Suddenly, R. Hewitt Pate is a name that can strike fear into the hearts of law firm managers.

In July, Pate was hired as vice president and general counsel of Chevron Corp., the nation’s third largest corporation and the target of billions of dollars worth of litigation. Billions, by the way, is not a misprint. In just one high-profile environmental case in Ecuador, the company’s potential liability is $27 billion. By its own account, Chevron is sued an average of two to three times a day.