The Women, Diversity & Change Summit: Houston

Angela Di Blasi currently works at Tricon International, Ltd providing advice to General Counsel and management on corporate and commercial matters related to company's global business. Ms. Di Blasi drafts and negotiate contracts, provides advice and support on litigation or arbitration processes in Latin America, and engages outside counsel on a range of matters. She received her J.D. from Universidad Privada de Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

Jill Warren is the Supervising Attorney for the State of Texas for Mercury Insurance Group. Mercury has been named one of America’s best mid-size employers for 2017 and 2018. The company is the leading independent broker and agency writer of auto insurance in California. Since its inception, Mercury has branched out into other states across the country, as well as other lines of insurance. 

As Supervising Attorney, Jill is responsible for all house counsel litigation for the state. She manages an office of attorneys and staff based out of Austin, Texas. Her office represents Mercury insureds in litigation brought against them.  Jill is a graduate of Texas A&M University, South Texas College of Law and University of Houston MBA. 

Stacy L. Feltham is the Associate General Counsel for BHP Billiton’s Petroleum company, the global upstream oil and gas division of an integrated petroleum and mining company.  She leads a legal department that provides strategic guidance, delivers legal advice, and manages risk for BHP Billiton’s operations.  She is a trusted advisor on complex oil exploration, development and production ventures and has significant international government negotiation experience.  Before joining BHP Billiton, Stacy worked 10 years with ExxonMobil and before that a regional law firm in Canada.  Stacy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, a Law degree from the University of Alberta in Canada, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Long Island University in New York.  She has been a member of Boards and Committees for various legal associations such as the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, the Canadian Petroleum Law Foundation and the Corporate Counsel Association, and various charitable organizations such as Stages Repertory Theatre, the American Heart Association, the Kids Eat Smart Foundation and the Society for the Physically Disabled.  

Mary-Olga Lovett is a Senior Vice President of Greenberg Traurig, the Co-Regional Operating Shareholder of the firm’s Texas offices and is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Ms. Lovett concentrates her practice in intellectual property, commercial and complex litigation. In 2018, she was named one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas by Super Lawyers Magazine/Texas Monthly and one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Houston, and in 2016 she was named one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Texas. Ms. Lovett has served as national trial counsel for five companies on a variety of commercial and liability claims and has tried cases to verdict involving a wide variety of issues, including intellectual property/patent litigation, warranty disputes, trade-secrets, class actions, employment litigation, and product liability matters. She has tried cases in state and federal courts in more than twenty jurisdictions. She has also represented U.S. and international clients in appellate litigation before state and federal courts of appeal and the Texas Supreme Court. 

Some of Ms. Lovett’s most recent verdicts (all cases tried since 2011) - are: (1) defense verdict on behalf of Fortune 500 medical-device manufacturer in a lawsuit alleging fraudulent marketing practices (Harris County, Texas, 2011); (2) defense verdict on behalf of a Fortune 500 navigation-device manufacturer accused of patent infringement (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas - Marshall); (3) defense verdict in a bet-the-company class-action suit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act for the nation's largest provider of emergency medicine and ambulance services (United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas-Corpus Christi); (4) defense verdict and award of verdict on counterclaims on behalf of a national contract-management company in suit alleging indemnity and corporate negligence claims brought by a Philadelphia hospital system (Pennsylvania state court – Philadelphia); (5) defense verdict of non-infringement for the country’s leading consumer products company in lawsuit alleging willful patent infringement (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas – Marshall Division); (6) obtaining six years of attorneys’ fees for prevailing plaintiff in commercial case (Harris County, Texas) (7) a defense verdict of non-infringement for global medical device company (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas – Tyler Division); and (8) an award of $537 million and assets valued in excess of $1 billion in favor of client on alter ego claims in a dispute involving a global family energy company.

Mary-Olga is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation, Managing IP magazine's "IP Stars," in which she has been recognized as one of the “Top 250 Women in IP,” Texas Super Lawyers, in which she was recognized as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in Texas” in 2016, “Top 50 Woman Lawyers in Texas” in 2015 and 2016, and “Top 100 Lawyers in Houston” in 2014-2016; and Euromoney’s Guide to the Leading Women in Business Law (2014-2016); she was also short-listed for “Best in Patent” by in Euromoney in 2016. She is a nine-year member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the qualifications for which are a minimum of twenty first-chair jury trials to verdict and peer election. She has been asked to present demonstrations of voir dire and closing arguments at three American Bar Association national meetings, and frequently lectures on trial and appellate advocacy at accredited CLE programs.

Mary-Olga received her B.A. from Stephen F. Austin State University and her J.D. from the Houston College of Law (formerly South Texas College of Law.) She was the first person to hold the national titles in moot court for both the National Appellate Advocacy Competition (ABA) and the National Moot Court Competition (Association of the Bar of the City of New York/American College of Trial Lawyers).

Tamara is a broad practice commercial litigator and trial attorney. The breadth of her practice allows her to help clients develop creative and effective solutions to complex legal problems.  Tamara’s pre-lawyer experience in the aerospace industry and MBA education underpin her practice and drive her business-minded approach to solving legal issues.

