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CDT Roundup: Lone Star Deal Machine Keeps 200+ Lawyers Busy for the Week - For the week ended May 9, the CDT Roundup is reporting 21 deals valued at nearly $11.3 billion. And that doesn't include a $3.25 billion notes offering that closed three weeks ago nor the $56 billion unsolicitied offer for eBay by $11 billion-market-cap GameStop scooped by The Wall Street Journal last week.
White & Case is advising Grapevine-based GameStop, with a team led from New York. GameStop's general counsel is Mark Robinson, who received the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup. May 10, 2026
White & Case is advising Grapevine-based GameStop, with a team led from New York. GameStop's general counsel is Mark Robinson, who received the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup. May 10, 2026
Troutman Houston Partners Led National Team in Western Midstream $1.6B Brazos Delaware Deal - Western Midstream Partners has acquired Brazos Delaware II, a Fort Worth-based private gathering and processing platform in the Delaware Basin in West Texas, for about $1.6 billion in cash and stock. Western Midstream, which is based in The Woodlands, said it will pay about $800 million in cash and issue about $800 million in common units at the close of the deal that is expected by June 30.
Christopher B. Dial is Western Midstream’s general counsel, and Troutman Pepper Locke advised the company with a national team led by Houston Partners Jon Daly and Jennie Simmons. Vinson & Elkins served as outside legal advisor to Brazos. May 9, 2026
Christopher B. Dial is Western Midstream’s general counsel, and Troutman Pepper Locke advised the company with a national team led by Houston Partners Jon Daly and Jennie Simmons. Vinson & Elkins served as outside legal advisor to Brazos. May 9, 2026
Nicotine Pouches Are Tobacco Products, SCOTX Determines in Tax Appeal - The Texas Supreme Court on Friday dealt a blow to the maker of a nicotine pouch product, finding that the company’s VELO pouches are subject to the same duty levied on cigars, chewing tobacco and snuff. But the court did leave one door open for RJR Vapor. May 8, 2026
3M Cleared in Houston Explosion Trial - In the third trial in multidistrict litigation stemming from the fatal 2020 explosion in West Houston, the jury unanimously cleared 3M of negligence. The first two trials ended in verdicts against 3M, totaling about $156 million for 12 plaintiffs. May 7, 2026
Greenpeace Enjoined from Suing Energy Transfer in the Netherlands - The Supreme Court of North Dakota has directed the trial court to enter a narrow antisuit injunction against Greenpeace International Thursday morning, barring it from proceeding with its action against Dallas-based Energy Transfer in the Netherlands. A North Dakota jury awarded Energy Transfer more than $660 million in damages against Greenpeace in March 2025. May 7, 2026
Carlyle-Diversified Energy Partnership Fuels $1.175B Deal for Anadarko Basin Assets - Diversified Energy Company and its finance partner Carlyle Global Credit announced a $1.175 billion purchase agreement for oil and gas assets in Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin owned by Camino Natural Resources.
Diversified is advised by Citi and Truist on finance and Kirkland & Ellis as outside legal counsel. Carlyle was advised on legal matters by Paul Hastings and Latham & Watkins. Jefferies is lead financial advisor to Camino with RBC Richardson Barr as co-advisor. Camino outside legal counsel is Vinson & Elkins. May 6, 2026
Diversified is advised by Citi and Truist on finance and Kirkland & Ellis as outside legal counsel. Carlyle was advised on legal matters by Paul Hastings and Latham & Watkins. Jefferies is lead financial advisor to Camino with RBC Richardson Barr as co-advisor. Camino outside legal counsel is Vinson & Elkins. May 6, 2026
Asked & Answered with McKool Smith’s Sam Baxter: Over Half a Century Practicing Law - In this edition of Asked & Answered, McKool Smith’s Sam Baxter, who recently retired, reflects on his 56-year career. While he is known for his work trying intellectual property cases in the Eastern District of Texas, he started out as a prosecutor and judge. May 6, 2026
Simpson Thacher’s Really, Really Big Year - The Texas Lawbook launched the Texas Lawbook 50 and the Corporate Deal Tracker in 2015 — two exclusive databases that calculate the law firm headcounts and revenue in Texas. The CDT documented those law firms’ M&A and capital markets transactions. Simpson Thacher didn’t make the leaderboard of either database in 2015.
A decade later, however, and the elite Wall Street corporate law firm is vaulting up both rankings by increasing its 2025 Texas headcount by 26 percent, its Texas revenue by 34 percent and leaping into the upper echelons of Texas dealmakers. May 5, 2026
Centerpiece
‘I Only Want You’: How Steven Scheinthal Became Tilman Fertitta’s Go-To Lawyer - Steven Scheinthal has one of the most unique and challenging jobs in corporate law — the general counsel for Tilman Fertitta, whose business holdings include the NBA’s Houston Rockets, the Golden Nugget casinos and hotels, Landry’s Seafood and Morton’s and Del Frisco’s steakhouses. The Houston billionaire is also reportedly interested in acquiring Caesars casinos and hotels.
“It is tough having one boss because his frustrations become yours,” Scheinthal said. “However, we have had a tremendous number of business successes from our IPO to follow on offerings, over 50-plus acquisitions, bond offerings, the Rockets purchase." Those successes continued through 2025. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring Scheinthal with the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department. May 9, 2026
After Finding a ‘Port in a Storm’ in Lawyers, Lyondell Basell’s Dave Louie Now Serves as One for Others Through Pro Bono Work - When Dave Louie was 17, he caused a car wreck. His father feared the family could lose everything in a resulting lawsuit, a possibility that weighed heavily on Louie. But his nerves eased after he met with the legal team hired by the family’s insurance company.
“They were like a port in a storm,” Louie said.
Now a lead counsel at LyondellBasell, Louie strives to provide that same sense of reassurance to the families he serves through his pro bono work. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring Louie, along with Shell USA Senior Litigation Counsel Sara Keith, with the Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy Award at the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards on May 28. May 8, 2026
Expert Voices
Continued Scrutiny of Private Equity and Private Ownership of Healthcare Entities - Private investment in healthcare entities continued at a high pace in 2025, reaching global highs in deal value. A consequence of the high deal volume has been increased attention and scrutiny by many state governments of transactions between private equity and certain healthcare entities. While Texas failed to pass a healthcare transaction reporting law in the most recent legislative session, two proposed bills may be harbingers of similar future regulation to come. May 10, 2026
Texas Business Court Quarterly Update – 2026 Q1 Summaries - In the first quarter of 2026, the Texas Business Court continued to make progress through the ever-growing number of lawsuits appearing on its dockets. In the first few quarters following the Business Court opening its doors Sept. 1, 2024, the vast majority of its opinions resolved the jurisdictional and procedural questions entailed in standing up a new court with limited jurisdiction. In the second half of 2025, such procedural decisions were increasingly mixed with substantive decisions. Early 2026 marked a new phase of the Court gaining “cruising altitude,” with many of the initial procedural and jurisdictional questions behind it and most decisions addressing the merits of the disputes. May 5, 2026
Stories You Might’ve Missed
‘The Golden Age for Corporate Law in Texas is Now’ (Updated) - Never in history have Texas corporate lawyers worked so many hours, charged such enormous rates and raked in more revenue and profits than they are right now. The Texas offices of more than three dozen law firms scored record-high revenues in 2025 — and many of them surpassed their old records by tens of millions of dollars, according to new Texas Lawbook 50 data.
Citing increased demand for legal services and healthy hourly rate increases, 48 of the Lawbook 50 law firms generated more revenue and more profits in their Texas operations in 2025 than they did in 2024. April 30, 2026
