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‘Many Lawyers Shrink in the Face of Crisis’ — Not LyondellBasell’s Brittany Ringel Walton - LyondellBasell senior counsel Brittany Ringel Walton had just put her children to bed in July 2021, when she received an urgent call about a leak at her company’s La Porte Complex. More than 100,000 pounds of acetic acid has been released. There were two fatalities, and another 30 people were taken to the hospital. Within minutes, Walton was on her way to the scene. Her first concern was the health and safety of her LyondellBasell colleagues at the La Porte facility but she also quickly comprehended the legal and regulatory issues that would come from the tragic event and immediately took the steps necessary to start investigating and addressing those issues and concerns.
The injuries and deaths of the workers — combined with the onslaught of governmental and civil investigations and lawsuits — exposed the companies to potentially hundreds of millions in legal claims and penalties. Instead, Walton’s thoughtful and proactive leadership that hot, humid night, the next day and throughout the legal processes during the past three years since the tragedy led to widespread praise and acclaim from company leaders, the board of directors and employees. Citing Walton’s success and leadership under pressure, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Walton a finalist for the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department. May 13, 2024Mark Curriden
The injuries and deaths of the workers — combined with the onslaught of governmental and civil investigations and lawsuits — exposed the companies to potentially hundreds of millions in legal claims and penalties. Instead, Walton’s thoughtful and proactive leadership that hot, humid night, the next day and throughout the legal processes during the past three years since the tragedy led to widespread praise and acclaim from company leaders, the board of directors and employees. Citing Walton’s success and leadership under pressure, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Walton a finalist for the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department. May 13, 2024Mark Curriden
Top Stories
Top Stories
Litigation Roundup: American Airlines Sued Over In-Flight Death of Teen - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a mother from the Bronx sues American Airlines in federal court in Fort Worth over the in-flight death of her 14-year-old son, USAA is accused in a proposed class action lawsuit of covertly operating a two-tier benefits system and a divided ruling from the state’s court of last resort for criminal cases makes a surprise appearance in this civil courts-focused article. May 13, 2024Michelle Casady
Texas GCs: Litigation Spend Soars in Post-Covid Era - Litigation spend by Texas companies with revenues of $1 billion or more reached an average of $3.9 million, according to Norton Rose Fulbright’s 19th annual trends survey of corporate general counsel. Two top lawyers from the firm discussed with The Texas Lawbook what is driving up the costs. May 13, 2024Krista Torralva
Houston Not Liable for Cop Car Crash with Bicyclist - Justices decided the first of three cases that test cities’ immunity when officers were involved in vehicle crashes while responding to calls for service. The court dismissed a
wrongful-death case filed by the family of a Houston bicyclist killed by a cop car speeding at night without emergency lights and sirens. The court found that the officer acted in good faith while responding to a suicide in progress call. May 10, 2024Janet Elliott
Texas Supreme Court Reverses $12M Verdict Due to Racially Biased Closing Argument - The Texas Supreme Court reversed a $12 million jury verdict on Friday because the plaintiffs’ lawyer during closing arguments injected the idea of racial and gender bias as a possible reason that the defendants wanted reduced amounts awarded to the plaintiffs, one of whom is an African American woman. The justices said the plaintiffs’ lawyer injected “inflammatory argument that was uninvited and unprovoked” in his final comments to the jury that essentially accused opposing counsel of race and gender discrimination when no evidence of either existed in the trial record. May 10, 2024Mark Curriden
SCOTX Clarifies What Damages Are Recoverable in ‘Wrongful Pregnancy’ Cases - Justice Rebeca Aizpuru Huddle, writing for a unanimous court, explained in a 21-page ruling that in so-called “wrongful pregnancy” cases only a narrow category of damages is available: those costs incurred during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. But in this case, Grissel Velasco was seeking to recover a much broader category of damages — including the costs of rearing her daughter, mental anguish, and physical pain and suffering. May 10, 2024Michelle Casady
Lawyers Discuss Perceived Surge of So-Called ‘Nuclear Verdicts’ - A Dallas County district judge and top civil lawyers shared their observations about what leads to large jury verdicts and discussed changes in jury attitudes during a recent CLE hosted by The Texas Lawbook. May 9, 2024Krista Torralva
First Reserve Litigation Team Notched Win for Entire PE Industry with TPC Victory - Erica Radcliffe and First Reserve teamed up with Vinson & Elkins in a landmark case to convince the courts that investors should not be held liable for the damages under state law. They prevailed and the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling provides a roadmap for other investors on how they can protect themselves from liability.