Tamara’s practice includes government investigations, construction and real estate litigation, brand protection and unfair trade practices, contract disputes, entity breakups and shareholder disputes, fiduciary litigation, and tort defense.  She has helped clients protect several decisions on appeal and obtain reversal of a jury verdict, and has served as advisory counsel on lien and bond issues and other matters for companies operating across multiple states.  Tamara has handled matters in federal and state courts, arbitrations, and actions before regulatory and administrative agencies.

Like her practice, Tamara’s industry experience is broad and includes construction, real estate, power generation, electric utilities, technology, telecommunications, oil and gas, healthcare, manufacturing, and food and beverage, among others. The common element with Tamara’s representation is that she works closely with her client to achieve the best result for the client’s business.

Sara Bartel is Legal Counsel for Kony, Inc. a mobile application software and development company based in Austin, Texas.  In this role she provides legal guidance to management, and negotiates commercial contracts including software and IP licenses with Kony customers in the western United States and Latin America.  Ms. Bartel has taught CLEs on platform as a service agreements and transgender legal rights and has published an article on open source software licensing. Ms. Bartel devotes her personal time to activism and volunteer work in her home, Las Vegas, Nevada.  She serves on the Board of Directors for NV-CURE, a non-profit advocacy organization helping individuals and families impacted by the criminal justice system and acts as Legislative Chair for that organization.  Ms. Bartel is also a strong advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, providing pro-bono name and gender marker changes for transgender clients and over 100 hours per year of volunteer service for the Gay and Lesbian Center of Southern Nevada.  Ms. Bartel also serves on the steering committee for modernization and reform of Nevada’s HIV laws and is a certified advocate and trainer for the Center Advocacy Network, the first program of its kind in the United States to be accredited by the National Advocate Credentialing Program. Ms. Bartel received her J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law and her B.A. from Duquesne University, and is a licensed attorney in the states of Nevada and Pennsylvania. 

Michelle Anderson represents employers in all aspects of employment law in both state and federal courts, and before administrative agencies. Her practice focuses on representing employers against claims of unlawful discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, violations of leave and disability laws, and wage and hour related issues.

Michelle also litigates and advises employers on issues arising out of employee defection, including the prosecution and defense of claims involving non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, breaches of fiduciary duty and violations of trade secret laws.

Michelle provides guidance in the areas of employee handbooks, wage and hour compliance, policy and procedure development, and management training. Her entire legal career has focused on labor and employment law.

Michelle has participated in more than two dozen employment practices reviews; including large multi-state employee handbook and policy reviews that cover all 50 states. She has provided policy advice and evaluation to employers as small as five and to those with thousands of employees.

Her experience covers a variety of industries, including, but not limited to, staffing, healthcare, dentistry, production, manufacturing, restaurant, and hospitality. Michelle has also conducted wage and hour audits to determine proper employee classifications and payment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Prior to practicing law, Michelle had a successful career in workforce development where she operated employment and training programs for a private non-profit corporation under contracts from the Department of Labor (DOL), the Washington State Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED), and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

Michelle's background in executive management and workforce development has yielded practical knowledge and experience in addressing numerous workplace issues. Michelle has wide exposure to the challenges facing today's businesses and supervisors; ranging from compliance with state and federal employment requirements to hiring, training, evaluating, and retaining employees in an ever changing labor market.

Michelle was included in Louisiana Super Lawyers - Rising Stars in 2016.

Laura Alaniz is a Partner in Thompson Coe's Labor and Employment section. Her litigation experience provides a unique perspective in analyzing client's practices to reduce risk of claims. She regularly advises clients on compliance issues relating to employment-related laws and prevention of claims including counseling clients regarding leaves of absence, layoffs, unemployment compensation, employment handbooks and policies, and conducting employee and management training. Laura also represents businesses, non-profits, and their directors and officers in a variety of commercial disputes.

Cyndi Baily is a highly accomplished attorney and compliance professional with extensive experience and expertise across diverse legal fields including, health care and life sciences, corporate compliance, data privacy and information security, general commercial and contract law and contract management, employment law, federal and state contracts, non-profit and tax exemption, securities law and corporate governance, licensing and technology transfer, dispute resolution, negotiation and litigation management.

Her demonstrated strengths are in the health care and life sciences industries, in both general counsel and chief compliance officer roles, and the oversight of the internal audit, information privacy and security, policy, risk management as well as environmental health and safety functions.

She is a dynamic professional with broad supervisory experience involving both legal and non-legal professionals; served as part of the C-level suite in three large businesses; and worked with boards comprised of experienced business leaders throughout the US and the world.

Amy Holmes is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Scientific Drilling International, the country’s largest independent wellbore navigation and drilling solutions provider.  She has spent her career advising clients on complex global transactions and partnering with senior management on risk mitigation in a dynamic industry.  Prior to joining SDI, Amy served as Associate General Counsel of Champion Technologies.  Amy’s legal career began at Baker Botts L.L.P.  She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and Vanderbilt Law School.  The Houston Business Journal has recognized Amy as Best Deputy General Counsel as well as a 40 Under 40 honoree.

