© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden
(Jan. 26) – Exxon Mobil Upstream General Counsel William “Bill” Buck is retiring from the legal department of the world’s largest oil and gas operation after 36 years.
Charles A. “Chip” Casey, who is Exxon Mobil’s chief attorney over its production division, is replacing Buck. And those are some big shoes for Casey to fill. Casey is a 1990 graduate of Rutgers University Law School. He has served Exxon Mobil in several roles, but records show he has specialized in labor, employment and healthcare law issues.
Buck, Balagia and former Exxon GC Charles Matthews are widely regarded as legendary in-house lawyers in the corporate legal world. The trio is also known within legal circles for their generous contributions to the legal profession and their commitment to pro bono and diversity.
“For some lawyers, pro bono is something they have to support as part of their jobs. For Bill, the commitment to pro bono is genuine and deep,” says LyondellBasell Chief Legal Officer Jeffrey Kaplan, who is chair of the Texas General Counsel Forum’s Houston Chapter.
“Bill’s contributions to the pro bono services offered in Houston and Harris County are immeasurable,” Kaplan told The Texas Lawbook. “He brings both a keen legal eye and a very warm heart to the business of pro bono.”
Kaplan and others who worked with Buck on the Houston Bar Foundation board mention his passion for the legal profession and public service.
“Bill is an outstanding leader with extraordinary judgment, an unassuming style and a heart for community service,” says Gibbs & Bruns Partner Barrett Reasoner, who served on the HBF board with Buck. “He has the ability to quickly examine competing interests and come to a solution that people on all sides respect.”
A graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law, Buck joined Mobil Oil in 1981. When Exxon and Mobil merged in 1999, he joined the combined legal departments. He served in multiple legal and business roles, including chief attorney of the energy giant’s chemical division and general counsel of its operations in Norway. He became general counsel of Exxon Mobil’s Upstream Companies in April 2012.
Exxon Mobil legal department declined to comment on Buck’s retirement, but former colleagues and lawyers who have worked with him say they expect he will take a much-deserved vacation and then get involved in a handful of public service and pro bono projects, which are his true passion.
In 2015, the Houston Bar Foundation named Buck as its chairman. The HBF is the charitable arm of the Houston Bar Association and provides funding to pro bono legal services for low-income Texans.
“Bill was a great leader that lead by his example and commitment to access to justice for everyone even those broken by life’s circumstances and could not otherwise afford much needed legal representation,” says EOG Resources General Counsel Michael P. Donaldson, who served on the HBF board with Buck.
“Not only did he lead the Houston Bar Foundation on its essential mission, Bill was on the front lines of providing access to justice for our veterans and other in need of legal assistance,” Donaldson says.
In an interview with The Texas Lawbook in 2015, Buck said, “All attorneys – whether they work in-house, at large law firms or law firms new to Houston – have pro bono obligations.
“We in-house lawyers are more than capable of handling some of these pro bono needs,” he said. “In-house lawyers are lawyers, too, and we need to get out there and do our fair share.”
Buck said he became involved in legal services for the poor through his oil company’s internal pro bono efforts. He specifically praised Exxon Mobil colleague Susan Sanchez, who leads the company’s pro bono efforts.
“I would not be here without Susan,” he said.
As a member of the Tahirih Justice Center Advisory Council in Houston, Buck said he is particularly interested in pro bono legal needs for poor and abused women and children who are immigrants. Tahirih helps scores of women annually who are victims of the most horrible abuse, including female genitalia cutting, torture, human trafficking and rape.
“These are women who have no place else to go,” he said.
Buck also focused heavily on funding programs that assist military veterans who desperately need legal assistance but do not have the money to hire a lawyer.
“Lawyers can have an immediate impact on the lives of these men and women,” he said. “There are soldiers who need our help now.”
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