Methodist’s Ashley Yen Excels in a Challenging Year for Healthcare

Ashley Yen was in kindergarten when she drew a picture of herself in the future: a stick figure of herself in a suit and glasses holding a briefcase, “I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer,” said Yen, who is associate in-house counsel and assistant vice president at Methodist Health System. She is one of the youngest and arguably the most important in-house counsel in North Texas in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of Yen, Methodist was one of the first hospitals in DFW to administer the vaccine.

May 7, 2021 Mark Curriden

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.”

May 5, 2021 Mark Curriden

‘Head First Into the Fire’

At 35, Ricky Torlincasi is one of the youngest GCs in the oil patch. He’s been on the job at Blackbeard Operating less than two years, but he's already helped integrate three mergers, led the acquisitions of Anadarko Basin assets from BP and ConocoPhillips’ legacy Waddell Ranch, and the divestitures of assets in Oklahoma and South Texas. Then there's the litigation he's handled.

Torlincasi's successes have him as a finalist for the 2020 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel’s Rookie of the Year Award.

May 3, 2021 Mark Curriden

Todd Barton: A ‘Steady Hand’ at Fannie Mae

Imagine a law practice in which you serviced tens of thousands of real estate transactions annually and oversaw the litigation in thousands of cases a year. Welcome to the world of Fannie Mae Deputy GC Todd Barton and his team, who provide legal support for all properties in the U.S. that are acquired by Fannie Mae in foreclosure.
How does he do it? The answer rests in the fact that Barton is the recipient of the 2020 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award for Innovation. The Texas Lawbook has his story.

April 28, 2021 Mark Curriden

‘The Most Heartbreaking Situation of My Life’

No corporate in-house counsel saw her or his world turned upside down any faster or more severely because of the Covid-19 pandemic than CEC Entertainment CLO Rudy Rodriguez. The 741 Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper restaurants in 47 states were shut down within days last March, thousands of workers were furloughed and then came bankruptcy.

The situation required extraordinary legal work, strong leadership and a tender heart. Rodriguez provided it. CEC survived and is poised to thrive. And Rodriguez, as a result, is a finalist for the 2020 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department. This is his story.

April 26, 2021 Mark Curriden

Five Reasons Why It’s Time to Disrupt Your eDiscovery Model – and Get Fit for the Future

Many legal departments have suddenly found their security posture to be off-strategy, potentially raising their exposure for any future incident. A cybersecurity, privacy and forensics expert at PwC outlines the reasons why corporates should move from a provider-centric eDiscovery model to a security-centric one.

March 23, 2021 Jeff Seymour

My Burden of Proof

Black lawyers, doctors, preachers and educators have always been held in high regard in the African American community. People root for us because we represent the infinite possibilities that were once not afforded to those who look like me. This is a responsibility I don’t take lightly. And for me, this burden transcends the courtroom.

February 26, 2021 Sean C. Villery-Samuel

From Grandparents and Quarterbacking: Lessons in Education & Adversity

From both a law firm and corporate perspective, the goal of increasing diversity really should be narrowly focused on diversifying the top of the structure (equity partners, C-suite executives and general counsels) through purposeful hiring, development and retention programs. Even the corporations and law firms at the forefront of diversity and inclusion remain homogenous and white at the top of the structure. The ability to change that is truly 20 to 30 years away but achievable with focused initiatives by current leadership.

February 25, 2021 Joshua H. Harris

‘I’m An Example of Why Diversity Matters’

I’m asked on occasion if being a Black female has hindered my legal career. I try to be candid. My first thoughts are based on my experiences during trial. Like my “surprisingly” on-point trial briefs and arguments throughout trial that address important legal and appellate issues. My “surprisingly” well-thought-out charge objections, submissions and arguments. Why are my arguments surprising but not the other side’s?

February 17, 2021 Marie Jamison

“I, Too, Am America”

I was in ninth grade when I decided to become a lawyer. I wrote poetry for friends desperate to save their teetering high school flings and fell in love with the power of words and the art of persuasion. Little did I know that those poems, albeit far from the legal briefs I write today, were my launching pads into real advocacy.

February 11, 2021 Jervonne Newsome