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.

Joyce Soliman leads the firm's Finance Section and chairs the Diversity Committee. She represents commercial banks, private equity sponsors, and other lenders in corporate finance transactions, including commercial loans, asset-based financings, syndicated credit facilities, project finance, letter of credit facilities, real estate loans, acquisition financings, leasing facilities, and energy and infrastructure finance.   She also advises target companies and purchasers in private company mergers and acquisitions.  Before joining Porter Hedges, Joyce served as Associate General Counsel in the legal department of a NYSE listed company at its corporate headquarters in Houston.

Ruthie White is a Principal in the Houston, Texas, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. With more than two decades of legal practice and business experience, she combines legal expertise with a sound business sense to resolve employment disputes in and out of court.

Ms. White has a consistent track record of winning favorable decisions in discrimination, harassment and retaliation cases as well as defending clients in the energy, banking, technology, retail, health care and construction sectors.

Her broad in-house and outside-counsel knowledge is invaluable in advising employers on a wide range of labor and employment issues. These include drafting of employment policies and procedures, investigation of alleged employee misconduct, implementation of disciplinary and job performance procedures and development of selection criteria for reductions in force. She has presented numerous specially tailored employment law seminars for supervisors and managers geared to meet the needs of individual clients.

Ms. White has served as an adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law and on the boards of several non-profit organizations. She is a founder of The Downtown Group, a 200-member networking organization of African-American female lawyers, and contributes pro bono legal services to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program.

Ms. White is a frequent speaker at Continuing Legal Education seminars hosted by law schools and bar associations across Texas.

Jamie Carsey is a Senior Director at Markel, where she oversees the extra-contractual litigation against the company.  Prior to joining Markel, Jamie was a partner with the law firm Thompson, Coe, Cousins and Irons, where her practice focused on insurance coverage matters and breach of contract and bad faith litigation, including trials, in multiple jurisdictions.  

Victoria Lazar is Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Counsel and Secretary for TechnipFMC (NYSE: FTI, Paris: FTI), where she is responsible for all aspects of legal and compliance matters.  TechnipFMC is one of the world’s leading energy companies, generating approximately $13b in revenue in 2019. 

She was most recently Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for the Bristow Group, the world’s largest industrial aviation company, where she was responsible for legal, compliance and risk management, leading Bristow through a successful emergence from Ch 11 restructuring and merger with Era Group to consolidate the industry.

Before joining Bristow, Victoria held various executive roles at General Electric, including general counsel of GE Oil & Gas - Drilling, Production and Surface and executive counsel for M&A at General Electric Corporate. She also held various executive and legal roles at Electronic Data Systems Corporation, including Legal Manager and Counsel – Corporate Acquisitions & Finance. She began her legal career at BakerBotts, specializing in capital markets, global commerce and M&A transactions.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Government from Cornell University and a doctor of jurisprudence degree from The Law School at the University of Chicago. She is on the Board and incoming President – Houston of the Texas General Counsel Forum.  She also holds leadership positions in several organizations dedicated to the professional advancement of women including 2020WomenOnBoards and The Fourth Floor.

Krystal Hunter is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for The Brock Group (“Brock”). She joined Brock in 2015, which is an international specialty multi-craft service provider for routine maintenance, turnarounds and capital projects to heavy industrial clients. She has global responsibility for the legal, risk management and commercial real estate functions for the business. 

Prior to her tenure at Brock, Ms. Hunter was Assistant General Counsel at TCPN (acquired by Provista in 2015), during which time she managed their litigation, procurement, construction management related services, government contracting issues and provided legal support to the Board of Directors.

She has extensive experience in contract drafting, mergers and acquisitions, business restructuring, commercial real estate, corporate governance, complex litigation, and labor and employment matters.

Ms. Hunter holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver, and a Bachelor’s degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Erin England represents some of the world’s largest institutions in connection with structuring and negotiating domestic and international complex commercial transactions.

Erin navigates her clients through the complexities of commercial transactions, with an emphasis on credit facilities to private equity funds and REITs secured by the capital commitments of fund investors, mergers and acquisitions financing, general corporate matters, and a variety of real estate transactions, including construction loans and leasing matters.

A devoted advocate to diversity in the legal community, Erin is the co-chair of the Haynes and Boone Women’s Initiatives Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association. Erin is also on the Board of the Town North YMCA, and is an active member of the Leadership Dallas Alumni Association, the Women’s Finance Exchange of Dallas, where she served on the Board for two consecutive terms, and the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Women's Leadership Council.

Porche Jones is a Talent Manager at Legility. She focuses on placing legal professionals with clients throughout Texas and Northwest Arkansas. Porche has been in the legal recruiting profession since 2014, specializing in placing top legal talent with in-house and law firm clients across the country. 

