Anthony Lannie, executive vice president and general counsel of Apache Corp.

Houston-based Apache Corp., formed in 1954, is an independent energy company that explores for, develops and produces natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids. Apache currently has exploration and production operations in three geographic areas: the United States, Egypt and offshore the United Kingdom in the North Sea. Last year, Apache had worldwide revenues of $6.4 billion, worldwide assets of $21.9 billion and 3,350 employees.

Last August, Apache and Kayne Anderson Acquisition Corp. announced the creation of Altus Midstream Co. Anchored by Apache's gathering, processing and transportation assets at Alpine High, Altus Midstream will be a $3.5 billion publicly traded, pure-play, Permian Basin midstream C-corp. of which Apache will initially own more than 70 percent.

Anthony Lannie serves as executive vice president and general counsel at Apache.

Legal Team

Lannie leads a “lean” team of 22 lawyers, including several lawyers specializing in multiple practice areas, including oil and gas, human resources, labor and employment, litigation, information technology, mergers and acquisitions and corporate/securities law.

The Apache litigation team handled more than 1,200 matters over the last 10 years, while the transactions team completed both U.S.-based transactions and a variety of major international sales and country exits. The deals included M&A, including a public-company acquisition, as well as liquefied natural gas and other global projects. The transactions team navigated a period of unprecedented growth from 2010 to 2012, purchasing $17 billion in assets in four different countries.

Outside Counsel

Lannie said that about half of Apache's legal spend is outsourced but actively managed by in-house lawyers. Specifically, much of the department's litigation involves local or specialized outside counsel, actively managed by in-house counsel.

Nearly all of the employment, banking/financing, real estate marketing and information technology work is handled in-house. As for contracts and deals and operations work, the split is about 80/20 percent, with the lion's share staying in-house.

The firms Lannie likes to use include Texas-based Bracewell, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Susman Godfrey, among others. Internationally, Apache has used a host of outside law firms, including Clifford Chance, Clyde & Co and the London office of Bracewell.

Daily Duties

In addition to actively engaging in key litigation and transactional matters, Lannie, as a member of Apache's executive management team, also spends his time counseling senior management on both legal and business matters.

He described himself as “a hands-on practitioner, often rolling up his sleeves, traveling extensively and leading negotiations with significant value potential for the corporation.”

Route to the Top

Lannie joined Apache as VP and GC in March 2003 and held increasing roles of responsibility, culminating in his appointment as EVP and GC in August 2009.

Prior to joining Apache, he was president of Houston-based Kinder Morgan Power Co. from 2000 through early 2003 and president of Coral Energy Canada in 1999. Lannie was SVP and GC of Coral Energy, an affiliate of Shell Oil Co. and Tejas Gas Corp., from 1995 through 1999, and of Tejas Gas Corp. from 1994 until its combination with Coral Energy in 1998.

He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Vanderbilt University.

Personal

A Missouri native, Lannie and Donna, his wife of 41 years, live in Houston. They have two children and four grandchildren. He said he enjoys golf, skiing, travel and church.

Last Book

“Thinking, Fast and Slow,” by Daniel Kahneman, who has been cited for the proposition that “humans rely on … mental shortcuts that lead them to arrive at judgments based on only a thin slice of the overall problem … because their brains can't cognitively assess the problem's full scope.”

“As a problem solver always looking for win-win solutions, I found this insight to be most intriguing,” Lannie said.