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Chesapeake Picks Up Chief for $2.65B - Three firms in Texas, Gibson Dunn, Shearman & Sterling and Akin Gump, advised on the deal, which was reported as in its final stages last week. Some analysts are curious how Chesapeake will hedge, given concerns about the outlook for natural prices in 2023. January 25, 2022Claire Poole
DBJ: UDF Execs to Remain Free Pending Sentencing on Securities Fraud Convictions - The CEO and three other executives of Grapevine-based United Development Funding convicted of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy will be free while they await sentencing in May, a federal magistrate ruled Monday. The Dallas Business Journal is providing continuous coverage of the trial. January 25, 2022Bill Hethcock of the Dallas Business Journal
DBJ: Jury Convicts All Four UDF Execs of Securities Fraud - The CEO of North Texas-based residential real estate development lender United Development Funding and three of his colleagues were found guilty late this afternoon on securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy charges. After nearly two days of deliberation, the jury convicted UDF CEO Hollis Greenlaw, CFO Cara Delin Obert, director of asset management Jeffrey Brandon Jester and partnership president and committee member Benjamin Lee Wissink on all counts. Dallas Business Journal reporter Bill Hethcock was in the courtroom every day and has the details on the verdict. January 21, 2022Bill Hethcock of the Dallas Business Journal
Judge: $4B Stanford Fraud Case Against Banks to Go to Trial in Houston - After more than a dozen years of motions, objections, petitions and appeals, the multibillion-dollar civil fraud case against five banks that provided financial services to Ponzi scheme perpetrator R. Allen Stanford and his investment firm will finally go to trial later this year in Houston.

A federal judge, who has overseen the massive litigation brought by thousands of investors who claim they were defrauded more than $5 billion in hard money by Stanford and the Stanford Financial Group between 1999 and 2008, said the biggest and final of all the lawsuits is ready to be sent back to Houston to be decided by a judge and jury in the town where the scheme took place. January 20, 2022Mark Curriden
Tellurian Founder Sued by Major Investor — Updated - An investor in Houston-based Tellurian Investments has sued Charif Souki on claims that the company co-founder and chairman of the board reneged on a promise to pay back the investor for tens of millions in losses after Tellurian’s stock value plummeted. January 20, 2022Natalie Posgate

Centerpiece

Becky Diffen: Catching the New Winds in M&A - Over the past couple of decades Becky Diffen has managed to fashion a student passion into a formidable career guiding M&A transactions for renewable energy projects. She's not only seen the energy business change, she's literally been an agent of that change. Nushin Huq profiles her personal transition for The Texas Lawbook. January 20, 2022Nushin Huq

Expert Voices

Appellate 2021 Year in Review: SCOTX and the Fifth Circuit - Year two of the pandemic brought a gradual return to “normal” operations at the Texas Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit. Virtual arguments – in many cases – transitioned to in-person oral arguments. The Fifth Circuit issued important guidance on certifying FLSA collective actions, rejected the so-called fraudulent misjoinder doctrine and clarified standards for federal jurisdiction in the arbitration context. The Texas Supreme Court issued key contract formation cases, refined the standards for determining when courts and agencies have jurisdiction to decide tort claims in the electric-power context and provided guidance on key procedural questions under the TCPA. The Haynes and Boone appellate team has full details. January 18, 2022Ben Mesches, Brian Singleterry & Alicia Pitts

More Stories

DBJ: Fate of UDF Execs in Jury’s Hands as Closing Arguments End
CDT Roundup: 12 Deals, 9 Firms, 155 Lawyers, $7.6B
Locke Lord Corporate Team in Dallas Departs for O’Melveny
SDTX & NDTX Chief Judges Talk Retirement, Pandemic’s Impact on Trials
Divided Fifth Circuit Panel Sends Abortion Law Challenge to SCOTX
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Bankruptcy

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Corp. Deal Tracker/M&A

GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.

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Firm Management

Stories You Might’ve Missed

  • Live Nation Hires Susman Godfrey; Lawyers Predict Astroworld Defendants’ Legal Strategies - Three weeks after 10 people died and hundreds of others were injured at the Astroworld Festival tragedy, the number of lawsuits, plaintiffs and named defendants continues to mount. The demand for damages now tops $3 billion and the lawyer headcount involved in the litigation exceeds six dozen, including some of the most prominent and powerful law firms in Texas. But there are big questions: about insurance coverage, possible bankruptcy and questionable defenses. November 26, 2021Mark Curriden
  • Business Bankruptcies Decline, But Signs of Danger Are Ahead - Corporate bankruptcies in Texas fell significantly during the first six months of 2021 compared to the record numbers that were filed last year as a result of Covid-19 and the recession. But bankruptcy judges are still much busier than they were before the pandemic thanks to Winter Storm Uri. SDTX Bankruptcy Chief Judge David Jones and legal experts explain why in this report. August 9, 2021Mark Curriden

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