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, 2024 Allen 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, 2024 Natalie Posgate

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, 2024 Michelle Casady

Sara-Ashley Moreno ‘Takes Ownership of Every Aspect of Her Job’

In the three and a half years since joining Cardinal System Holdings, General Counsel Sara-Ashley Moreno has led several significant and highly complex financial transactions, including three projects in 2023. Some of the projects, such as an $185 million hybrid/synthetic lease structure in Florida, are highly complex because Cardinal’s holdings span across operators, real estate and venture investments. Citing her extraordinary work in 2023, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook named Moreno a finalist for the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Solo Legal Department.

May 8, 2024 Mark Curriden

Mitsui GC Linda Primrose’s ‘Trailblazing Leadership a Precedent for Future Generations’

Linda Primrose has a passion for education. It is in her genes. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master’s degree in environmental sciences, a law degree and a senior executive program certificate from the London Business School. “I love to learn … and would gladly still be in school obtaining additional degrees,” Primrose told The Texas Lawbook. “Unfortunately, that isn’t practical.”

Primrose discovered the second best thing: Being a lawyer at Mitsui & Co., an international company with 10 business divisions ranging from iron and steel products, mineral and metal resources and infrastructure projects to mobility business, foods and retail, wellness and IT and communication. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Primrose a finalist for the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department.

May 3, 2024 Mark Curriden

Life After Lockstep: Understanding In-House Counsel Compensation

Law firm associates are often surprised at the lack of compensation transparency for in-house positions — particularly in states like Texas where disclosure is not required. But understanding a typical in-house counsel compensation package is a crucial part of considering a transition from a law firm to a corporate legal department.

May 2, 2024 Danielle Kruger

Updated: ‘One Day Stands Out’ for Retiring Southwest CLO Mark Shaw

Mark Shaw has witnessed a lot of crises and successes during his 24 years as a lawyer for Southwest Airlines, but the day that stands out most is Sept. 13, 2001. “I will never forget seeing that first flight after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 taking off from Love Field,” Shaw told The Texas Lawbook in an interview Thursday. “It had been a horrible, tragic few days, but American flags were everywhere and seeing the spirit of everyone moving forward was amazing.”

Southwest announced Wednesday that Shaw, 61, is resigning as the company’s chief legal and chief regulatory officer on May 31 for family reasons. Shaw, who has been the general counsel since 2013, will remain with the company in an executive advisory role.

May 2, 2024 Mark Curriden

TGS GC Tana Pool is a ‘Leader by Example’

Tana Pool is a self-described “small town girl.” The adopted daughter of Texas panhandle cotton farmers, she had never traveled outside the U.S. before becoming a lawyer. Then, a decade ago, Pool became the general counsel of a global Norwegian-based energy data and intelligence corporation that has a $1.7 billion market cap. She now has offices in Oslo, London and Houston. She is doing M&A deals around the world.

During her 17 years at TGS and Quanta Services, Pool has done more than a dozen acquisitions and joint ventures, negotiated more than $1 billion in credit facilities and is now on the verge of closing TGS' largest M&A transaction — the acquisition of Oslo-headquartered Petroleum Geo Services (PGS) for 9.3 billion Norwegian crowns (roughly $864 million) in a merger of equals. Recognizing her long list of extraordinary achievements, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are awarding Pool with the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.

May 1, 2024 Mark Curriden

Ascend’s Adel Sander Ensures Women are ‘Not Just a Pretty Face at the Counsel Table’

Adel Sander has been driven to succeed and advocate for others from the time she could talk to present day as director and deputy general counsel at Ascend Performance Materials. As a 2-year-old growing up in Baku, Azerbaijan, she pointed out to her mom that her dad in fact did split some of the domestic labor by going to the market every week. As an in-house lawyer, she bats for women and diverse professionals every day, whether it’s a new mom needing a part-time schedule, a female outside lawyer up for partner, a father who wants to spend more time with his newborn or a job applicant shunned by other employers because of their criminal history.

“I really, really like to push people into being promoted to the next level and to give people opportunity,” she said. “At one point or another, someone gave me an opportunity, so I like to return the favor.”

Sander is one of three finalists for the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston chapter and The Texas Lawbook’s 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. This is her story.

April 30, 2024 Natalie Posgate

GC Hugo Testé is ‘an Indispensable, Hands-on Resource’ for Vopak

As a first-year lawyer at Mayer Brown in Houston, Hugo Testé was given a case that his partner told him he was "going to lose.” His new client was a 19-year-old Honduran mom and her three-year-old daughter seeking asylum. The son of Cuban immigrants, Testé said the case hit home right away. “After one meeting with my clients I knew that I couldn't afford to lose,” he said.

Nineteen years later, Testé is the general counsel of Vopak, where he has guided the chemical, oil and gas and biofuels storage corporation through numerous transformation transactions. Testé’s 2023 successes are the reason that the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring him with the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department (less than five lawyers).

April 29, 2024 Mark Curriden