Porche is a graduate of Spelman College and LSU, Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Prior to becoming a legal recruiter, Porche clerked for Louisiana Supreme Court Justice, John Weimer. She also spent time as a researcher for the Louisiana State Legislative Bureau. Immediately following law school, Porche entered the legal recruiting profession. She resides in Houston, TX. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling with her husband and daughter.

Kelly is a Partner at Fragomen’s Houston office, where she represents clients across a variety of industries, including the international energy sector, manufacturing, information technology, finance and shipping. She guides corporations in the development and implementation of strategic immigration policies and advises U.S. and international clients on immigration issues related to corporate restructuring including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and start-ups. Kelly has a broad range of experience in all areas of employment immigration, including nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, labor certifications, and family-based cases and citizenship.

Kelly has in-depth experience working within Houston’s international energy sector, primarily focusing on large volume corporate immigration, including management of both U.S. immigration and global migration. She has more than 20 years of experience counseling clients in U.S. Outer Continental Shelf compliance, particularly focusing on assisting international corporations in vessel exemptions, specialist work authorizations and crew member exemptions.

Paula Narcisse is Surface Production Systems Counsel for Schlumberger.  As Surface Production Systems Counsel, Paula manages legal upstream operational related matters for the Surface Production System’s business line globally. Specifically, Paula serves as a trusted legal advisor to key business stakeholders regarding various issues including, assisting in the development and implementation of strategic goals of the business line, minimizing risk of loss, meeting financial goals, forming strategic corporate relationships, managing key litigation matters, and identifying and mitigating legal risks. Surface Production Systems generates over $1billion in annual revenues. 

Prior to her role as Surface Production Systems Counsel, Paula served as (i) Senior Legal Counsel, North America Land and North America Offshore for Cameron Group, and (ii) General Counsel for Cameron's Surface Systems Business Unit. 

Prior to joining Schlumberger, as a result of its acquisition of Cameron International Corporation, Paula worked at other companies including Select Energy Services, LLC, where she acted as Assistant General Counsel.  In that capacity, she primarily (i) created, developed and implemented the Contracts Management process, (ii) managed all joint venture transactions, (iii) advised clients on related legal matters regarding the North American shale play, (iv) acted as Interim Corporate Secretary, and (v) prepared and negotiated varies commercial agreements.     

Paula also worked at ConocoPhillips Company. At ConocoPhillips, Paula served as Senior Counsel. She managed all related legal work for the following North American downstream business units: Brand Management, Retail, Credit Card Enterprise, Real Estate, Procurement, Wholesale Marketing, and Aviation. In addition, Paula managed major capital projects including acting as lead counsel for many multimillion dollar business transactions.

Paula earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Xavier University of Louisiana.  She also completed the S. M. U. Law Program held at  Oxford University, University College, in Oxford, England. She enjoys spinning, reading and spending quality time with her family. 

Lara serves as Assistant General Counsel for Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. (commonly called Universal or Universal Weather).  She has been with Universal since June 2009.  Universal is a Houston, Texas-based company providing products and services for general aviation worldwide. Its customers include owners and operators of business jets.  

Universal offers trip support services, flight planning, weather briefings and graphics, aircraft datalink services using ACARS or SATCOM, aircraft and crew scheduling software, named FlightPak, online trip planning services, aircraft fueling card services (named UVair), and aircraft ground handling services through worldwide fixed-base operators (FBOs), named Universal Aviation.

Lara works closely with Universal's business development group on both domestic and international M&A matters and joint ventures. She also works closely with the following Universal departments on a variety of matters, including but not limited to, contract review and negotiation, litigation matters, credit and collection matters and general corporate matters: (1) Fuels, (2) Accounting/Finance, (3) Global Finance and Treasury, (4) Credit and Bankruptcy Support, (5) Air Culinaire Worldwide (the catering subsidiary of Universal), (6) Human Resources, (7) Sales and (8) Global Compliance.  Lara also oversees the Insurance Risk Department.

Prior to Universal, Lara worked as an Associate for 6 years with Vinson & Elkins law firm in Houston.  Lara's practice focused primarily on the representation of both borrowers and lenders in secured and unsecured lending transactions, with a concentration on transactions in the energy industry. Lara also represented domestic and foreign clients in mergers and acquisitions and other complex transactions.  Lara served on the Houston Recruiting Committee from 2006 to 2007. 

In September of 2013, Lara was named a finalist in the Up-and-Comer Category by the Houston Business Journal for Best Corporate Counsel Awards. 

Phillina A. Lai is Vice President, General Counsel of Tellurian Inc.. She is responsible for leadership of the legal issues in all business transactions, acquisitions, divestments, operations and risk management across Tellurian’s upstream, midstream and gas supply businesses.  Tellurian is developing an integrated LNG project including upstream gas production facilities, gas pipelines and a LNG liquefaction terminal in Louisiana. Once complete, the terminal will be able to export up to 27.6 mtpa of LNG per year to customers worldwide. Tellurian’s strategy is to secure low-cost natural gas, design/construct low-cost liquefaction and deliver reliable and flexible LNG to a portfolio of global customers.

