STUART OGG, 42
FIRM: Jones Day
LAW SCHOOL: Boston University School of Law
SELECTED CLIENTS: Thomas Properties Group Inc., Fluor Corp., MagnaChip Semiconductor Corp., Dendreon Corp., Alon Brands Inc., Ramtron International Corp.
YEARS IN PRACTICE: 17
Biggest Deal: When I was practicing in Texas, we were bankruptcy counsel to Enron Corp., and I led one of the corporate teams in the bankruptcy auction and sale of the wholesale trading business to UBS. At the time, no one had ever really successfully sold a trading platform on that scale as a business unit and the bankruptcy process made it even more difficult. We had Wall Street Journal reporters being tipped off to our location by hotel staff and others. Our movements between Houston and New York were being chronicled in surprising detail in the next morning’s edition.
Best Career Moment: I would say that one of the most satisfying and enjoyable transactions I ever did was the acquisition of the Texas Rangers baseball franchise by Tom Hicks from the group led by future President George W. Bush, primarily because I’m a huge baseball fan, so it was exciting to deal with Major League Baseball and see the inner workings of a professional sports team.
Worst: We filed the Enron bankruptcy over a weekend, and on Monday morning after not having slept much in three days, I got in the elevator at the downtown Houston Enron tower, going down from the top executive floors where we had been working. They had just gone floor to floor and terminated probably half the employees in the building and I watched hundreds of people flood onto the streets and courtyard below who had just lost their once highly sought-after jobs. I’ll never forget that scene.
Secret to Closing a Deal: My view is to do everything I can to keep egos out of the way of completing an otherwise compatible transaction.
If I Weren’t an Attorney: I’d like to fly small-plane sightseeing tours to Catalina Island.
My Colleagues Don’t Know: I’m still a huge Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers fan from all my years living in Texas. I try to avoid our suite at the Staples Center when the Lakers play the Mavericks so I don’t have to bite my tongue – this was finally a very good year.
