Supply Chain Legal Assistant

APRIL L. JONES

PROFILE

**+ years of experience focused in contract administration and negotiation, procurement and supply chain management, and litigation for entities in the energy, oil and gas industries

EDUCATION & AFFILIATION

MBA – University of St. Thomas – Expected 2025-2026

BA – Political Science/Legal Studies, University of St. Thomas

AAS – Legal Technology, Houston Community College

ACLAA – Former president of the American Corporate Legal Assistant Association, 1998; former President Elect in 2007

HCPA – President Elect 2006 of the Houston Corporate Paralegal Association, formerly ACLAA

Speaker, Upstream Oil and Gas Contract Management, Pre-Conference Workshops, “Creating Leverage in Agreements through Effective Contract Negotiation” February 23-25th, 2011, Houston, TX

EXPERIENCE

AL Jones Contracting Consulting Services, LLC Houston, TX September 24 – Present

Senior Consultant

Provide contract review for Fannie Mae to include redline, negotiate and review SOW’s, NDA’s, IT software agreements. [www.aljonesconsulting.net]

Establish short and long-term company goals

Sempra Infrastructure, Houston, TX 2023 – September 2024

Senior Contracts Advisor

•Redline, review and negotiate from cradle to grave IT Software, terms and conditions, indemnity agreements, Professional Services agreements, SaaS, license agreements, T&C’s, NDAs, etc.

•Provide support in reviewing, resolving day-to-day contract-related issues

•Prepare contract briefs summarizing contract terms

•Work with BU to provide status updates and close-outs of contacts, PO’s, etc.

Attend management meetings to discuss new projects, travelling as necessary to other offices

Run RFPs and bids, proposals, change orders, amendments, modifications, etc.

Mentor, development interns and new employees.

Drafting, negotiating various contracts

Coordinating the contract lifecycle, developing tools for process improvement.

Drive, develop and implement sourcing strategies.

Vendor management and new supplier set up.

VMware, Inc., Houston, TX 2021 – 2023

Senior Contracts Manager – Data Privacy Support (Consultant)

Assisted Privacy team in responding to new European Economic Area SCC Vendor Questionnaires

Provided negotiation for Vendor Data Privacy Addenda

Drafted, reviewed, and negotiated a broad range of agreements, ranging from cloud transformational technology agreements, various forms of software licenses, Software as a Service, support and maintenance, professional services contracts, data privacy agreements and non-disclosure agreements, advising on liabilities, legal restrictions and risks associated with such agreements

Interfaced with appropriate staff to understand business and other issues involved with Vendor contract negotiations

Managed internal communications, facilitated escalations and approvals, addressed queries with customers and internal stakeholders

AL Jones Contracting Consulting Services, LLC Houston, TX 2020 – Present

General Manager

Oversee operation of the business [www.aljonesconsulting.net]

Establish short and long-term company goals

Review, negotiate, redline, and advise various contracts to include master service agreements, goods & services agreements, Professional services agreements, NDAs, general terms and conditions, sponsorship agreements, amendments, change orders, RFPs, RFIs, LOIs, hotel agreements, software, IT license agreements, SaaS agreements, drafting and tailoring agreements to the specific project, etc.

Create and maintain relationships with the community, managing budgets, ensuring proper allocation of resources, and ensuring goals are achieved

ExxonMobil, The Woodlands, TX 2018 – 2019

Senior Global IT Contracts Manager (Consultant)

Negotiated with software suppliers/vendors for compliance/clarification of software contract terms, including price increases, and any other contract terms, preparing bids and ensuring accuracy and completeness in Ariba as well as incorporating correct Data Processing Addendum, Data Privacy addendum, if warranted, and standard clauses specific to each product or service agreement

Completed Functional Reviews for non-standard software license terms and conditions in conjunction with the appropriate legal and other functional reviewers (i.e., Audit, Treasurer) when necessary to mitigate risk

Requested client management approval for non-standard contract terms in accordance with DOAG

Routed tickets within EMIT as appropriate after work was completed

Identified contract optimization opportunities that reduced administrative efforts and supported globalization goals as well as monitored update software request tracking system information

Maintained and implemented sourcing events in Ariba, to include RFPs, RFIs, bids, proposals, change orders, amendments, modifications and vendor system issues

Gyrodata, Inc., Houston, TX 2017 – 2018

Senior Contracts Manager (Consultant)

Supported Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer

Served as central point of contact for contract administration inquiries from business units

Reviewed, negotiated, and concluded all master service agreements, professional services agreements, terms and conditions, purchase orders, amendments, tenders, addendums, and confidentiality agreements from cradle to grave

Managed the day-to-day activities in the legal department to include ensuring that all contracts follow Gyrodata's contracting policies and procedures

Briefed General Counsel and management on potential deal-breakers or impasses in MSA, terms, and conditions

GE Oil & Gas and Baker Hughes, a GE Company, Houston, TX 2012 – 2017

Senior Global Contracts Manager (Fulltime)

Chaired the Pressure Control Sales, Commercial, and Operations teams to support profitable growth and execution

Reviewed, negotiated, and concluded all US domestic and international agreements, government contracts.