Prior to Tellurian, Phillina held leadership roles in the legal departments at BP America and BHP Billiton.  At BHP Billiton, she served as Managing Counsel of onshore upstream petroleum assets, with primary responsibility for overseeing all corporate mergers, joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures, in addition to midstream and supply transactions.  At BP, she served as Senior Counsel of BP America’s Lower 48 onshore business where she managed all legal aspects for the Midcontinent (TX/OK) business unit as well as the business development, acquisition and divestment functions for BP Lower 48.  Phillina started her legal career with the firm of Vinson & Elkins, LLP in Houston, Texas, where she concentrated in domestic and international equity and asset transactions.  Phillina earned her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and her M.A. and B.A. from Stanford University, where she studied Biology and Sociology.  Before starting her legal career, Phillina spent time as a global strategy management consultant with Strategic Decisions Group in Silicon Valley, helping a broad mix of companies make significant improvements to their performance and realize their goals.  Phillina was recognized by the Association of Corporate Counsel and Houston Business Journal as Outstanding In-house Counsel in 2015.  She currently serves as a board member of the Association of Corporate Counsel, Houston chapter.

Gabriela Espinoza is currently Legal Counsel for Sulzer Turbo Services Houston, Inc. and provides advice to Senior Management, including Division Presidents and Vice-Presidents, as well as Global Corporate Officers on a wide range of corporate and commercial matters related to company’s domestic and international business.  Sulzer is a global industry leader with reliable solutions for the oil and gas, power, and water markets.  From its beginnings in Winterthur, Switzerland, back in 1834, Sulzer has greatly evolved to become a currently publicly traded company with international subsidiaries.  

Gabriela has vast experience in legal counseling and contract negotiation, ranging from domestic to international issues around the globe, and engages outside counsel when necessary.  With a proven track record of working in direct relation with the oil & gas industry, Gabriela has been able to actively negotiate and close Contracts generating great revenue for the Company in one single transaction as well as in complex multi-jurisdictional, multi-language, transactional endeavors.  She received her Master of Laws Degree from University of Houston in year 2008.

In her spare time, she greatly enjoys spending time with her three kids and husband, traveling or just relaxing enjoying a good dinner and a movie. 

Since joining the firm, Betsy Jackson has practiced in the Corporate/Commercial arena, specifically dealing in Securities, Business Transactions, Commercial Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions and Real Estate. Specific matters with which she has worked include: Various Asset-Backed Financings; Initial Public Offerings; Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Letter of Credit Facilities; and Exchange Act Compliance Work.

Betsy was named Best Lawyers 2015 Tulsa Corporate Governance "Lawyer of the Year”, has an individual AV rating through Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized as a Best Lawyer in America in Banking & Finance Law and Corporate Law. She is the author of: “No More Bananas in the Oklahoma Split: Exempting ERISA-Qualified Pension Plans Under Section 522(b)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code”, Tulsa Law Journal, Volume 25, No. 4, Summer 1990. 

Brianne W. Richardson is a trial lawyer who focuses primarily on appellate practice and oil/gas litigation. She has represented litigants in the Texas Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and various appellate courts across the state of Texas. Brianne is extensively involved in the pre-trial stages of cases for complex motion practice and at trial. She also supervises and manages all discovery for certain clients in order to provide consistency and cost efficiency across multiple cases.

Brianne has worked with clients in a wide variety of industries including oil and gas, petrochemical, manufacturing and distributing, commercial construction, insurance, property owners’ associations, property managers and owners, and other business owners. She has advised on cases involving a broad range of claims, including breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, negligence, employment disputes, corporate formation disputes, premises liability, products liability, insurance coverage issues, defamation, invasion of privacy, legal malpractice, and guardianship disputes.

In the legal community, Brianne is a member of the American Bar Association Appellate Advocacy Committee of Tort Trial & Insurance, the Houston Bar Association, the Texas Young Lawyers Association, the Texas Association of Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute. She is also an active in the Texas Bar Association’s Appellate, Oil & Gas, and Construction Sections, and is a member of the Women’s Energy Network

Natara is the General Counsel of Trace Midstream II, a Quantum Energy Partners portfolio company. Natara was the General Counsel of Trace Midstream I and the SVP, General Counsel of Intensity Midstream from 2019 to 2022 and both companies were successfully sold in 2022. From 2012 to 2019, she was the Assistant General Counsel of Oasis Petroleum (now Chord Energy) managing a diverse workload of transactional and other legal matters. Prior to going in house, Natara was an associate in the Energy Transactions & Project Finance group at the law firm of Vinson & Elkins where she represented Fortune 500 energy and oil and gas companies in matters involving upstream and midstream transactions, strategic investments and corporate and project financing and development. Natara began her career at Norton Rose Fulbright as an associate in the Corporate Department in 2005. Natara currently serves on the Tahirih Justice Center Advisory Committee and the Event Host Committee and was the 2022 Auction Committee Chair for the organization's annual gala. She has also provided pro bono representation for the Tahirih Justice Center and for other various nonprofit organizations throughout her career. Natara earned her Juris Doctor degree from Duke University School of Law and has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in International Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from Stetson University. 

