Epic Systems v. Lewis: Two Views – Both of Them Good For Employers

Editor’s Note: Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark employment law decision that upheld workplace arbitration agreements that ban class action trials. The Texas Lawbook asked two employment law experts for their analysis.

Lauren Swann Joins Newhouse + Noblin as Managing Director

(May 25) – A former corporate attorney at Haynes and Boone, Lauren’s path to becoming a recruiter is typical of the team at Newhouse + Noblin: all of the company’s attorney recruiters practiced law with prominent firms and tended to be very active in their firms’ recruiting before feeling the call of recruiting professionally.

AmLaw 200 Firm Absorbs Dallas Litigation Shop To Open First Texas Office

By Allen Pusey – (May 23) – The Dallas litigation firm of Lackey Hershman has agreed to combine with Stinson Leonard Street, creating the first Texas outpost for the AmLaw 200 firm. The 16-lawyer Dallas firm, which was formed in 2001 as a litigation boutique, will be absorbed by Stinson, which is co-headquartered in Kansas City and Minneapolis, effective June 1.

Reed Smith Opens in Austin, Expands in Houston

By Natalie Posgate – (May 23) – The Texas lawyers are part of a 15-person group that are leaving Norton Rose Fulbright to join four of Reed Smith’s U.S. offices. All of the lawyers will join Reed Smith’s life sciences health industry practice group, including NRF’s former Global Head of Life Sciences and Healthcare.

Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation Announces 2018 Scholarship and Grant Recipients

By Chris Luna of T-Mobile — (May 22) – The fact that 5 percent of Dallas lawyers are Hispanic while almost 40 percent of the population is Hispanic highlights that Hispanics are not entering the profession in large numbers. On Wednesday, the Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation hosts its sixth annual Amanecer Luncheon which raises funds for scholarships and internships to Hispanic law students and provides numerous grants to Hispanic high school and college students with interests in the law. Your help is needed. 

Corp. Deal Tracker Weekly Round-Up: 11 Firms and 63 TX Lawyers Advise on 15 Deals Worth $20.4B

By Claire Poole – (May 22) — Thanks to continuing consolidation of the midstream sector, deals last week hit a high mark for the year at $20.4 billion spread over 15 transactions worked by 63 Texas lawyers. The total surpassed the previous high of $16.5 billion during the first week of January and was well over last week’s $4.7 billion in 15 deals. The Corporate Deal Tracker Roundup has all the details in The Texas Lawbook.

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TC Heartland Anniversary: EDTX Patent Filings Plummet, NDTX Benefits

By Mark Curriden – (May 21) – The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark patent jurisdiction decision one year ago has dramatically impacted the patent litigation dockets for the Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts of Texas. The Texas Lawbook has some exclusive new data that shows the true impact of the ruling, and some of the findings are not what the experts predicted.

>Previous Lawyers and Firms > > >

New to Corporate Deal Tracker, or need a refresher on its criteria? You can also find that below.

Shubi Arora
Manuel Berrelez
Steve Bartz
Bill Benitez
Kenneth Broughton
Sara Burgin
Andrew Calder
Ryan Carney
Doug Cawley
Ron Chapman, Jr.
Josh Davidson
Adrienne Dominguez
David Gail
John Grand
Brad Hawley
Mike Heim
Jeff Hubenak
John Jansonius
Ben Koplin
Paul Lackey
Jeff Layne
Chris Luna
Christine Mainguy
Bill Munck
Eric Pacifici
Alan Rafte
Doug Rayburn
Casey Schulte
Lauren Swann
Mitch Tiras
Rahul Vashi
Raymond Walker III
Jonathan Whalen
Sean Wheeler
Travis Wofford

Baker Botts
Bracewell
Cooley
DLA Piper
Gibson Dunn
Heim Payne
Jackson Walker
Kirkland
Latham
Locke Lord
McKool Smith
Munck Wilson
Ogletree Deakins
Reed Smith
Stinson
T&K
T-Mobile
V&E
Walker Eisenbraun
Weil

Mergermarket: Kirkland & Ellis Continues Its M&A Winning Streak in Texas

By Mark Curriden – (April 17) – For the ninth consecutive quarter, Texas businesses turned more to national law firms instead of locally based legal operations to lead their major mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. Find out who’s leading the pack in Texas and the latest trends in the market. Mark Curriden has the details in The Texas Lawbook.

