Premium Subscriber Content From the day the Center for Disease Control issued its initial coronavirus warning for U.S. hospitals, Methodist Health System need to lean on its youngest vice president. Ashley Yen and her legal team responded, answering and engaging the plethora of legal issues and regulatory procedures critical to dealing with a global pandemic. Mark Curriden had the opportunity to discuss those challenges and a variety of other issues in a special Q&A.
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Plano’s At Home Group to Go Private in PE Buyout
Funds affiliated with private equity giant Hellman & Friedman plan to purchase Plano home decor retailer At Home in a deal valued at $2.8 billion. Two New York-based firms advised on the transaction.
Country’s Largest Gas Producer to Acquire Assets From Houston’s Alta in $2.925B Deal
Thirty-one Texas lawyers from Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis and in-house counsel are playing a role as EQT Corp. enters a purchase agreement for hundreds of thousands of acres in the Marcellus Shale held by Houston’s Alta Resources.
GC Priya Aiyar Gives American Airlines the Legal Advantage
American Airlines GC Priya Aiyar may be the smartest lawyer in corporate America. So say lawyers and executives who watched her in action during the pandemic. She clerked for Judge Merrick Garland and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. She’s been the GC of the U.S. Treasury and a chief legal advisor at the FCC. Every bit of those smarts were needed to address the plethora of legal issues American faced during the past year.
“Priya has no ceiling,” AA Executive VP Stephen Johnson said. “If she remains in the airline industry, the industry will experience a revolution in operations and Priya will be a key reason for that evolution. She is unlike any other lawyer who has ever worked in the airline industry.”
Q&A: Priya Aiyar
PREMIUM ONLY Priya Aiyar is general counsel at American Airlines. Like many in-house counsel she was tested by the pandemic in ways that seemed unfathomable when she took the job i 2019. But her performance at the legendary air carrier has brought praise from all quarters in the business world.
Mark Curriden, founder of The Texas Lawbook, talked to her at length about the obstacles she faced and the challenges still ahead of her. Here is a portion of that conversation.
CDT Roundup: 21 Deals, 16 Firms, 125 Lawyers, $7.2B
As businesses small and large angle for growth in the post-pandemic future, decision makers are eyeing the best means to raise capital, rebound to pre-Covid levels and stave off worries of a 2021 recession, according to Truist. In this week’s CDT, more than 120 lawyers took part in 21 deals.
Lateral Hiring Fell in 2020 – You Can Probably Guess Why
Exclusive new data shows that the pandemic put a deep chill on the overheated Texas lateral market last year. Not only did firms stop recruiting, but lawyers stopped answering. But analysis shows it didn’t solve the long-term core problem: too much demand for too little talent in Texas. The result: $250,000 signing bonuses. The game of musical chairs is back.
Liza Farrow-Gillespie Scholarship Goes to Law Magnet Student Going to Yale
Derek Lipscombe reviewed all the applications – 10 essays, school transcripts and letters of recommendation. One exceptional student received the Liza Farrow-Gillespie Intrepid Young Woman Scholarship which provides $10,000 annually to a college-bound high school senior who has the namesake’s “do anything, go anywhere” spirit.
Vinson & Elkins Taps New Leadership
The 104-year-old legacy Texas firm has selected a successor to Mark Kelly – along with three other new leaders.
Keith Fullenweider, the son of a lawyer and a teacher and a veteran of V&E’s M&A practice will begin his new role Jan. 1. He becomes the third Houston partner in a row tapped to lead the legendary firm.
Fort Worth Judge Dismisses Shareholder Derivative Suit Against Six Flags Board
For the second time this spring, a Fort Worth federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit that stemmed from a business deal that fell apart between Arlington-based Six Flags Entertainment Corp. and Riverside Investment Group related to the development of Six Flags parks in China.