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Texas Business Court Boots Fraud Suit Against Indiana Trailer Manufacturer - The Texas Business Court dismissed a fraud lawsuit against an Indiana-based trailer manufacturer, determining the dispute did not belong in Texas courts. Texas-based Daimler Truck Financial Services was seeking $28 million in damages. April 9, 2026
Ares Management Buys Whitestone REIT for $1.7B - Alternative investment manager Ares Management Corp. said on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Houston-based Whitestone REIT for $19 a share, or about $1.7 billion, in cash.
Kirkland is outside legal advisor to Ares and Whitestone's general counsel is Peter Tropoli. April 9, 2026
Kirkland is outside legal advisor to Ares and Whitestone's general counsel is Peter Tropoli. April 9, 2026
Asked & Answered with Norton Rose Fulbright’s Julie Searle: From DOJ to Walmart to BigLaw - In this edition of Asked & Answered, Norton Rose Fulbright partner Julie Searle talks about being inspired by her parents to go to law school and her decade of experience at the Department of Justice. From government to in-house to private practice, Searle draws on these experiences in her role as a litigator in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Austin office. April 8, 2026Omar Samji Heads Back to Gibson Dunn - Omar Samji, the Houston-based lawyer whose career in power and renewables spans more than two decades and six law firms, has left Weil for Gibson Dunn, the firm is announcing today. April 8, 2026
Jackson Walker Draws Another Suit Over Bankruptcy Scandal - A group of 13 shareholders of biopharmaceutical tech company Sorrento Therapeutics allege in a new lawsuit that Dallas-based Jackson Walker’s decision to file its bankruptcy case in the Southern District of Texas was done to enrich the firm at the expense of the shareholders. April 7, 2026
Litigation Roundup: Camp Mystic Wants Arbitration in Fatal Flood Suits - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a San Antonio-based Jackson Walker partner is tapped to represent a man in a $37 million bid-rigging conspiracy case in Hawaii, and Camp Mystic asks a Travis County district judge to send litigation over the fatal July 4 flood to arbitration. April 6, 2026
Pipeline Owner Sued for $200M Breach Owes $1 Biz Court Determines - Stonewall Gas Gathering, a West Virginia pipeline owner, has been ordered to pay $1 in a breach of contract case before the Texas Business Court. Antero Resources claimed it had suffered $200 million in damages from the alleged breach. April 6, 2026
Mavs Notch Early Win in Legal Battle with Stars, Trial Looms - The Texas Business Court in Dallas trimmed the claims for trial by granting summary judgment for the Mavericks, finding the Stars didn’t comply with the “location commitment” in the parties’ contract when the team moved its headquarters to Frisco in 2003. There will be a hearing Tuesday morning to determine where the jury trial will take place next month. April 6, 2026
Centerpiece
Texas Lawbook Honors Sidley Austin Chair Yvette Ostolaza - Yvette Ostolaza grew up in an immigrant neighborhood in Miami, the daughter of parents who fled Cuba in the 1960s. She learned English from watching Sesame Street. As a young teenager, she lied about her age to get a job at Sears to make extra money for her family. When she announced that she wanted to be the first in the family to go to college, they told her she was crazy.
Four decades later, Ostolaza became the first Latina and first Dallas lawyer to lead a global corporate law firm — a position she has held since 2022 at Sidley Austin, a 2,300-lawyer firm with 21 offices and more than $3.7 billion in annual revenue.
The Texas Lawbook announced Thursday that it is awarding the first-ever Texas Lawbook Law Firm Leadership Award to Ostolaza. April 9, 2026
ACC Houston, Lawbook Name Annual GCs, Senior Counsel of the Year, Pro Bono and Diversity Honorees - The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced more recipients of 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards. General counsel and senior in-house counsel from six of the world’s largest corporate energy and chemical giants, a handful of thriving midsized energy industry operators and the top lawyer for Houston Rockets owner and entertainment billionaire Tilman Fertitta have been named.
During the next week, ACC Houston and The Lawbook will unveil the 2026 award winners in 17 different categories. April 7, 2026
During the next week, ACC Houston and The Lawbook will unveil the 2026 award winners in 17 different categories. April 7, 2026
Expert Voices
Trust as a Team Superpower: Why Trust is Your Most Powerful Tool as a Leader - Have you ever worked with someone or a group of people and everything was just easy?
But have you also experienced the opposite, where nothing seemed clear?
In both scenarios, the difference was trust. April 7, 2026
But have you also experienced the opposite, where nothing seemed clear?
In both scenarios, the difference was trust. April 7, 2026
A Review of March’s Texas Business Court Decisions - March finds the court firing on all cylinders, producing an increasingly large (and increasingly diverse) output of opinions covering a wide range of issues at nearly every stage of the litigation life cycle — from remand fights to temporary injunction battles and from jurisdictional disputes to yet another trial verdict (this time from a bench trial). April 6, 2026
Stories You Might’ve Missed
Texas Courts Cold as Ice to Winter Storm Uri Victims - Winter Storm Uri brought single-digit temperatures and freezing precipitation to Texas in February 2021. Power lines snapped. Natural gas and power generators went silent. Pipelines froze. At least 246 people died. Thousands and thousands more suffered serious medical injuries. In all, 31,600 Texans and businesses sued energy companies for gross negligence. But five years later, not a single case has made it to trial. February 13, 2026
