A leading public power and energy organisation is seeking an experienced Litigation Counsel to join its in-house legal team in San Antonio, Texas. This is an excellent opportunity for a Texas-licensed attorney with a strong litigation background who is looking to work at the intersection of complex disputes, critical energy infrastructure, and public-sector law.
Working closely with senior legal and business leadership, you will provide practical legal advice across a broad range of litigation, dispute, regulatory, and operational matters. The role will have a particular focus on managing and advising on litigation while also supporting Texas Public Information Act matters, open records requests, subpoenas, investigations, and other legal issues arising from the organisation's status as a public entity.
The ideal candidate will bring substantial hands-on litigation experience together with an understanding of the utility or energy sector and experience advising governmental entities or public organisations. Experience with the Texas Public Information Act is highly valued, particularly where it involves confidential commercial information, contracts, procurement, infrastructure, personnel matters, or other sensitive organisational records.
This is a highly visible in-house role suited to an attorney who can operate independently, work effectively with outside counsel, and provide commercially pragmatic advice to senior stakeholders in a complex and highly regulated environment.
Responsibilities
- Manage and advise on a broad portfolio of litigation and dispute matters affecting the organisation, including commercial, contractual, tort, employment, property, procurement, construction, and other operational disputes.
- Develop litigation strategy and work closely with external counsel on complex matters from pre-litigation through discovery, motions, hearings, trial, and appeals as appropriate.
- Draft and review pleadings, motions, briefs, discovery, settlement agreements, and other litigation-related documents.
- Advise internal stakeholders on litigation risk, dispute avoidance, document preservation, subpoenas, discovery obligations, and potential claims.
- Provide legal advice regarding Texas Public Information Act requests and other public-records obligations applicable to a public power organisation.
- Evaluate requests for potentially confidential, proprietary, commercially sensitive, personnel, infrastructure, security, and other protected information under Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code.
- Advise business and legal teams on the application of TPIA exceptions and disclosure requirements and, where appropriate, assist with Attorney General ruling requests and related matters.
- Work with internal records custodians, business units, information technology, and external counsel to manage complex information requests and litigation-related document collections.
- Advise on subpoenas, investigations, governmental inquiries, and other requests for information that may intersect with litigation, regulatory, or public-records obligations.
- Support the business on legal matters involving contracts, procurement, vendors, construction, infrastructure projects, and other operational activities where dispute or litigation risk may arise.
- Partner with senior leadership and business stakeholders to identify legal risks and develop practical, commercially appropriate solutions.
- Manage and oversee outside litigation counsel, including case strategy, budgets, matter management, and overall performance.
- Assist in developing and maintaining litigation, public-information, records-management, and legal risk-management processes and best practices.
- Stay current on developments in Texas litigation, public-sector law, open-records requirements, and other legal developments affecting the organisation.
Ideal Background
- J.D. from an accredited law school with active membership in the State Bar of Texas.
- Approximately 7–15 years of substantive legal experience, with a significant focus on litigation and dispute resolution.
- Strong hands‑on experience handling civil and/or commercial litigation, including discovery, motion practice, depositions, hearings, and preferably trial or appellate matters.
- Experience representing or advising a utility, energy company, governmental entity, municipality, public authority, or other highly regulated organisation.
- Practical experience with the Texas Public Information Act (Chapter 552), open records, or comparable public-sector disclosure matters.
- Strong understanding of litigation strategy, risk assessment, discovery, and dispute management.
- Excellent legal research, writing, drafting, negotiation, and advocacy skills.
- Ability to independently manage matters while working effectively with senior legal leadership and external counsel.
- Commercially minded with the ability to provide clear, practical legal advice to non‑lawyer stakeholders.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across a large and complex organisation.
- Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple matters, deadlines, and competing priorities.
Preferred Experience
- Prior in‑house experience within a utility, energy, infrastructure, governmental, municipal, or other regulated organisation.
- Experience with a municipal utility, public power organisation, governmental agency, or other public‑sector entity.
- Experience handling Texas Public Information Act requests, Attorney General ruling processes, open‑records disputes, or related Chapter 552 matters.
- Experience litigating matters involving commercial contracts, procurement, construction, infrastructure, employment, property, or utility operations.
- Experience managing significant litigation matters with external counsel.
- Exposure to regulatory proceedings, administrative law, or appeals involving utility or energy matters.
- Experience advising on confidential, proprietary, trade secret, cybersecurity, infrastructure, or commercially sensitive information.
- Prior experience at a leading Texas law firm with a strong litigation, energy, utility, governmental, or infrastructure practice.
- Experience working with senior executives, boards, governmental stakeholders, or other highly visible decision‑makers.
Why Consider This Role?
- Opportunity to join the legal team of a major public power and energy organisation serving a large Texas community.
- Broad exposure across complex litigation, disputes, public information, regulatory, commercial, and operational matters.
- Opportunity to work at the intersection of the energy industry and public‑sector law.
- Direct partnership with experienced legal and business leadership.
- High visibility across the organisation and the opportunity to advise on significant legal and business matters.
- Opportunity to work on matters involving critical energy infrastructure and essential public services.
- Sophisticated in‑house environment offering both substantive legal responsibility and meaningful business exposure.
- Collaborative setting with the opportunity to develop a broad and highly valuable legal practice.
- Based full‑time in San Antonio, Texas, working closely with legal, operational, and senior business teams.