Premium-Only Content From being the first African American elected to be Queen Cardinal at Harlingen High School in 1980 to leading one of the most successful corporate diversity efforts at one of the world’s largest corporations to being named the new chief legal officer of Sempra Infrastructure earlier this year, Carolyn Benton Aiman has earned a global reputation for leadership in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The Lawbook’s Mark Curriden asked Aiman about the kinds of relationships she expects with outside counsel and what they might need to know about her.
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Enterprise buys Warburg-backed Navitas for $3.25B
The transaction, which surprised analysts, continues a wave of consolidation in the midstream industry. The Lawbook’s Claire Poole has all the lawyers involved in the deal.
Sempra CLO Carolyn Benton Aiman: ‘DEI Should Be in a Corporate Legal Department’s DNA’
[Diversity, equity and inclusion] “should be more than an initiative or a once-a-year conversation. This has to be part of the DNA, like safety in a corporation, like culture in any relationship,” said Sempra Infrastructure Carolyn Benton Aiman. “You must tend to it. Legal departments and law firm leadership should set an expectation, and leaders should be selected for their ability to develop people across all demographics. Leaders not only talk diversity, but their actions should match their words, including who they surround themselves with and with whom they work.”
The Association of Corporate Counsels Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook agree and have named Aiman as a finalist for the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion.
Blackstone Plows $3B into Invenergy
Blackstone Infrastructure said Friday that it is investing $3 billion into Invenergy Renewables Holdings. Blackstone says the price tag represents one of the largest investments into renewables in North American history. Claire Poole has the names of the Texas lawyers involved.
HP’s Hartz: ‘People Were Going to Jail. We Knew We had a Great Case’
For a decade, HP battled a Taiwanese-based CD-ROM maker in courts from Texas to California over allegations of price fixing. HP senior counsel Brad Hartz and his team worked several thousand hours on objections, motions to dismiss, depositions and intense fights over discovery. HP’s outside counsel, Beck Redden, worked another 5,000 hours. It all paid off on June 5, 2020, when a federal appeals court handed Hartz and Beck Redden a $438 million victory. This is the behind the scenes story of one of the biggest judgments upheld by the Fifth Circuit in a decade and the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Business Litigation of the Year.
Photo (credit Dylan Aguilar): Brad Hartz (center right) with attorneys from Beck Redden
Q&A: Brad Hartz
Premium-Only ContentFor a decade, HP battled a Taiwanese CD-ROM maker over allegations of price-fixing.Beck Redden a $438 million victory, one of the biggest judgments upheld by the Fifth Circuit in a decade.In a Q&A with The Lawbook, Hartz elaborated on other significant achievements at HP, what he looks for in outside counsel and why he takes special pride in resolving disputes without litigation.
Lynn Pinker Names Chris Schwegmann New Managing Partner
Schwegmann, who joined the firm in 2005, previously served as Lynn Pinker’s general counsel and succeeds Eric Pinker, who served as managing partner for 21 years.
First Up Before SCOTUS in New Year: Scott Keller
Scott Keller, the former Texas solicitor general and a new kid among private practitioners on the appellate block in Washington, will be first up before the U.S. Supreme Court in the new year when he urges the court to halt the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for companies with 100 or more employees. The argument, tomorrow, is a rare Friday session for the Supreme Court.
Skadden’s Bayouth Moves to PE Firm
Frank Bayouth, a 30-year deal partner at Skadden in Houston, has joined a longtime client as general counsel.
Charlotte Rasche Helped Prosperity Bank Survive PPP Avalanche
Charlotte Rasche and her team at Prosperity Bank worked days and nights in the early weeks of 2020 to integrate its $2.1 billion merger with LegacyTexas Bank. Then March came and Covid hit. With 273 banking locations across Texas and Oklahoma, Prosperity had to decide whether to close branches, require face masks or just operate drive-throughs. Each jurisdiction had different rules. And then the federal Paycheck Protection Program launched and 14,000 PPP loans with a combined value of more than $1 billion had to be processed. These were the challenges that faced Rasche as Prosperty’s general counsel.