Karina Amelang is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at U.S. Silica Company. Ms. Amelang is the senior legal advisor to C-level executives with a solid background in driving corporate legal strategy, spearheading strategic joint ventures, complex corporate transactions and successful M&A activities in the heavily regulated energy sector. She is an out of the box strategic thinker with an entrepreneurial approach, able to facilitate change and adapt to new opportunities in a fast-paced environment. In addition, she is an effective project team leader with extensive experience in steering multi-disciplined team efforts across the enterprise to achieve strategic corporate goals and objectives. Ms. Amelang has large law firm experience combined with over a decade in publicly traded companies with a focus on drafting and negotiating joint venture agreements, corporate governance documents, commercial contracts and services agreements. She has also managed litigation involving complex commercial disputes, class action lawsuits, bankruptcy proceedings, environmental and regulatory matters. Ms. Amelang received her J.D. from University of Houston Law Center. 

Lindsay M. Germano currently works as Lead Counsel, Strategic Transactions for LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. She focuses her practice on complex corporate and transactional matters, including public and private acquisitions, divestitures and investment transactions. She also advises with respect to general corporate governance matters, commercial matters, and compliance with applicable securities regulations. Prior to LyondellBasell, Ms. Germano was Senior Counsel – Corporate and M&A at Nexeo Solutions, a leading global chemicals and plastics distributor, and previously worked for the internationally recognized law firm, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. During her time at Weil, she was a founding member of the firm’s Hong Kong office and also spent time working in the London office. She obtained her JD, with honors, from the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University where she was the President of the SMU Law Review Association, and graduated with honors from Rice University.

Jennifer Tomsen focuses on litigation, including commercial and securities litigation in state and federal courts and securities arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and JAMS. She has defended broker-dealers in customer-member and member-member disputes, employment, and regulatory matters, and has represented clients in a wide variety of commercial disputes.

Devika leverages her background and experience to assist clients in obtaining, protecting, licensing, and enforcing intellectual property rights, with a particular emphasis on technology law in the context of mergers, acquisitions, investments, project development and day-to-day business transactions.  She counsels clients in fields such as energy, sports, aviation, software and hardware on digital media, open source software, cybersecurity, and other technology matters.  She also has experience with a wide-array of transactions, including commercialization agreements, license agreements, reseller arrangements, collaboration agreements, joint ventures, software development agreements, and patent clearances.

Devika has also been designated a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and serves as the Chair of the Firm’s Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Task Force.

Brooke Geren McNabb has served as lead lawyer in numerous commercial and personal injury matters and has first-chaired multiple trials resulting in favorable jury and bench verdicts. She represents plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts in a variety of complex commercial litigation matters, including breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and other tort claims.  She also represents defendants in serious personal injury cases. Ms. McNabb's practice has focused on big-stakes commercial cases for energy companies and complex disputes in the real estate sector.

Ms. McNabb received her law degree with honors from The University of Texas School of Law in 2004, where she was an Associate Editor on the Texas Law Review, Order of the Coif, and a member of the mock trial team. She graduated with honors from the Plan II Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin in 2000, served as President of the Orange Jackets, the oldest honorary service organization at The University of Texas, and was Phi Beta Kappa and a member of Mortar Board. Ms. McNabb serves as the General Counsel for Communities in Schools Houston and also represents Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council. She is a past president of the Houston Association of Women Attorneys, an organization devoted to promoting women and the interests of women in Houston’s legal community.

Debra Ibarra Mayfield is senior in-house legal counsel for Enterprise Products, one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services.  At Enterprise, she handles land acquisition, eminent domain and general litigation matters related to Enterprise’s assets and commercial activities.   

Ms. Mayfield is also a former State District Judge, having twice been appointed to the bench by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.  Before becoming a State District Judge, Ms. Mayfield was the first Latina County Court at Law Judge in Harris County.  She served as a County Civil Court at Law Judge for four years and was twice elected to that bench.  

Before her judicial career, Ms. Mayfield was a partner in a civil defense firm where she handled litigation and appeals in both state and federal courts across the State of Texas.  

Ms. Mayfield is an alumna of Texas A&M University and South Texas College of Law Houston.  She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center teaching private property rights and eminent domain.

She has served on the boards of several non-profits and bar associations, including the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA), the Association of Women Attorneys (AWA) and the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston (MABAH).  She has received numerous recognitions for her public service, including being selected as a "Woman on the Move" by Texas Executive Women, awarded the "Public Service Award" from South Texas College of Law, the Amicus Award from the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston, named “Top Latina 40 and Under" by the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, selected as one of "Houston's 50 Most Influential Women" by Houston Woman Magazine, and awarded the "Outstanding Mentor Award" by the Houston Young Lawyers’ Association.  

