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, 2025 Mark Curriden & Jason Philyaw

Maverick Natural Resources’ Sarah Payne is ‘Like Having a Cheat Code Against the Other Side’

Sarah Payne went to college and graduate school to be a journalist covering the music industry with the dream of writing for Rolling Stone. Her father, then a Houston trial lawyer, had other ideas. “I was worn down by my tenacious father over the course of two decades,” Payne told The Texas Lawbook. “My entering the profession was likely inescapable. It’s in my veins for better or worse." Payne recently led her employer, Maverick Natural Resources, to a huge courtroom victory after a four-year contract dispute with XTO Energy regarding revenue sharing as part of a joint venture. Citing the jury trial success, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Lawbook named Payne the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award recipient for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.

May 5, 2025 Mark Curriden & Jason Philyaw

Former PepsiCo GC Leanne Oliver Joins Phillips Murrah

Oliver achieved many successes during her nearly three decades at PepsiCo and was promoted six times. She successfully defended the multinational food and beverage company against major class-action lawsuits, led strategic corporate acquisitions, and developed innovative employment policies and management training programs. Ex-PepsiCo General Counsel Larry Thompson told The Texas Lawbook in a 2021 profile of Oliver that, “No one really knows PepsiCo as well as Leanne. She has brought enormous value to the company and to the entire legal profession.”

May 5, 2025 Brooks Igo

2025 Houston Corporate Counsel’s Lifetime Achievement and Rookie of the Year Awards

Sylvia Kerrigan and Ernest Kohnke have been corporate in-house counsel for 25 years. Kathryn Hand and Gillian Hobson have been in-house for less than two years. All four of them will be honored at the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards.

April 29, 2025 Mark Curriden

2025 Houston General Counsel, Corporate Legal Departments of the Year Announced

The general counsel and chief legal officers of Transocean, Hines Real Estate, Microvast Holdings, ChampionX, LGI Homes and Applied Optoelectronics have been selected by the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook as finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards for General Counsel of the Year. And the in-house lawyers at Phillips 66 and Talen Energy are finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Legal Department of the Year.

April 21, 2025 Mark Curriden

Houston Corporate Counsel Awards for M&A Transaction, Business Litigation of the Year

The awards for Business Litigation and M&A Transaction are unique in that they recognize both the in-house counsel and the outside lawyers who worked on the matters. Finalists include in-house lawyers from Marathon Oil, Waste Management, Baker Hughes, and McDermott.

April 17, 2025 Mark Curriden

2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists Unveiled

Energy and infrastructure dominated a significant portion of the corporate legal work of Texas lawyers in 2024. Calpine, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Energy Transfer, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Phillips 66, Shell and Weatherford International all played integral roles. So, it should not be a surprise that corporate in-house counsel for these companies are among the finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards, which recognizes the legal and business successes achieved by lawyers employed by these iconic companies.

April 9, 2025 Mark Curriden

P.S. — Toyota and Baker Botts Bring Legal Aid — and Laughter — to Exploited Victims

For several weeks that a woman found refuge at Dallas’ New Friends New Life for formerly trafficked and sexually exploited victims, the staff hadn’t seen a small measure of her joy: laughter.

Finally, at a pro bono legal intake clinic with attorneys from Toyota North America and Baker Botts, staffers caught a glimmer of hope as they heard the woman laugh after receiving legal aid. It was a moment that resonated with the staff and the volunteer lawyers, said Scott Young, managing counsel of Toyota North America in Plano.

“That is more than just turning a page,” Young said. “That’s like freeing her from her limitations.”

March 14, 2025 Krista Torralva

Catching Up with New D&B CLO Rudy Rodriguez

Rudy Rodriguez recently found a new home with another strong brand with a fiercely loyal customer base serving kids and families. He spoke with The Lawbook about his move.

March 7, 2025 Brooks Igo

Remembering Lynn Bozalis — ‘Such a Vivid Light Now Gone’

Texas General Counsel Forum CEO Lynn Switzer Bozalis lost her battle with cancer. She was 60. North Texas Tollway Authority GC Dena Stroh said Bozalis "brought energy, good humor and drive to succeed. FullSpeed Automotive General Counsel Kelvin Sellers said she “had such an incredible spirit” and is “a big reason for the success of the Forum.” And Halliburton CLO Van Beckwith said Bozalis was "the consummate leaders’ leader. She brought an extraordinary excellence to every situation. Lynn simply made life better."

March 7, 2025 Mark Curriden