shaw is the recipient of the 2021 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.