Founding Members

Linda Addison is a corporate board member and Immediate Past U.S. Managing Partner, Chair of the U.S.

Marcia is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Occidental Petroleum Corporation.

A native Houstonian, Laura graduated with a B.A. from The University of North Carolina, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1980. Three years later, she graduated from The University of Texas School of Law.

Susan L. Blount served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Prudential Financial, Inc., where she was responsible for the company’s 700-person global law, compliance, business ethics and external affairs (LCBE) organization.

Linda is a partner at Kean Miller LLP, where she handles trials and appeals of complex commercial, securities, real estate, personal injury, and employment cases.

Ms. Civins received her B.A. degree in history with highest honors from the University of Oklahoma in 1968 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She then spent a year studying Russian at the Munich Institute for the Study of the U.S.S.R.

Phyllis is a dedicated activist and advocate for progressive values, with particular emphasis on women’s autonomy and rights, democratic processes and voting, and health care access.   Phyllis is Houston-based, but her involvement encompasses local, statewide, and national issues. 

Nina Cortell currently serves as a Partner at Haynes and Boone LLP, an international corporate law firm. For almost four decades, Nina has represented corporations, public entities and individuals in cases that have put her at the forefront of the Texas litigation practice.

Cynthia Diggs is a Managing Partner and the Attorney-in-Charge at Holmes, Diggs & Sadler. Servicing the company for over a decade, Cynthia has tremendous experience in complex family law cases.

Claudia Wilson Frost is a partner in the Houston office of Steptoe, LLP and is a nationally recognized trial and appellate lawyer. She represents energy, technology, and finance companies in complex commercial and patent litigation.

Lisa Genecov is the national co-chair of Katten Muchin Rosenman's Health Care practice, concentrating on the regulatory, business, corporate, governance, compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and transactional aspects of health care law, with a particular focus in the private equity space.

Michelle Goolsby is a Venture Partner and Partner at Greenmont Capital Partners, a private equity firm focusing on investments in the natural products industry.

Melanie Gray was Chair of the Bankruptcy Litigation Practice and partner in the Houston office of Winston & Strawn LLP before she retired in early 2020.  Prior to joining Winston & Strawn in 2013, Melanie enjoyed almost three decades with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Marcy Hogan Greer is a partner with Alexander, Dubose, Jefferson & Townsend in Austin. She is recognized for her work in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the country.

Now retired, Laura Hagen was a principal at Early Cochran & Olson, LLC. Prior to joining Early Cochran & Olson, Laura spent 17 years with one of the search industry’s leading firms, where she was a founder and led the Chicago office.

Peggy Heeg is a partner at Reed Smith LLP. She is past partner of the Energy Practice Group at Norton Rose Fulbright and a past member of Fulbright’s Executive Committee. She also served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of El Paso Corporation.

Cisselon Nichols Hurd currently serves as Senior Litigation Counsel for Shell Oil Company in Houston, Texas, where she handles environmental litigation.

Tracey A. Kennedy is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, Los Angeles and New York offices. She is also a member of her firm’s Executive Committee.

Terri is a partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth L.L.P. As the co-head of the firm’s Business Practice Group, Terri focuses her practice on personal tax planning, with particular emphasis on structuring estate plans for high wealth individuals.

Christine B. LaFollette is the partner in charge of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s Houston office and a member of the firmwide management committee. Ms.

Kathleen C. Lake is a retired partner of the law firm of Vinson & Elkins LLP. For over 32 years prior to her retirement at the end of 2012, Kathy’s practice focused on state and federal utility law and energy regulation, energy transactions, and administrative law and litigation.

Catherine Lamboley, retired Sr. Vice President and General Counsel of Shell Oil Company, is a native of Monroe, Wisconsin. Cathy graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a secondary education degree and from the University of Texas School of Law where she graduated Order of the Coif.

Vicki Land specializes in environmental and real estate litigation.

Karen has more than 27 years of experience as a top-rated litigator handling major commercial disputes. She was a partner with Vinson & Elkins LLP until December of 2010, and now serves as a neutral on the American Arbitration Association’s national Commercial litigation panel.

Ms. Lents retired in 2008 as President & CEO of the Center for Houston’s Future, a not-for-profit policy planning organization.

Janis Loegering is a partner and member of the Executive Committee at Locke Lord LLP.

Ms. Longoria is an honors graduate of the University of Texas, and received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1979.

Kim Lubel serves as the Chairman, President & CEO of CST Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CST), one of the largest independent retailers of motor fuels and convenience merchandise in North America.

Jane Macon is a partner at Bracewell & Giuliani’s San Antonio office. She centers her legal practice on public finance and administrative law, public and private partnerships, real estate, zoning, platting, condemnation and municipal bonds. Ms.

Ms. Marshall is a principal at Marshall & Lewis LLP. Ms. Marshall has handled hundreds of cases, including over a hundred jury verdicts. In recent years, on over a dozen matters, Ms.

Laura McMahon focuses her international practice on securities matters, business transactions, and corporate governance. She regularly advises clients in capital market transactions, compliance with securities laws, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures.

Meredith Mouer has served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Tellurian Inc. since February 2017. Prior to joining Tellurian, she was a Partner in the corporate securities section at the law firm of Andrews Kurth LLP since 2003. While at Andrews Kurth, Ms.

Carrin Patman is a partner at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP where she maintains an active trial docket, representing diverse business and energy industry clients in litigation, including class actions, involving commercial disputes, securities matters, antitrust and competition issues, environment

Ms. Pennington is currently retired.  She is the former Houston office Managing Partner of Baker Hostetler, where she served for 18 years.

Sandra Phillips Rogers is group vice president, general counsel, chief legal officer, corporate secretary, and chief diversity officer of Toyota Motor North America (“TMNA”). In this role, she leads the legal services function for Toyota's operations in North America, Toyota Legal One (“TL1”).

Lauren Eaton Prescott practiced law for eight years with both international energy companies and a Houston law firm before becoming a legal search consultant.

Shemin is the former Managing Partner of the Washington, DC office of Andrews Kurth Kenyon, and she divides her time between the Washington and Houston offices.

Ms. Puig has a substantial commercial litigation practice in both state and federal courts. She represents large health systems, medical schools, institutional health care providers, for profit educational companies, and managed care organizations across the US. 

Robin Russell is the Deputy Managing Partner of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP.

Martha Smiley received the J.D. degree from The University of Texas School of Law in 1972 and the B.A. from Baylor University in 1969. Martha is a counsel to the firm of Enoch Kever PLLC’s administrative, energy, public law and appellate practice.

Jane Snoddy Smith is a partner with the JAE Law Group. Founded by three women with a deep bench of real estate knowledge and headquartered in Austin, Texas, JAE represents clients throughout the US and globally.

Hortense Sparks Malsch Ward (1872-1944) was a champion of women's rights, suffrage leader, and the first female Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court.

Kathleen Wu is a partner in the international law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth. Her real estate transactions practice has a broad wingspan, crossing multiple industries and disciplines, serving a national clientele from Wall Street to California.