Women in Law & Leadership: Houston

As a M&A and compliance attorney with nearly 20 years of experience spanning regulated and technology industries, Dianna Jones is a corporate Board Director and trusted C-suite thought partner. She serves on the board of Next Fifteen Communications Group plc (LSE: NFC), a tech and data-driven growth consultancy firm. Dianna is respected for her collaborative engagement style and brings expertise in global ethics and legal compliance program implementation, business risk mitigation in regulated environments for mature and scaling companies, and ESG. Dianna is Director, Legal Compliance at Uber Technologies, Inc. She was previously Regional Compliance Counsel–Western Hemisphere at John Wood Group plc, a global leader in engineering and technical consulting services for the energy and infrastructure industries. Before that, she was with the international law firm, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, where she advised national and multinational companies on complex M&A transactions, reorganizations, and restructurings. She received her B.B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and her Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Rachel Feiertag has nearly two decades of legal expertise with a strong focus on the energy sector, spanning domestic and international markets. Rachel’s experience includes energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives, power resiliency, utilities, and oil and gas exploration and production. As General Counsel at Concentric, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Rachel partners closely with business leaders to deliver practical, timely, and effective counsel. Rachel thrives in fast-paced environments, leveraging exceptional problem-solving and communication skills to drive innovation and achieve strategic objectives. Passionate about continuous improvement and technology, Rachel has implemented best practices and optimized processes to enhance efficiency and reduce costs, all while fostering a collaborative and inclusive work culture.

Ashley Fischer is the General Counsel for Tiff’s Treats, an ecommerce cookie delivery company headquartered in Austin, Texas.  Ashley is licensed to practice law in Texas and Oregon and is CIPP/US certified. Prior to joining Tiff’s Treats, Ashley worked in-house at H-E-B, a grocery retail company, Marathon Petroleum, a refining, logistics, and marketing company, and Sirius Computer Solutions, a technology value added reseller.  She got her start in law by working as outside counsel in a general practice firm.  Ashley graduated from Texas A&M University, College Station and St. Mary’s University School of Law.

Samantha Johnson is Senior Counsel at HP, where she provides legal advice and representation across complex corporate and business matters, supporting strategic legal needs within a leading global technology company. She earned her law degree from the University of Miami School of Law and is based in Houston, bringing deep experience in corporate counsel work within fast-moving commercial environments.

Francesca Perkins Austin currently serves as Senior Counsel, Associate Vice President at National Life Group, a diversified family of financial services companies offering life insurance, annuity and investment products.  In that role, she provides counsel on the development, administration, sales, marketing and distribution of fixed and variable life insurance and annuity products, including related regulatory and legislative issues.
Prior to joining NLG, Francesca worked in the Commercial Litigation group at BakerHostetler LLP.  In that role, she served as a key member of litigation team seeking worldwide asset recovery from financial institutions in hundreds of cases in connection with the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Securities LLC.  In addition, she represented large manufacturers, sellers, premises owners and contractors in product liability and construction litigation.  She also represented the Tort Creditors Committee in the PG&E Chapter 11 bankruptcy; measured by asset value, the largest ever public utility bankruptcy and the biggest in California.Francesca also had the opportunity to serve as a federal law clerk to United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York, The Honorable Andrew L. Carter and as a legal intern to The Honorable Ronald L. Ellis (retired), also of the Southern District of New York.Francesca received her undergraduate degree in History from Carleton College.  She earned her law degree from Fordham University of Law.

Monica Uddin is a trial lawyer and the hiring partner for AZA. She is a skilled trial lawyer who has represented energy companies and other businesses and individuals in a variety of complex commercial matters including contract disputes, partnership break ups, and trade secrets. With a
computer science background from Stanford University, she has also been active with AZA’s intellectual property and patent litigation team.
A University of Chicago Law School graduate, Ms. Uddin excels at framing her clients’ stories in a successful manner for juries and judges. She was named to the 2021 and 2022 lists of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for commercial litigation. This is a national peer review award developed by Best
Lawyers in America to target associates for their outstanding professional excellence early in their careers. She was also selected on the Texas Rising Stars’ lists for the 2013-2020 for her excellence in business litigation. These lists name the best Texas lawyers age 40 and younger or those who have practiced no more than 10 years.
She has tried cases in civil and bankruptcy courts, helped obtain favorable jury verdicts, won summary judgment in a multimillion-dollar case, and blocked TROs.

Hillary Holmes is a partner in the global law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Co-Chair of the firm’s Capital Markets practice group.  Hillary advises public and private corporations, private equity firms and investment banks on long-term and strategic capital raising.  She regularly counsels companies on disclosure and reporting obligations under federal securities laws, corporate governance and ESG issues. She frequently advises boards of directors, special committees, and financial advisors in transactions involving conflicts of interest or unique complexities. 

Hillary has been recognized as top of her field. She is the only woman and the youngest lawyer to be recognized by the premier legal review organization Chambers USA in the category that covers capital raising in the energy industry, receiving ranking in the highest level, as well as in the categories covering national oil and gas transactions and Texas corporate transactions.  She has also been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Finance, Banking and Capital Markets Trailblazer, a Most Effective Dealmaker by Texas Lawyer, a Woman Who Means Business by the Houston Business Journal, as well as by Who’s Who, the Legal 500, the Houston Bar Association, the Greater Houston Women’s Partnership, and the National Association of Women Attorneys, among others. 

