Cigars, Rock Shots and Long Drives: GC Forum`s 2nd Annual Golf

SERVING BUSINESS LAWYERS IN TEXAS
Cigars, Rock Shots and Long Drives: GC Forum’s
2nd Annual Golf Charity Classic Highlights
By Brooks Igo
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook
SAN ANTONIO (November 15, 2013) –
More than 100 corporate in-house lawyers,
outside counsel and current and former
Texas Supreme Court Justices hit the links
at the TPC San Antonio—AT&T Canyons
team of last year’s tournament. He came close
to repeating as tournament champion again on
Thursday—his foursome, which included Justice
Paul Green, posted a 61, which tied for the second
best score of the windy (and chilly) afternoon.
Austin Industries fielded this year’s champion
with
general
counsel
Charles
Hardy,
Steve
Doyle,
Justin
Holt
and
Steve
Henry,
who
joined
as the company’s chief legal officer and
senior vice president in July. They finished
with a 59.
Brad Johnson (Merrill Lynch), Justice Paul Green,
Justice Wallace Jefferson (Alexander, Debose, Jefferson & Townsend),
Johnny Johnston (Merrill Lynch)
Course on Thursday afternoon for the
General Counsel Forum’s 2nd Annual Charity
Golf Classic.
The
Forum,
in
conjunction
with
the Texas Access to Justice Commission
and Foundation, raised $48,000 for the
Foundation to enhance and expand the
quality of justice in civil legal matters
for people who face barriers in gaining access
to the civil justice system in Texas. The
participation and number of dollars donated
increased by more than 50 percent from
ast year’s inaugural charity golf tournament.
“This group does the best job in the country at
bringing corporate counsel together to support
access to justice,” said former Chief Justice
Wallace Jefferson, who was on the winning
© 2013 The Texas Lawbook
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Hardy must have known his team was
in contention—he was found asking
Leaderboard’s Jeff Hedrick how his
team’s score measured up before leaving
the course to get ready for the evening’s
Magna Stella Awards.
Not everyone was as confident. Ron Taylor,
vice president and special counsel of Blue
Cross Blue Shield, lamented after his team failed
to put together back-to-back birdies on its first
two holes.
“I have a feeling we are not going to win,” he said.
The second place prize was awarded to
Nexen Petroleum U.S.A. Inc.’s Sean Johnson, >
Winners: Austin Industries’ Steve Doyle, Charles Hardy,
Justin Holt and Steve Henry (Not Pictured) posted a 59.
SERVING BUSINESS LAWYERS IN TEXAS
Jones
Walker’s
Josh
Norris and Jeff Phillips
and
Ogden,
Gibson,
Broocks, Longoria & Hall’s
Tom Gregor.
Ron Taylor (Blue Cross
Blue Shield)
One of the more compelling
storylines heading into the
charity classic was whether
Flexjet’s
Amanda
Willis
would win her fourth long
drive competition of the year.
Before the 11:45 a.m. shotgun
start, she said it all depended
on the advantage.
Pluchinsky’s foursome had at least one great shot.
Teammate Jeff Kaplan, deputy general counsel at
Houston-based LyondellBasell, won the closest
to the pin contest on Hole No. 8.
There were more great shots to go around. Sidley
Austin’s Tim Langenkamp made a 90 foot birdie
putt from the rough and AT&T’s Joe Cosgrove
pulled out all the stops on a 60 footer.
“It hit the back of the cup, went straight up and
fell right in,” Cosgrove, an associate general
counsel, said of his birdie putt.
AT&T, a presenting sponsor of the tournament,
had two teams competing. When asked which
“Sometimes the ladies’
tees are not that much further out than
the men’s tees,” said Willis, whose average
drive is about 250 yards.
She was 10 yards short of this year’s
winner, Johnny Johnston, a financial
advisor at Merrill Lynch in San Antonio.
Close, but no cigar.
Speaking of cigars, there were lots of
them on the course. If players didn’t
bring their own stogies, they had ample Amanda Willis (Flexjet), Ben Henderson (Cicayda), Andrew Leibowitz
(The Berry Firm), Michael Terry (Cicayda).
opportunity to pick one up on Hole No.
6 or DW Legal Solution’s “Stogies and
foursome was better, Cosgrove’s teammate
Shooters” tent on the turn. San Antonio’s
Dave Nichols, president of AT&T Texas, said it’s
own Tito’s Handmade Vodka was also a hit.
pretty close.
