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Courts to Remain Open, Staff Sees Furloughs as Funding Halts During Shutdown - Despite the federal government shutdown, which took effect Oct. 1 due to congress’ failure to pass a spending bill, federal courts are still in operation. But after three weeks, and with no funding agreement in sight, the judiciary is beginning to feel the pressure as staff members are furloughed and funding dries up. October 17, 2025Alexa Shrake
CMC Acquires Foley Products for $1.84B - Commercial Metals Co. said Thursday that it agreed to acquire Foley Products Co. for $1.84 billion in cash. Based outside Atlanta, Foley provides precast concrete and pipe products primarily in the Southeast, operating 18 facilities in nine states. The company’s products are used in drainage, water management, dry utility, and road construction across residential, non-residential and infrastructure sectors.  October 16, 2025Jason Philyaw
BlackRock-Led AI Group Strikes Deal for Aligned Data Centers - The Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership — the consortium founded about a year ago by BlackRock, Abu Dhabi-based MGX, Microsoft and NVIDIA to expand capacity of AI infrastructure — announced on Oct. 15 the acquisition of Aligned Data Centers from funds managed by Australia’s Macquarie Asset Management.

The companies said the deal, which values Plano-based Aligned Data Centers at $40 billion, will fuel the expansion of next-generation cloud and AI infrastructure.

Sterlington, Latham & Watkins and Kirkland & Ellis advised on the deal. October 15, 2025Jason Philyaw
Alex Jones Expected to Pay $1.4B to Sandy Hook Families, SCOTUS Rejects Appeal - Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay $1.4 billion for defamation to the Sandy Hook shooting victims’ family members a decade after the shooting. His second attempt to avoid paying has been denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. October 14, 2025Alexa Shrake
Mikal Watts: ‘No Jury in America Will Hold Camp Mystic Responsible’ - Prominent Texas plaintiff’s trial lawyer Mikal Watts, who has successfully sued some of the biggest companies in the world, is taking on his first defense client: Camp Mystic and its owners. Watts said Monday that he is officially representing pro bono the Eastland family and the Christian girls summer camp in any potential litigation resulting from the July flooding tragedy that caused more than 115 deaths, including 27 children at Camp Mystic in Kerr County.

“I’ve spent three months conducting a thorough investigation, and I believe that facts matter,” Watts told The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview Monday. October 13, 2025Mark Curriden
Litigation Roundup: Fort Worth Panel Says 15-Year Delay in Requesting Reporter’s Record Unexcused - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Supreme Court requests responses in a $15.4 million personal injury appeal involving CenterPoint in a fight over public records involving Highland Park Independent School District and Ken Paxton takes an alleged “political takeover” attempt in Loving County to the courthouse.  October 13, 2025Michelle Casady

Centerpiece

Forty Years in the Making, Harris County Finally Gets More Civil District Courts - Lawmakers this session did something that hadn’t been done in more than 40 years: approved the creation of new civil district courts in Harris County. The five new courts will come online next year and in 2027, and officials have said the additions will improve docket efficiency, enhance access to justice and strengthen the court system’s ability to serve Harris County. October 17, 2025Michelle Casady
Q&A: South Texas College of Law Dean Rey Valencia on SCOTX’s Tentative Move Away from ABA Oversight and Other Changes Facing Law School Leaders - In June, before officially taking over as president and dean of South Texas College of Law, Reynaldo “Rey” Anaya Valencia joined seven other Texas law school leaders in urging the Texas Supreme Court to continue the American Bar Association’s role as the accrediting body. The son of former migrant farm workers, Valencia, a Harvard Law graduate, is the school’s first Hispanic and person of color president and dean.  October 16, 2025Krista Torralva

Expert Voices

How an Unconventional Path Can Lead to a Perfect Fit in Practice - When I arrived at the office, my inbox was teeming with notifications for a new commercial real estate deal. Walking to the employee lounge, I ran into a corporate partner who placed me on a management buyout closing within the next two weeks. An hour later, a real estate partner approached me, asking about the tax consequences of a non-liquidating property distribution. As I finally settled in at my desk, I paused, asking myself a question that has guided my career path all along: How did my past, with all its unexpected turns, lead me to this exact moment? I concluded my successful clerkship convinced of the power of three guiding career principles. October 15, 2025Travis McInroe

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Stories You Might’ve Missed

  • Toyota’s Derek Lipscombe Named Texas Lawbook Foundation Co-Chair - The Texas Lawbook Foundation has named Derek Lipscombe, managing counsel at Toyota North America, as the new co-chair of the nonprofit’s board of directors. Lipscombe, a former newspaper reporter who is past president of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter, has served on The Lawbook Foundation board since it was founded in 2023. The Lawbook Foundation’s sole mission is to provide support for The Texas Lawbook’s news coverage of pro bono, public service and diversity in the Texas legal community. October 8, 2025Mark Curriden

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