Texas Lawyer Recruiting & Attorney Search : Courtney Sapire : Texas Lawyer Jobs

My clients frequently consult me on law department benchmarking as an initial step in the hiring process. According to the 2006 Altman Weil/Lexis Nexis Law Department Metrics Benchmarking Survey (conducted and published annually), most legal departments are staffed in accordance with lawyers per total revenues. Averages are as follows:

• 3.49 lawyers per billion in revenues
• 1 paralegal per billion in revenues (or .3 paralegals per lawyer)
• 2 administrative assistants per billion in revenues

According to the survey, average internal costs per lawyer were $333,000. In my experience, the balance tips in favor of adding an additional lawyer to the department when outside counsel costs in a particular area exceed $400,000. However, certain industries have much higher headcount needs, such as electrical and chemical manufacturing. See also the Law.com In-House Counsel section for additional information.

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Large energy company located in Houston seeks a 5+ year transactions lawyer to provide operational support for one of its divisions. The role provides a great career platform at a company with a history of promoting internally. In addition, the salary is competitive and the company offers a generous short and long-term incentive plan.

Responsibilities include:

• Providing transactional and regulatory support for new product development and new market entry.
• Handling transactions related to energy commodities and services.
• Providing operational support in connection with billing, customer support and with automating documentation processes.
• Managing outside vendors, outside counsel and contract compliance.
• Managing litigation relating to energy commodities and services.

A prior in-house background is a plus. Also, candidates with a solid understanding of energy markets are preferred.

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For an industry that runs on natural resources, it’s the human component that is becoming its newest challenge. The energy sector of the economy is more active than at any other time in the last 20 years. However, the industry has not only failed to attract new graduates, but it has lost seasoned professionals. 

Despite periodic spectacular earnings over the last 20 years, the oil and gas attorney workforce has been declining steadily for almost 20 years. The industry slump of the 1980’s was unusually severe and left long-lasting scars. Moreover, the “dirty industry” image has not done much in the past to attract people to the profession. Many recall the oil-soaked birds and dead otters on the beach following the Exxon-Valdez spill. Others simply viewed the industry as a slow-growth, old economy behemoth. 

Like other oil and gas professionals, lawyers left the industry for less cyclical sectors of the economy. However, unlike other industries affected by the economic downturn, the energy industry recovery did not bring these professionals back, nor were they replaced with new talent.  And the high tech boom of the late 1990’s provided refuge for the best and brightest. 

Adding to the problem, the average age in the oil and gas industry workforce is 49 – among the oldest of any sector in the U.S. economy. According to Martindale Hubbell, 85% of the lawyers who specialize in oil and gas law have more than 10 years of experience. In addition, a Labor Department study found that more than 65% of workers in the oil and gas industry are between the ages of 35 and 54, while only a “small” percentage are in their twenties. 

With the retirement wave approaching and global demand at record levels, energy industry legal departments are headed for a human resource crisis.  

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Our client, a large energy company located in Houston, seeks a 7+ year transactions lawyer to provide operational support for one of its divisions. The role provides a great career platform at a company with a history of promoting internally. In addition, the salary is competitive and the company offers a generous short and long-term incentive plan.

The position reports to the Vice President and General Counsel for the division.

Responsibilities include:

• Providing transactional and regulatory support for new product development and new market entry.
• Handling transactions related to energy commodities and services.
• Providing operational support in connection with billing, customer support and with automating documentation processes.
• Managing outside vendors and contract compliance.
• Managing litigation relating to energy commodities and services.

Desired experience includes:

• Prior in-house energy industry background.
• Solid understanding of energy markets; particularly electric power and natural gas.

Local residents strongly preferred.  For more information about this opportunity, please contact Courtney Sapire.

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