Interfaced with customer and made appropriate recommendations to the business

Collaborated with in-house lawyers in review and drafting of transactions, domestic and global

Collaborated with Sourcing and other GE divisions as necessary regarding any contract terms and conditions that require flow down to suppliers

Approved and denied contracts based on Delegation of Authority

Continually simplified processes of negotiating and managing contracts

Managed and developed skills within the Contract Management team

Enforced procedures and the use of special terms and conditions for flow transactions

Conducted risk review meetings when contract approvals are required

Proactively collected overdue payment ($275,000) from Customer to GE for completed work/services

BP Exploration & Production Company, Houston, TX 2010 – 2012

Sr. Contracts Specialist (Consultant) Supply Chain & Procurement (BP Oil Spill Response)

Reviewed, negotiated, and concluded all contracts, master service agreements, purchase orders, change orders, one-off, bids, and confidentiality agreements from cradle to grave

Worked with Procurement Lead to ensure all agreements met company policy and procedures

Prepared various reports regarding contracts claims

Provided strategic sourcing of contracts through Ariba souring tool, managing suppliers to ensure policies and procedures are adhered to using Oyster, SMS

Spectra Energy, Houston, TX 2010

Sr. Contracts Administrator – IT Asset Management (Consultant)

Reviewed, negotiated, and concluded, from cradle to grave, all master service agreements, RFIs, RFPs, confidentiality agreements, leases, license agreements, terms & conditions of purchase, etc.

Managed the day-to-day activities in the IT department to include ensuring that contracts follow Spectra’s contracting policies and procedures

Cameron International Corporation, Houston, TX 2007 – 2009

Contracts Manager - Western Hemisphere – Drilling & Productions System Division

Reviewed and negotiated all domestic and international agreements to include master service agreements, confidentiality agreements, leases, joint venture agreements, terms & conditions of purchase, etc.

Managed the day-to-day activities in the legal department to include ensuring that all contracts follow Cameron's contracting policies and procedures

Managed two (2) Contract Administrators and one (1) Administrative Assistant

Traveled as needed for Global Contract Seminar focusing on the international prospective of agreements

Delivered contracting training seminars to management and sales personnel

[*Expro Americas, Inc. acquired Power Well Services, Inc. in 2005] 2002 – 2007

Power Well Services, Inc., Houston, TX

Sr. Global Contracts Advisor 2005 – 2007

Negotiated, generated, reviewed and concluded all US domestic and international agreements from cradle to grave to include seismic contracts, master service agreements, RFP's leases, work releases, change orders, confidentiality, amendments, license agreements, construction agreements, IT agreements, and insurance matters

Worked closely with outside counsel, internal stakeholders, and contract managers

Expro Americas Inc., Houston, TX

Global Contracts Advisor 2002 – 2005

Negotiated, generated, reviewed, and prepared all documents to include master service agreements, RFP’s leases, confidentiality, license agreements, construction agreements, IT agreements, and insurance matters

Generated documentation in various EEOC matters and litigation matters in North America

Ensured appropriate procedures were followed regarding the execution of agreements as well as generated, coordinated, and prepared employment litigation matters with outside counsel to include document production

Traveled as necessary to meet with clients on contract matters and to international business meetings

Advised on the potential risks involved in contract matters and prepared addenda, briefs, and interrogatories

Enron Corporation, Houston, TX 2002

Bankruptcy Paralegal (Consultant)

Responded to and answered numerous civil and criminal subpoenas

Interfaced with various members of congress in Washington, DC to provide and receive information on subpoenas

Updated, prepared, searched, and entered information into Livelink (a software tool) for retrieval of various documents relating to Enron's bankruptcy

Prepared various indexes for submittal to inside/outside counsel as well as interacting with outside counsel in New York and Houston

Worked closely with internal groups to include tax, legal, and accounting to prepare various reports for congress

Responded to questions from Enron's examiner as well as interviewed various current and former Enron employees

Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Sugar Land, TX 1997 – 2002

Contracts Administrator

Generated, reviewed, and negotiated all domestic software, license, master service agreements, NDA, RFPs, leases, and seismic agreements for the Geco-Prakla (seismic division) within Schlumberger

Reviewed, prepared, and negotiated all agreements to include (with outside counsel) preparing addenda, briefs, and interrogatories

Attended management meetings and strategy sessions as well as negotiations at various field locations

Provided support to three (3) OFS legal counsels, general counsel, and management groups

Reviewed and negotiated all leases for Schlumberger real and leased property

Generated, reviewed, and prepared all documents for the acquisition and mergers of companies purchased and sold by Schlumberger, to include due diligence

Generated, coordinated, and prepared for employment litigation matters with outside counsel to include document production

Camco International Inc., Houston, TX 1995 – 1997

Corporate Paralegal, Legal Department

Provided litigation support to include document production, summarize and draft various documents and working with outside counsel to provide and receive information in litigation cases.

Generated all foreign and domestic master service agreements, IT agreements, leases, and vendor agreements

Reviewed, prepared and negotiated all in-house agreements with outside counsel

Handled all corporate documentation for various companies purchased by Camco

Oversaw all Camco contracting, international, and credit policies within Camco

Enron 1986 – 1995

Contract Administrator/Account Analyst -- Enron Capital & Trade Resources Corp., Dublin, OH

Generated all ECT’s Standard term, Spot purchase and Sell production contracts and RFPs

Maintained contract files and returned fully executed copy of contract to producer

Provided primary backup for spot sales contracts and secondary backup for Enfolio contract generation

Educated customers in the use of the “Enfolio Master Agreement” versus the usual contract, resulting in new deals under this Agreement

Demonstrated ability in ensuring integrity of documents, and timeless of generation, 100% reliability

Captured all deal information and maintained contract database

Oversaw all Enron contracting and credit policies and procedures

Maintained and set-up contracts in GASS/SYNERGI database

Sr. Supply Specialist -- Enron Gas Processing, Houston, TX

Prepared, organized, and distributed necessary documents related to gas purchase activity in the North region

Updated, prepared, organized, and distributed gas processing nomination detail that is used for third party gallon allocations

Prepared and nominated all nominations on Northern Natural Gas's Pipeline to avoid penalties

Generated the Bushton Morning Report analysis for management review

Interacted with gas control, accounting, operations, and other Enron entities to provide and receive information

Prepared, drafted, and organized all contracts for the purchase and sale of gas

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