In the first major in-person legal event since the advent of the pandemic, the DFW Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook gathered with some of the top legal talent in Texas at the George W. Bush Institute to honor the best in-house work during an exceptionally difficult year. The Lawbook’s founder Mark Curriden has all the results of the 2020 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards.
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Appeals Court Preserves Nine-Figure Jury Verdict Against Toyota — Updated
A three-judge panel in the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas Thursday affirmed a $213 million trial court judgment against Toyota Motor Corp. The case revolved around a rear-end collision in 2016 that left two children severely brain-damaged. A Dallas jury concluded in 2018 that the injuries were exacerbated by a defective seatback design in the family’s 2002 Lexus. The Lawbook’s Natalie Posgate has details of the court’s 2-1 decision.
Kate Hayashi Helps American Airlines Navigate an Extraordinary Year
American Airlines Associate GC Kate Hayashi has faced some challenges during the past 25 years – TWA’s bankruptcy, TWA’s acquisition by American Airlines, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that involved two American jetliners, American’s bankruptcy and restructuring and American’s merger with U.S. Airways. But 2020 was a year unlike any other. But those challenges are why she is one of the most experienced lawyers in the airline industry today.
Zix’s Noah Webster and ‘Magical Creativity’
While most companies battened down the hatches in 2020 in order to weather the Covid-19 pandemic, Dallas-based global cloud-based cybersecurity and productivity solutions company Zix Corporation went searching for opportunities. “We decided that the most resilient businesses continue to grow and continue to build to grow, even under difficult or unusual situations,” said Zix Noah Webster CLO. Last July, Zix discovered the perfect acquisition opportunity – an Israeli-owned company called CloudAlly that focuses on cloud-based data backup and recovery for businesses.
Jason Shyung: Keeping Southwest in the Air During Turbulent Times
Southwest Airlines attorney Jason Shyung remembers his first trial. He met his client – the owner of a small Sherman construction company being wrongly sued by an employee – only two weeks prior to trial. “He could have lost everything,” Shyung said. But Shyung and another young lawyer prevailed in federal court. Six years later, Southwest Airlines called on Shyung in its own potentially devastating crisis, and the young lawyer again prevailed. This is his story.
CDT Roundup: 35 Deals, 11 Firms, 145 Lawyers, $20.27B
Much like M&A in the latter half of 2020, the U.S. secondary market saw active investors keen to get creative with existing funds – and the space should continue to see increased activity as venture capital, private credit and real estate transactions nip at the heels of private equity. Closer to home, 145 Texas-based lawyers from 11 firms took part in 35 deals in this week’s Corporate Deal Tracker Roundup.
Two Texas Energy Companies to Combine in $2.7B Deal
Spring-based Southwestern Energy Co. plans to acquire the third-largest natural gas producer in the country that comes with an impressive roster of financial backers. Texas lawyers from Skadden, Kirkland & Ellis and Akin Gump also played a role.
Meredith Bjorck and Her ‘Super Powers’
Meredith Bjorck had a seat at the executive table at HMS for five years and she made the most of it. She resolved all significant existing litigation within the first two years. The company’s revenue increased more than 30%, net income climbed more than 300% and the company’s stock price climbed more than 200%. Last winter, in the middle of Covid, Bjork led the deal team in the $3.4 billion sale of HMS. But what a five years it was.
Foes Battling Over Mexican Gold Mine Discover Rich Vein of — Litigation
In a trans-border tiff over a gold mine in Mexico, two companies — one American and one Canadian — have managed to unearth a motherlode of litigation. Experts say their grueling court battles across several international venues point up the shortcomings of binding arbitration agreements and their limited ability to compel business partners not to be jerks. The Lawbook’s Bruce Tomaso explains.
From Hippies and Shetland Ponies to Fritos and Class Action Wins – PepsiCo’s Leanne Oliver’s Lifetime of Achievement
From developing and implementing a cutting-edge medical leave policy and creating a groundbreaking management training program on sexual harassment to winning major class action lawsuits and leading strategic corporate acquisitions, PepsiCo Foods North America GC Leanne Oliver has spent the past 25 years having an enormous impact on the company’s 300,000 workers and the Texas legal community.
“Leanne has brought enormous value to the company and to the entire legal profession,” said former PepsiCo GC Larry Thompson. “No one really knows PepsiCo as well as Leanne.”