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The 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards – A ‘Spectacular Evening’ in Words and Pictures

Halliburton GC Robb Voyles stepped to the podium to accept his award for General Counsel of the Year and saw a photo of himself on the ballroom’s big screen. "I'm not getting this award for picture of the year obviously,” Voyles told the audience at the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards. ACC Houston and The Texas Lawbook honored 14 corporate legal departments and their lawyers. The Lawbook has exclusive details and photos from the event.

Mark Curriden

Buc-ee’s & Tracy Richardson – Business Litigation of the Year

In a trademark lawsuit that began with a coffee cup plopped on his desk, Tracy Richardson led the charge to protect the distinctive Buc-ee's beaver grin from corporate copycats and poachers. Now, he and Buc-ee's are winners in the Business Litigation of the Year category of the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards. Read Mark Curriden's account of this award-winning litigation.

Mark Curriden

ConocoPhillips’ Shannon Kinney: Persuasion through Engagement

Shannon Kinney is an exceptional lawyer. But her development of creative ways to interact with stockholders has made her an expert in investor relations. As a result, she is a finalist for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department in the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards.

Mark Curriden

Baker Hughes and Bracewell Fend Off A Patent Challenge

Eleven years ago, Baker Hughes hired an innovation firm to design for them a motor-based safety valve for use in their wells. Once the valve was developed, one of the designers claimed the patent as his own. In-house patent attorney Anthony Matheny and a team from Bracewell used a lot of law and a good deal of finesse to fend off the claim. Now Baker Hughes, Matheny and the Bracewell attorneys are finalists for Business Litigation of the Year in the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards.

Natalie Posgate

Kraton’s Jay Simmons: The Success of a Failed English Major

As a young man, Jay Simmons envisioned himself teaching college students about great literature. But when he realized that academia was not for him, Simmons turned to the law. And now he's a finalist for General Counsel of the Year for a Mid-size Legal Department in the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards. Mark Curriden has the story of his remarkable transition.

Mark Curriden

Shell Oil Exploring and Producing Diversity and Inclusion

Matthew Coward and Belinda Senneway of Shell Oil are keepers of the diversity torch first lit at the energy giant by the legendary Cathy Lamboley. Lamboley retired in 2010, but Coward and Senneway have kept strong the push for diversity at Shell, and are consensus winners of the Diversity Award in the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards.

Mark Curriden

Amber Shushan Brings Mega-Litigation Experience to PetroChina

Early in her career, Amber Shushan was a senior counsel at a law firm representing Transocean, which owned the 2010 BP-operated Macondo Prospect. As a result, she was in a position to glean great knowledge from the plethora of lawsuits and disputes that resulted from the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. Now she's advising global energy giant PetroChina on how to avoid that kind of economic and public relations disaster. She's also a finalist for Senior Legal Counsel of the Year in the 2019 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards.

Mark Curriden

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