Business Law Careers

Siriporn Chaiyasuta '85 is Vice President, Asia Strategy, Chevron Asia Pacific. Siriporn has been with the company for over 28 years.  She was General Counsel of Chevron Asia Pacific based in Singapore. Her area of responsibilities covers matters of Chevron upstream business in the region. Chevron Asia Pacific is currently active in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines and Thailand involved in the exploration and production of oil & gas, condensate and LNG.

Robert Hart, J.D./M.B.A '87 is the Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Mark Cuban Companies, a collection of over 100 hundred companies, including the Dallas Mavericks. Robert was raised in the town of Lincoln, Rhode Island.  He attended Boston University (1979-1983) where he obtained a joint Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree in Political Science, graduating magna cum laude with the Dean’s Distinction Award, and a minor in Sociology.  While at Boston University, he studied abroad at the University of Copenhagen in 1981 and traveled extensively including to the Soviet Union.

Mary R. Korby '84 has been a member of the Board of Directors for Darling Ingredients Inc. since 2014, and she is currently Chair of the Compensation Committee and a Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. She is also a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Mary practiced law for 30 years, including as a Partner at K&L Gates LLP and a Partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. In her legal practice, Mary advised boards of directors and companies regarding securities law compliance, stock exchange listings, disclosure issues and corporate governance, as well as tender offers, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions, including complex cross-border public and private transactions. She has advised clients in diverse industries such as chemicals, defense, recycling, green energy, aviation, and manufacturing.

Catherine A. Paulson ’00 is Associate General Counsel at Integer Holdings and has over 20 years of extensive legal experience in the manufacturing and entertainment industries. At Integer, she is responsible for providing hands-on counsel to a wide range of CRM&N issues, including contracts, real estate, intellectual property, mergers & acquisitions, environmental and litigation, among others. Previously, she served as Assistant General Counsel at Kimberly Clark Corp. supporting the manufacturer’s $2B North American Professional Division. Catherine also served as Chief Legal Counsel for Lennox International’s Worldwide Supply Chain, Advanced Distributor Products and Allied Air Enterprises divisions supporting procurement, supply, sales and other product related activities. Most recently, she was Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary for Cinepolis, USA responsible for both strategic and day-to-day legal issues at the operational and corporate level. She holds a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the Southern Methodist University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Illinois State University. Catherine is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is a Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP).

Cliff Robertson '10 is an attorney at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Cliff practices healthcare law with an emphasis on healthcare transactions and regulations. Before joining UT Southwestern in 2017, Cliff was an associate at Strasburger & Price in San Antonio, Texas, from 2014 to 2017, and in-house counsel at Children’s Health in Dallas, Texas, from 2012 to 2014. He earned his J.D. in 2010 at the SMU Dedman School of Law and his BA in 2007 at The University of Texas at Austin.

Jake Torres '17 is an associate in the Finance section at Vinson & Elkins LLP. His practice focuses on the representation of financial institutions, corporate lenders, and borrowers in various financing arrangements. Jake graduated from SMU Dedman Law in 2017. During his time in law school, he served as a member of the SMU Board of Trustees, the President of the Hispanic Law Students Association, and as a Chief Counsel in the Civil Legal Clinic. At graduation, he was chosen by the graduating class to receive the John Kennedy Memorial Scholarship. Prior to law school, Jake taught at W. W. Samuell High School in the Dallas Independent School District through Teach for America. He earned his undergraduate degree from SMU in 2011.