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Senior Exxon Mobil Counsel’s Move to Gibson Dunn is ‘Very Personal’ - Exxon Mobil assistant general counsel David Woodcock has departed the energy giant to join the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as the firm’s SEC enforcement practice co-head. The move surprised many within the legal department at Exxon Mobil because Woodcock, who was a past regional director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth office, was viewed as a likely candidate to be the company’s next chief legal officer. February 6, 2023Mark Curriden
Top Stories
Top Stories
Litigation Roundup: Samsung Inks $150M Settlement, Jury Hits Boston Scientific with $42M Judgment - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Samsung agrees to a $150 million settlement in an intellectual property suit, a group of Texas lawyers secures a $42 million win against Boston Scientific in Delaware and U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes gets reversed, again. February 6, 2023Michelle Casady

Veteran Dallas Prosecutor Tapped as EDTX U.S. Attorney - If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, as expected, Damien Diggs would be the first Black U.S. attorney in the 166-year-old Eastern District. February 2, 2023Bruce Tomaso
Energy Transfer Hit With $42M Jury Verdict - A jury in McMullen County that heard two weeks of testimony determined Energy Transfer’s underground, hydrogen sulfide injection well had interfered with the drilling rights of SilverBow Resources Operating and El Dorado Oil & Gas Inc. The case has a long history, including two trips to the Texas Supreme Court, and saw Houston-based law firms Yetter Coleman and Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing go head-to-head. February 2, 2023Michelle Casady
Jury Awards $8.4M In Wrongful Death Case Against Bobcat of Houston - The jury was selected Jan. 18 and began hearing testimony Jan. 19 in the trial that had sought as much as $500 million in wrongful death damages on behalf of the family of Ricardo Garza. The jury deliberated for about seven hours before returning its verdict. February 1, 2023Michelle Casady
Centerpiece
Natural Gas Companies Dismissed from Winter Storm Uri Lawsuits - The Texas judge handling more than 100 personal injury, wrongful death and property damage lawsuits brought by hundreds of plaintiffs against scores of energy companies related to Winter Storm Uri has dismissed the allegations against more than 60 natural gas companies in four of those cases.
Judge Sylvia Matthews ruled Jan. 26 that natural gas companies such as Anadarko, Apache, Comstock, Energy Transfer and XTO will not have to stand trial for any damage or deaths caused by power outages during the four days in February 2021 in which Texas was hit with record cold temperatures and sleet and snow. February 2, 2023Mark Curriden
Judge Sylvia Matthews ruled Jan. 26 that natural gas companies such as Anadarko, Apache, Comstock, Energy Transfer and XTO will not have to stand trial for any damage or deaths caused by power outages during the four days in February 2021 in which Texas was hit with record cold temperatures and sleet and snow. February 2, 2023Mark Curriden
Expert Voices
An Overview of the FTC’s Proposed Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements - The proposed rule seems to be in line with the Biden administration’s executive order issued in 2022 encouraging the FTC to exercise whatever legal authority it has to “curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses” that “may unfairly limit worker mobility.” Here are some questions and answers about this new proposed rule. February 1, 2023Mark A. Shank
Stories You Might’ve Missed
- GOP Missive to ESG Practitioners: Real Threat or Political Theater? - Whatever its purpose or intent, a letter from five GOP senators to 51 lawyers involved in ESG transactions at their firms was mystifying to those who would talk about it. Sent five days in advance of the recent mid-term elections, the threatening tone of the letters was in keeping with a series of attempts to curb, through their lawyers, corporate support for environmental mandates, energy transition investments and changes in corporate governance — despite increasingly vocal and influential investor demand. November 18, 2022Allen Pusey
- Texas Lawbook Foundation Launches, Natalie Posgate to Lead Pro Bono, Public Service and Diversity Coverage in Texas - The daily news is filled with articles about lawyers scoring multimillion-dollar jury verdicts, closing billion-dollar M&A deals or reaping tens-of-millions of dollars in annual firm profits. The Texas Lawbook announces today its commitment to focus significantly more on what is essentially the legal profession's ESG. From this day forward, The Lawbook has a full-time reporter — Natalie Posgate — doing nothing but researching and writing about pro bono, public service and diversity efforts involving Texas law firms and corporate legal departments. She will publish articles that highlight the successes of Texas lawyers and firm leaders, but also examine where and how the legal profession is failing. Posgate will be the first legal journalist in Texas to write exclusively about pro bono and diversity. November 1, 2022Mark Curriden