Other hole sponsors included:
Bracewell
&
Giuliani;
Kiersted Systems; Precision
Discovery;
Dell;
Duggins
Wren
Mann
&
Romero;
AT&T; Yetter Coleman; USAA;
Richards Rodriguez & Skeith;
D4 Discovery; Chevron Phillips;
Vinson & Elkins; Exxon Mobil;
Erickson Partners; CenterPoint
Energy; and Baker Botts.
“The other group has a stud,”
he said.
Nichols
was
referring
to
Dave
Garcia.
Others
at
AT&T say his job is to play
golf. On Hole No. 6, where
long drive champ Nyle Pruitt
was launching 400-plus yard
drives, there was a device that
AT&T’s Dave Garcia and Len Briley.
measured the ball speed on
players’ drives. Pruitt says
“It’s a tough course—we haven’t hit anything
the average ball speed on the PGA Tour is
great,” said David Pluchinsky, a partner at Beirne,
168 mph—Garcia’s was 165 mph. >
Maynard & Parsons. “I love how wide open it is.”
© 2013 The Texas Lawbook
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SERVING BUSINESS LAWYERS IN TEXAS
“I do play a lot,” Garcia said, smiling after lining a
drive down the center of the fairway.
Wainwright was paired with his longtime friend
Scott Rozzell, executive vice president and
general counsel of CenterPoint Energy, also a
presenting sponsor. They were joined by Dr.
Kendal Stewart, a neurosurgeon in Austin.
“Some of my best friends are lawyers,” said
Wainwright, who is now an appellate partner at
Bracewell & Giuliani. “I’ve known Scott for 20plus years.”
AT&T’s Tom Horn, Dave Nichols, Joe Cosgrove look on as
Mark Witcher sinks a putt.
There were plenty of not so good shots to
go around, too. John Easton, a member of
the Chevron Phillips foursome that dubbed
themselves the “fun team,” used golf balls with
SpongeBob SquarePants on them.
For some, golf kindles their competitive
spirit. Energy Transfer Partners Associate
General Counsel Paul Keeler, Duke Energy
Corporation
Deputy
General
Counsel
Ted Matula and Andrews Kurth partners
David Runnels and Craig Stahl kept individual
scores as well as their team’s score. There was at
least one $1 bet.
“We left a few in the water to return him home,”
he joked.
Two
questions
were
overheard
when
Scott McLaughlin and Matt Cavenaugh
of Jackson Walker and Tim Hill and
Scott Garber of Chevron Phillips were on a par3 towards the end of the afternoon: “Anyone
have
any
mulligans
left?”
and “Do we have any that are
playable?” Good thing they were
employing the aptly named
“rock shot.”
“It’s where your ball bounces off a
rock back into play,” McLaughlin
explains.
Troy Glander (Allen, Nava &
Glander) representing
his alma mater.
The afternoon also provided
an opportunity to catch up
with friends. Former Texas
Supreme Court Justice Dale
© 2013 The Texas Lawbook
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Matt Cavenaugh (Jackson Walker), Tim Hill and Scott Garber
(Chevron Phillips), Scott McLaughlin (Jackson Walker).
Best (or worst, depending on your allegiance)
dressed goes to Troy Glander of Allan, Nava &
Glander. He sported a University of Texas burnt
orange hat, sunglasses, shirt and golf cleats.
He even had a burnt orange driver with a
Longhorns sticker he added.
All considered, it was a fun day at the
TPC San Antonio, which plays host to the
PGA Tour’s Valero Open. David Reiter, >
SERVING BUSINESS LAWYERS IN TEXAS
Conference Co-Chair David Reiter (Luminex Corporation)
with teammates Brian Baird (Frank’s International, Inc.)
and Derek DeLarios (Precision Discovery).
Justice Wainwright and Scott Rozzell (CenterPoint
Energy) watch Rozzell’s tee shot.
Luminex Corporation’s senior vice president
general counsel and secretary and co-chair of
the 15th Annual Conference of General Counsel,
said it was his first time to play in the golf
tournament the day before the Forum’s programs.
“You can’t beat this set up,” he said.
On behalf of amateur golfers everywhere, Leaf
River Energy Center LLC’s Kathy Ellis shares
her one request to make next year’s tournament
even better.
“Note to vendors: next year, we need sleeves
of balls.”
Ted Matula (Duke
Energy Corporation).
Phil Allbritten (Atmos
Energy Corporation).
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on business law in Texas.
John Ansbach (General Datatech).
David Bargainer and John Easton of
Chevron Phillips’s “Fun Team.”
© 2013 The Texas Lawbook
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Marlo Mattox (The General Counsel Forum) and Jeff
Hedrick (LeaderBoard).