Hillary regularly writes and speaks on topics relating to the capital markets, developments in securities regulation, ESG issues and the state of the energy industry, and she is Co-Editor of the academic blog the Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance Monitor.

Hillary demonstrates a strong commitment to providing free legal services to those who cannot otherwise afford to access them, particularly abused women and immigrant girls, and serves on the board of directors of several local nonprofits, including Houston Volunteer Lawyers and Harrison’s Heroes.

Hillary received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her Bachelor of Arts from Duke University. Hillary is a native Houstonian who loves to run marathons and watch Avengers movies  with her two active young sons and one lovable pug.

Gabriella Neal is a dual licensed attorney in Mexico and in the state of New York, with vast experience in the legal and compliance landscape for multinational companies while understanding the cultural nuances and business mindsets. Gabriella is currently the Global Sanctions & ITC Counsel, as well as Data Privacy Counsel for Halliburton while also assisting with investigations. She was the former Latin America Compliance Counsel and Sr Counsel for Mexico at Weatherford for 8 years. Prior to that she was at Halliburton for 11 years holding various positions including Counsel for Mexico and Northern Latin America Counsel. Gabriella holds an LLM degree from the University of Houston and the Universidad Anahuac of Mexico City and a law degree from the Tecnologico de Monterrey.

An industry-leading environmental attorney, Lisa Rushton guides corporate clients, including global, multi-national, and local corporations, real estate developers, financial institutions and investment funds on matters relating to federal, state, and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and was identified by Chambers as one of the leading environmental practitioners for business transactions. Lisa serves as Head of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group, Co-Head of the Energy and Natural Resources Sector and Head of the firm’s Renewable Energy Subsector.

With substantial experience in matters relating to air and water pollution control laws, solid and hazardous waste management and cleanup, toxic substance control laws and the development of “brownfield” properties, clients rely on Lisa’s guidance and due diligence to understand environmental issues attendant to corporate and real estate transactions, debt and equity financings, public offerings, and bankruptcy proceedings. She routinely assists buyers, sellers, lenders, borrowers, debtors, landlords and tenants with understanding and apportioning environmental liabilities; manages the environmental due diligence process; and drafts and negotiates contractual provisions covering environmental aspects of business and real estate transactions.

Lisa has more than thirty years of experience representing clients in environmental litigation and overseeing the investigation and remediation of site conditions. She counsels clients on compliance obligations and the implementation of environmental management systems and assists clients in the defense of claims relating to environmental liabilities and allegations of non-compliance. She has specific experience representing clients in such industries as:

• Energy generation and sale
• Waste management
• Real estate development
• Telecom
• Pharmaceutical
• Chemicals
• Adhesives and coating manufacturing
• Pulp and paper manufacturing
• Aluminum and steel mills, and
• Airport management

Lisa is described as “incredibly responsive, efficient, business-oriented and practical” by a client, who further highlights her ability to “parse through complicated environmental issues amazingly quickly and thoroughly.”

Lauren Brogdon is an energy litigation partner in Haynes Boone’s Houston office and chair of the firm’s Crisis Management Practice Group.

Lauren has significant experience representing corporations and individuals through all stages of crisis—from prevention, planning, and training to rapid response to long-term recovery. She specializes in mass tort litigation arising from catastrophic industrial accidents, suits related to hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas operations, and toxic torts involving chemical exposure and environmental contamination. She is a vocal advocate for women and working parents both at her firm and in the Houston legal community.

Sarah Gonzales (Wilson), CCP, PHR is Vice President of Global Total Rewards at Zendesk, where she leads compensation and benefits strategy for a global workforce, driving programs that support growth, performance, and talent experience across the organization. With deep expertise in total rewards and human resources in high-growth, high-change environments, she brings strategic insight into how organizations can align rewards, culture, and leadership to fuel success.

Leigha Simonton is a Partner in the Dallas office of Dykema Gossett, PLLC, where she founded and leads the southwest branch of the firm’s White Collar & Investigations practice, which is composed of the largest concentration of high-level DOJ alumni in Texas. Before joining Dykema, she spent nearly 20 years in the U.S. Department of Justice and held several management roles. In her last two years as a DOJ attorney, she served as a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed United States Attorney who led the Northern District of Texas, one of the largest districts in the nation. As U.S. Attorney, she was the top federal law enforcement official over 100 counties and almost 100,000 square miles. She is respected at the highest levels by fellow attorneys and courts as an expert strategist in investigations, trial, and appeals and thrives in fast-moving, high-stakes legal environments. She is also regarded as a specialist in Northern District of Texas practice and as one of the preeminent advocates in appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Prior to her government service, she clerked for two Texas judicial legends—Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn in the Northern District of Texas and Judge Patrick Higginbotham on the Fifth Circuit. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was Managing Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and a B.A. with highest honors from the University of Texas at Austin.