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BWEL — A Creative Partnership that Enhances the Entire Legal Community - Chevron Phillips Assistant GC Cheryl-Lynne Davis and Baker Botts associate Teresa Jones — both women of color and lawyers who specialize in environmental law — shared Thanksgiving dinner in 2023. Over turkey and all the fixings, Davis and Jones discussed professional struggles they faced and together started working on a solution that now benefits some of the largest corporations in South Texas.
“What started as a casual conversation quickly became a shared mission: to create space for people like us to build community, exchange knowledge and uplift one another,” Jones said.
The seeds Davis and Jones sowed that day led to the creation of Black Women in Energy and Environmental Law, an organization that focuses on their professional purpose as lawyers and personal mission to support and ensure the wellness of Black women engaged in energy and environmental law. BWEL has witnessed tremendous success in the 16 months since it was founded. ACC Houston and The Texas Lawbook are honoring Davis, Jones and the members of BWEL with the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Creative Partnership. May 12, 2025
Julia Wright ‘Sets the Example for All General Counsel Globally’ - Julia Wright was a third grader when she did a book report on Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. “I didn’t know women could be lawyers until I read that book,” Wright told The Texas Lawbook. “I knew then that it was what I wanted to do. Throughout the 1980s, my dad would cut out newspaper articles showing the data of increased enrollment in law schools of women, showing me it was possible.” Forty-two years later, Wright is the general counsel at ChampionX, where she is one of two finalists for the 2025 Houston General Counsel of the Year Award for a Midsized Legal Department. May 6, 2025Expert Voices
A Guide to the Texas Mechanic’s Lien Process for In-House Counsel and Business Litigators - Lawyers should understand the steps in the mechanic's lien process so that they can prevent or resolve issues related to unpaid work that could expose the company to financial risks, like lien foreclosure or delays in project completion. Preventing or resolving these issues early can affect a company's bottom line. With careful drafting, corporate in-house counsel and savvy business lawyers may be able to add lien release language into any construction contracts the company enters, thus avoiding potential financial risk and general legal exposure all together. May 6, 2025
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Texas Firm Headcount Inched Up 1% in 2024 - Big corporate law firms operating in Texas dramatically slowed their hiring in 2024, adding the fewest new lawyers since the pandemic year of 2020. The 50 largest law firms doing business in Texas grew, on average, by only two attorneys last year — down from an average of four in 2023, according to new data compiled as part of the Texas Lawbook 50 annual firm business review. And that number is skewed due to the significant headcount growth of four law firms — Jackson Walker, Kirkland & Ellis, Paul Hastings and Sheppard Mullin. Remove those four firms and the average firm in Texas witnessed a lawyer headcount decline in 2024. April 28, 2025