Ms. Mayfield is married to Eric, a former United States Army Captain, and they have two young children.  

Sandra Safro is a partner in K&L Gates’ Washington, D.C. and Houston offices and serves as a Practice Group Coordinator for the Oil, Gas, and Resources practice within the firm’s Energy, Infrastructure, and Resources practice group. She focuses her practice on regulatory, policy, and transactional issues related primarily to natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Ms. Safro regularly advises clients on matters related to commodity and pipeline transportation issues, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) policies related to capacity release and in the negotiation of precedent agreements, negotiated rate agreements, asset management arrangements, transportation service agreements, and the terms and conditions of service included in pipeline tariffs. Ms. Safro also advises clients on, issues related to the import and export of LNG, including commercial agreements related to terminal capacity, developments on Capitol Hill, and proceedings before FERC and the Department of Energy (DOE). She represents clients in natural gas and oil pipeline rate proceedings before the FERC and state agencies and advises clients on pipeline safety issues before the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Ms. Safro’s clients include natural gas and LNG marketers, importers, exporters and project developers; oil pipelines and shippers; oil and gas drilling companies; financial institutions; and state and provincial government officials. She is also on the firm’s Women in the Profession Committee and chairs the Hiring Committee for the Washington DC office.

Jamie Bryan is a partner in K&L Gates’ Fort Worth and Houston offices where she is a member of the oil, gas & resources practice group. Ms. Bryan concentrates her practice on the oil and gas industry in both the upstream and midstream sector and complex multi-district litigation. For the past 18 years, she has focused on a broad range of energy issues including royalty disputes, lease termination issues, surface use issues, municipal ordinances, environmental claims, right to take challenges, and eminent domain. Jamie has tried cases before both juries and the bench on a wide variety of complex oil and gas issues. Jamie maintains a specialized practice in the area of eminent domain, having represented numerous midstream energy clients and other condemning authorities in a variety of matters involving real property acquisitions, easement negotiations, condemnation proceedings, challenges to their right to take, and subsequent trials. She also counsels clients on policy issues, best practices and litigation avoidance. She is a frequent author and presenter on issues impacting the oil and gas industry, including eminent domain. Ms. Bryan is also active in the Fort Worth Community and focuses on mentoring women in the energy industry.

Kelly Perrier practices in the areas of oil, gas and energy litigation and commercial litigation, particularly focusing on environmental claims commonly referred to as "legacy litigation."  She has also represented many independent oil and gas companies in responding to compliance notices issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.  

Kelly interned for Chief Judge Burrell J. Carter of the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal while earning her J.D. and Diploma of Civil Law Studies from LSU Law School. Prior to law school, she worked as a media/political consultant for a small firm handling local and statewide campaigns. She is a 2004 cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia’s Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Amy Parker concentrates her practice on the representation and counsel of energy industry clients in high-stakes, commercial litigation disputes.  She has extensive experience representing natural gas and power marketing companies against allegations of market manipulation and related trading violations in both federal court proceedings as well as  investigations and enforcement actions brought by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).   

Amy also defends clients in complex environmental, products liability, and toxic-tort litigation. For over a decade, she has defended national and multi-national refining companies against groundwater contamination claims brought by private parties, state attorneys general, and state environmental protection agencies.  She handles a wide range of general commercial litigation as well, including complex contractual disputes and cases involving allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, securities violations, and related causes of action.

Marlene Williams is a seasoned litigator who guides her clients through complex labor and employment matters, defending Fortune 100 companies in class action disputes and collective action litigation.

With clients spanning a variety of industries, including energy, chemical, media, retail, manufacturing and healthcare services, she has served as lead counsel in bench and jury trials, in appeals in federal and state appellate courts, and in arbitrations, including cases involving multiple parties and millions of dollars in claims.

In addition to her varied commercial litigation experience, Marlene assists clients in resolving a wide range of employment law issues, including wage and hour cases; discrimination, retaliation and harassment; whistleblower claims; business torts, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) compliance; employment agreements; hiring and onboarding processes; and general human resources practices. Marlene also has extensive experience representing clients in non-compete and trade secret matters.

A well-respected advocate on employment law, her in-depth knowledge of these topics also allows Marlene to effectively train clients on their policy and enforcement matters, internal investigations, and document retention and employee retention issues.

Rebecca (Becky) Baker counsels and represents employers in all aspects of the employment relationship. She represents employers involved in federal and state court litigation and advises and represents them with respect to administrative claims. Becky’s experience includes matters involving wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower protection, wage and hour issues, employment and non-competition agreements, and matters involving occupational safety and health violations. She has successfully resolved hundreds of demand letters, EEOC charges of discrimination, and lawsuits alleging various forms of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other employment claims.

In addition to litigation, Becky works with employers to draft employee handbooks and employer policies, including development and maintenance of comprehensive record retention policies. She provides day-to-day advice and counsel to help employers address issues related to the hiring, management, retention and termination of employees and negotiates and drafts executive employment and restrictive covenant agreements. In addition, she has experience in assisting businesses with responding to electronic data breaches and complying with multi-state and federal data breach notification requirements related to employees.

