Legal News

All eyes on Pate

By Richard Binder

R. Hewitt Pate was hired in July as vice president and general counsel of Chevron Corp., the nation's third largest corporation and the target of billions of dollars worth of litigation. Now he has moved to Chevron's San Ramon, Calif., headquarters to oversee a legal spend of some $350 million a year. Of that, $190 million goes to outside counsel, according to the former GC, Charles James. Some 500 firms share in the pie, and 35 of them get more than $100 million of it. Four firms are at the top of the heap, divvying up about $60 million: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, Jones Day, Latham & Watkins and King & Spalding.

Simply put, Chevron is a big, lucrative client for a lot of players. Pate, who talked to The National Law Journal just eight days after assuming the helm on Aug. 17, is making the kind of financial noises one expects to hear from GCs these days: "In this environment, trying to use money wisely" and containing costs is a priority, Pate said.

Obviously, partners at firms with key relationships say they are watching closely to see how Pate proceeds.

Full story at NLJ.com.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on September 14, 2009 (boomark / email).