‘Who Run the World?’ Beyoncé Notwithstanding, An Austin M&A Lawyer Do

By Claire Poole – (April 20) – The Texas Lawbook Corporate Deal Tracker results for 2017 are in, and the top spot is held by a woman. In a corner of the profession long dominated by white guys from Houston, this is a big deal. Claire Poole has details about the winner. One more thing: she recently moved.

Law Firm Competition Intense for M&A Deals in Texas

By Claire Poole and Mark Curriden – (April 16) – The Texas Lawbook’s 2017 Corporate Deal Tracker results for M&A dealmaking are final and there are some major surprises. V&E still reigns No. 1, but a handful of national law firms that have moved into Texas are threatening to take its crown. The Texas Lawbook has all the numbers on M&A by Texas law firms.

Corporate Deal Tracker 2017: A Year of Market Contrasts

By Claire Poole – (March 26) – Dealmaking in 2017 was confounding: deals were up, but values were down. The deal count hit 735, but total reported value dropped below $400 billion. There are lots of reasons, of course. But maybe the best explanation is the market itself. Claire Poole sums up the year based on the 2017 annual Corporate Deal Tracker tallies exclusively in The Texas Lawbook.

EFH, Oncor, Vistra – A Corporate Restructuring for the Decades

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 19) – In some ways, it was more saga than bankruptcy: A four-year-long, $45 billion corporate restructuring that included the elimination of more than $20 billion in debt, four corporate M&A divestitures valued at $18 billion each, heated battles with state regulators that caused two of those deals to collapse, and the $20 billion spin-off of two subsidiaries. And now the deal is a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Mark Curriden describes the EFH journey through the courts in The Texas Lawbook.

Dena Stroh & NTTA’s Law Firms Finalists for Biz Litigation and M&A Deal of Year

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 18) – Dena Stroh says she had no idea that government law could be fascinating. But in 2017, she guided the North Texas Tollway Authority through one of the largest government bond issues in the U.S., as well as a potentially major class-action lawsuit. For that, and more, she and what she calls her “excellent lawyers” are nominated in two categories of the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read the details in The Texas Lawbook.

Michael Sukenik is ‘Adept at Operating Across Diverse Markets’

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 18) – Michael “Misha” Sukenik travels a lot. He’s the legal officer behind two of the best known franchise names in the Yum! Brands inventory in 120 countries. He’s also a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read about him in The Texas Lawbook.

Trinity Industries: Their Hard-Fought Fifth Circuit Win Yields Three Outstanding Corporate Counsel Finalists

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 17) – A 2014 East Texas jury verdict that Trinity Industries violated the False Claims Act resulted in a $663 million judgment against the Irving-based manufacturer of highway guardrails. Instead of cratering, Trinity launched a counter-offensive led by the company’s top legal officers, Theis Rice and Sarah Teachout. In 2017, the duo and their outside counsel scored an historic reversal—earning them nominations as finalists in three categories of the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. The Texas Lawbook explains.

Chasity Henry is a ‘Recognized Problem-Solver’

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 17) – Chasity Wilson Henry had just graduated from law school in 2006 when she found herself handling nine-figure M&A deals with some of the savviest corporate lawyers in North Texas. Now Assistant General Counsel at Kimberly-Clark—and a finalist in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards—Henry is leading the legal department in strategic acquisitions and joint ventures. The Texas Lawbook lays out the reasons Henry is a fast-rising legal star.

Blake Rice’s Job is ‘Problem-solving with Really High Stakes’

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 17) – For Blake Rice, the work day starts early. Though he is based in Dallas, the lifelines of Neuberger Berman, the fast-rising investment services company he represents, stretch across time zones from London to Hong Kong and beyond. His grasp of complicated global transactions has earned him both respect and a nomination for a 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award. Learn about him in The Texas Lawbook.

David Hernandez Serves as Trusted Counselor & Adviser to Hunt Family

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 16) – Baltimore-born David Hernandez made his reputation in Texas as a tax lawyer and a strategic thinker. After years in the law firm trenches, he has emerged as a masterful in-house counsel at Hunt Consolidated and a trusted Hunt family advisor in a time of delicate transition. For this, and more, Hernandez is a finalist in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Learn more about him in The Texas Lawbook.

