Association of Corporate Counsel - DFW Chapter

I am happy to continue this Black History Month series by spotlighting another high-achieving member of the Association of Corporate Counsel - Derek Lipscombe and applaud his recent lifetime achievement award! As Managing Counsel for Toyota Motor North America, Derek handles labor and employment issues in both union and non-union environments. Prior to Toyota, Derek served as Senior Managing Counsel for JCPenney and prior to that as Managing Counsel for the Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest AAA affiliate.?He has been an ACC member going all the way back to his time at the Auto Club and has spoken at a number of ACC events over the years. In his 20 plus years in-house, Derek has provided advice/counseling in a variety of employment areas, primarily on traditional labor, wage/hour, and leave issues. He also personally litigated employment matters and managed outside counsel on a number of class actions in California. Prior to going in-house, Derek worked for 10 years in private practice, including at two top law firms, primarily handling employment litigation. Derek obtained a Bachelor’s in both Journalism and Political Science and then Masters in Journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He later obtained his JD from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor after he left the newspaper industry where he received numerous rewards for his reporting.?He served on the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)-Dallas Fort Worth Chapter Board of Directors for eight years, including two years as the Chapter President.?Derek also serves on the ACC-National Employment and Labor Law Network leadership team, and is currently in his second year as Chair..?He is very active in pro-bono activities. Recently, Derek received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from ACC-DFW and the Texas Lawbook for his work in-house.?He was more proud that he shared the award with his amazing wife, Marita Covarrubias, who is Deputy General Counsel for Tenet Healthcare. All of us at ACC join to congratulate Derek!

Thank you to DLA Piper and an amazing group of panelists for an outstanding discussion on Texas' Influence on the National and Global Stage. It was a standing-room only event at the beautiful Pavilion at Old Parkland complete with great conversation and delicious food. As one of our attendees commented, "What a stupendous event!!!"