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Radcliffe, First Reserve and its outside counsel at Vinson & Elkins as one of three finalists for the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Business Litigation of the Year. May 9, 2024Michelle Casady
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Radcliffe, First Reserve and its outside counsel at Vinson & Elkins as one of three finalists for the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Business Litigation of the Year. May 9, 2024Michelle Casady
Centerpiece
Phillips 66: Taking Two Deals to Take a Midstream Private - When Jenarae Garland arrived as a new managing counsel at Phillips 66, she could be excused for not being fully prepared for the part she would come to play in the $3.8 billion take-private purchase of DCP Midstream LP. She was the junior member of a three-attorney team leading the deal, ranking behind Deputy General Counsel Rob Task and Managing Counsel Maine Goodfellow. Along with their outside counsel Bracewell, the deal has also resulted in their nomination as finalists for 2024 M&A Transaction of the Year by the Association of Corporate Counsel's Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook. May 11, 2024Allen Pusey
Spire’s Sean Jamieson Diversifies Voices in the Natural Gas Industry - When you hear the phrase diversity, equity and inclusion, your mind probably goes to the boilerplate topics that are the subject of so many panel discussions in Corporate America — diverse candidate pool, hiring and retention practices, mentorship versus sponsorship, to name a few. But for Spire General Counsel Sean Jamieson, DEI became a life-or-death matter in the summer of 2021 as a whopper regulatory battle put an existential threat to the existence of one of Spire’s natural gas pipelines. Critics thought Spire only designed its STL Pipeline project to line its own pockets. Jamieson and Spire viewed the pipeline as a means to diversify the natural gas source in eastern Missouri to lower the cost of delivering reliable energy to the people who need it the most: a widely vulnerable, underrepresented customer base.
“This would have been bad for our business. But it would have been terrible for people,” Jamieson said. “I had spent the months before working with the technical analysts and modeling what it would mean if we didn’t have this pipeline, the number of customers we would potentially lose. I learned and internalized all the mechanics associated with what would actually happen.”
Jamieson’s sleepless, behind-the-scenes work to bring together diverse viewpoints to solve complex problems is why Spire’s STL Pipeline is still running. It’s also why he’s a finalist for the Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook’s 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. May 11, 2024Natalie Posgate
“This would have been bad for our business. But it would have been terrible for people,” Jamieson said. “I had spent the months before working with the technical analysts and modeling what it would mean if we didn’t have this pipeline, the number of customers we would potentially lose. I learned and internalized all the mechanics associated with what would actually happen.”
Jamieson’s sleepless, behind-the-scenes work to bring together diverse viewpoints to solve complex problems is why Spire’s STL Pipeline is still running. It’s also why he’s a finalist for the Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook’s 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. May 11, 2024Natalie Posgate
Expert Voices
Mother’s Day: Shared Experiences and Support - In honor of Mother’s Day, Sidley Austin associate Tayler Bragg discusses why the holiday hits differently for her this year as someone expecting and how she feels supported by colleagues. May 11, 2024Tayler Bragg
Texas Business Courts Are Almost Here, And Other Texas Entity Governance Legislation Has Already Arrived - On Sept. 1, the Texas business court will commence accepting the filing of new cases within its jurisdiction. Certain other bills passed in the 2023 Texas Legislature have already gone into effect are summarized in this article and will affect the governance of entities in Texas. May 8, 2024Daryl Robertson
Stories You Might’ve Missed
- Brister, Gunn, Matthews Among Applicants for TX Business Court and 15th Court of Appeals - Twenty lawyers, including several former Texas appellate and trial court judges, have applied for appointment to the newly created business courts and intermediate appellate court. They include prominent figures such as former Texas Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister, appellate specialist David Gunn and Houston MDL Judge Sylvia Matthews. Five candidates from the Texas AG’s office also are seeking positions. Gov. Abbott will appoint the judges and justices, who begin hearing cases in September. The Texas Lawbook obtained the applications through a public information request. February 1, 2024Janet Elliott