Janie Perelman: ‘People Just Want to be Treated with Respect’

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 16) – A massive data breach in 2014 could have been catastrophic for Michaels Stores. The arts and crafts company had to explain what happened to regulators, notify 2.6 million customers and fend off no less than five massive lawsuits. But Michaels has recovered, and many credit the rapid and transparent response by Janie Perelman, the company’s assistant general counsel. And now she’s a finalist in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read how she did it in The Texas Lawbook.

Lennie Nicholson Wanted to be Radar O’Reilly, but Became a Great Banking Lawyer

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 16) – Lennie Nicholson has helped guide a tiny credit union into a publicly-traded company. For that, the vice president and associate general counsel of LegacyTexas Bank has been named as a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Not bad for an Upstate New Yorker who got hoodwinked by Uncle Sam. Read more in The Texas Lawbook.

Chris Luna Uses ‘Carrots and Sticks’ to Push for Law Firm Diversity

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 15) – Chris Luna, chief counsel at MetroPCS, has been a fixture in Dallas business and public life. He is an outspoken proponent of diversity in both the legal profession and the businesses they serve. His legal department is a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Find out why in The Texas Lawbook.

Liberty Mutual Corporate Counsel Kimberly Houston “Sees the Bigger Picture”

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 15) – Kimberly Houston’s fascination with the law may have begun with “Matlock,” but it’s grown into an expertise on such weighty subjects as employment misclassification and regulatory compliance. As Corporate Counsel for Liberty Mutual, the insurance giant, Houston has wrestled with large-scale undertakings, from a class action defense to the development of the company’s new corporate campus in North Texas. And now she’s a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read about her in The Texas Lawbook.

Stacie McNulty ‘Embodies the Spirit’ of the Public Service & Pro Bono Award

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 12) – Stacie McNulty is a highly-respected authority on intellectual property. Her observations on the subject have been cited by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. But her long-standing commitment to programs dealing with HIV and other public health issues commands something close to awe. As a result, she’s a finalist in the upcoming Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Details in The Texas Lawbook.

Award Finalist: Oncor’s Complex Asset Swap with Sharyland

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 12) – When Oncor Electric Delivery Company and Dallas-based Sharyland Utilities swapped assets in 2017, it was more than another $400 energy distribution deal. It was a solution to a problem that had plagued and perplexed 60,000 rate payers. That’s one of the reasons the deal is a finalist in the 2017 Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read about what made it unusual and who made it happen in The Texas Lawbook.

Nicola Hobeiche Has a ‘Personal Sense of Obligation to Help Others’

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 11) – Nicola Hobeiche is assistant general counsel at ORIX USA, but her office is often a minefield: of books or clothes or toys headed for a homeless shelter. Sure, she’s an experienced and respected trial lawyer, but she’s also a first-rate community servant and a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards. Read about her in The Texas Lawbook.

Brittany Perez ‘Crafts Unique & Custom Solutions to Complex Legal Issues Around the Globe’

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 11) – Brittany Perez jumps horses in competition. As vice president and associate general counsel of Match.com, she’s also involved in issues as diverse as consumer class actions and cybersecurity. She’s a finalist in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards and her profile in The Texas Lawbook spells out why. Spoiler alert: She didn’t meet her husband on Match.

Keitha Wright ‘Rolls Up her Sleeves’ on Diversity

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 10) – Keitha Wright was the first person in her family to graduate from college. Now the Howard University Law School grad is senior counsel at G2 Secure Staff. Because of her work inside and outside, she’s a finalist in the diversity category of the Outstanding Corporate Counsel awards. More in The Texas Lawbook.

Baron Oursler Offers ‘Legal Answers that Provide Business Solutions’

By Mark Curriden – (Jan. 10) – Baron T. Oursler decided to become a lawyer as an 11-year-old boy. Now he’s general counsel of a $1 billion trucking company. He’s also among finalists in the Outstanding Corporate Counsel awards for 2017. Read more in The Texas Lawbook.

Cross-Border Dealmaking for TX Companies Plunges in 2017

By Claire Poole and Mark Curriden – (Dec. 6) – Cross-border deals in Texas are down dramatically in 2017. Aside from the usual suspects – a strong dollar and undependable oil prices – is a new one: the uncertain parameters of the Trump administration’s “America First” policies. Some transactional lawyers think a lack of policy structure breeds uncertainty among foreign investors. Others think it has no effect at all. This exclusive in The Texas Lawbook has the numbers and the story behind them.