Becky also has experience managing the labor and employment aspects of complex business sales, acquisitions and other transactions.

Malika Herring is Senior Litigation Counsel at BP America Inc. and has worked in the legal department since 2008.  With over a decade of in-house litigation experience, Malika has managed hundreds of lawsuits involving personal injury and commercial disputes, both upstream and downstream across an average of 20 states. She also provides advice and counsel to internal BP clients regarding litigation risks and contractual agreements.  In addition, Malika serves as the Americas Regional Chair for Diversity & Inclusion in the legal department and heads BP’s service of process (SOP) team which liaisons with BP’s registered agents and receives and distributes all US service for BP.   Malika is also a member of BP’s External Counsel Management Committee (XCMC), which is the team that selects and evaluates outside counsel for the company.  

Before joining BP, Malika was Assistant General Counsel in Litigation at a Fortune 10 company where she managed over four hundred lawsuits across the country.  Malika began her legal career as a litigator in private practice specializing in commercial disputes, employment, toxic tort, product/premises liability, and environmental law for several years in Houston, Texas.

Tamara Anderson is Vice President of Corporate Strategy and General Counsel at PAS Global, an industrial cybersecurity, safety and compliance software company. Tamara is a multi-disciplined entrepreneur with more than 20 years of results-oriented business and legal counsel experience focused in commercial transactions, complex contract negotiations, channel development, international expansion, policy development, governance, corporate strategy and business planning. Tamara served as speaker and author for the UH Law Foundation continuing legal education program for more than ten years, and holds both a B.B.A. in Management and a J.D. from the University of Houston.

Sarah Tobin currently serves as Managing Counsel—Corporate Services at Direct Energy’s headquarters in Houston.  As lead corporate counsel for North America, her role includes responsibility for corporate governance, records management, intellectual property, and legal department operations matters.  Prior to joining Direct Energy, Sarah was an associate in the business practice group in BakerHostetler’s Houston office.  She is a graduate of Ohio University and Vanderbilt University Law School.  In her spare time, Sarah enjoys reading fiction, watching reality television, staying active, and spending time with her family and friends.  She also serves as Vice President of Friends of Girls on the Run Greater Houston.  

Tammy is a highly-regarded, long-time corporate finance partner.

She has an extensive practice that includes representation of financial institutions, institutional investors and corporate borrowers in all types of secured and unsecured financing transactions, including acquisition financings, asset based lending, reserve based lending, master limited partnership (MLP) financing, multi-currency credit facilities, floor plan financing, first lien/second lien transactions and debt restructuring. Tammy routinely represents large commercial banks in connection with syndicated credit facilities to both public and private borrowers in a broad range of industries, including upstream and midstream energy and oil field services, technology, construction, automotive, death care, financial products and services, and real estate. She also has extensive experience in the field of derivative transactions and regularly advises clients on a wide range of derivative products, including interest rate and commodity swaps, caps, options and other hedging arrangements.

Tammy has a proven track record of working with business executives and their teams to complete complex transactional matters under intense deadlines. She is known for being highly responsive and accessible, communicating with clients in a positive, direct and concise manner. She works to maximize efficiencies on any given project, and is able to call on a network of our professionals to lend their considerable experience. Clients appreciate her deep understanding of their business objectives, which enables her to readily guide them through any legal or business matter in a practical manner in order to accomplish their objectives on schedule.

Tammy has been with the firm for nearly 20 years. In 2018, she was appointed as Houston office Managing Partner. Prior to the merger, Tammy served as the firmwide hiring partner. She currently serves as an ex offices member of the firm's Executive Committee. She is also a member of the firm's Opinion Committee and was a member of numerous firm committees, including the Policy Committee, the firm's governing body, the Associates Committee, Business Intake Committee, Diversity Committee, Partners Committee and Women’s Initiative Team.

Claudia Wilson Frost is a partner in the Houston office of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe LLP.  She has handled dozens of jury trials in state and federal courts in her 30-plus-year career as a trial lawyer, appellate advocate and strategist. Her experience has been wide-ranging and includes intellectual property and complex commercial litigation, in areas such as oil and gas and energy, telecommunications, technology, financial services and ERISA.

Claudia has been extensively recognized for her practice. Chambers USA notes, “Clients admired [this] 'highly responsive and fabulous strategist' for her powers of ‘brilliant analysis.’  She has a trial background and a depth of appellate experience, with a particular niche in patent infringement.” The Legal 500 has called her “One of Best Known Names in the Field.”  Claudia was named one of Law360's "20 Most Influential Women in IP Law" and was featured in 2016 as a "Trial Pro" by Law360.  She has been included as an IPStar, listed in IAM Patent 1000 and has been recognized in Euromoney's Guide to Leading US Litigators, Guide to Leading World Litigators and Guide to the World's Leading Women in Business Law.  She has been named a Texas Super Lawyer for more than a decade and is in the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas and Top 100 Lawyers in Houston.