Stephen F Gates

S. F. (Steve) Gates is senior vice president, legal and general counsel for ConocoPhillips, based in Houston, Texas. Gates joined ConocoPhillips in May, 2003, from being a partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw in Chicago, IL. Previously Gates served at Amoco (now British Petroleum) for 23 years, where he was executive vice president and group chief of staff of BP after serving as vice president and general counsel of Amoco. He also served as senior vice president and general counsel of FMC Corporation in 2000-2001. Gates was born in 1946 in Clearwater, Florida. He was awarded a bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude, in economics, from Yale University in 1968. He received his master's of business administration and juris doctorate from Harvard University in 1972 and held a Knox Fellowship in 1972-1973. Gates is a member of the American Bar Association, the Association of General Counsel and the American Petroleum Institute General Law Committee. He serves on the Board of the Houston Grand Opera, the National Legal Center for the Public Interest, the Newberry Library, the CPR-Institute for Dispute Resolution, and the Appleseed Foundation.