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Houston Jury Awards $47.6M in Drilling Tool Patent Case - The jury returned its verdict March 5, finding Downhole Well Solutions' tools infringed three patents held by Impulse and that the infringement was willful. The jury rejected arguments that the patents were invalid. Impulse’s lead lawyer, John Keville of Sheppard, told The Lawbook the jury awarded the damages he requested “to the penny.”
March 10, 2026
WDTX Jury Finds Lyft Infringed Patent - An Austin jury found last week that the rideshare platform Lyft infringed one of Quartz Auto Technologies’ patents and awarded the company $1.05 million. Lyft, accused of infringing five patents, is calling the verdict a win. March 10, 2026
Gibson Dunn Advises Exxon As Energy Giant Looks To Reincorporate in Texas - ExxonMobil announced Tuesday that its board seeks shareholder approval to change the company’s legal permanent home to Texas from New Jersey.
Gibson Dunn advised the company with a team led by Houston partners Gerry Spedale, Hillary Holmes and Tull Florey, as well as Washington, D.C., partner Ronald Mueller. Jeff Taylor is Exxon's general counsel. March 10, 2026
Gibson Dunn advised the company with a team led by Houston partners Gerry Spedale, Hillary Holmes and Tull Florey, as well as Washington, D.C., partner Ronald Mueller. Jeff Taylor is Exxon's general counsel. March 10, 2026
Jury Trial Begins in Mesothelioma Case Against J&J - Dallas-based Dean Omar Branham Shirley, which has brought several cases against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson across the country, commenced its jury trial in Spokane, Washington, Monday morning. Jurors heard from the parties over whether the alleged asbestos in J&J’s baby powder caused Verna Richards’ life-ending mesothelioma cancer. March 9, 2026Bexar County Jury Awards $175M to HouseCanary - San Antonio jurors deliberated for nearly three hours after a four-week trial in a trade secrets case that’s been litigated for a decade between HouseCanary and Amrock. The jury found Amrock misappropriated HouseCanary’s trade secrets and defrauded the company. March 9, 2026
Shell Sells Jiffy Lube to PE Firm for $1.3B - Pennzoil Quaker State, the lubricants business of Shell USA, announced Monday an agreement to sell Jiffy Lube International to an affiliate of middle-market private equity firm Monomoy Capital Partners for $1.3 billion. Kirkland & Ellis provided counsel to Monomoy. Travis Torrence is head of legal for Shell USA. March 9, 2026
Centerpiece
Citi Report: Texas Law Firms Hit Double-Digit Revenue, Profit Increases in 2025 - Despite weak demand, a decline in productivity and lower hourly rate increases than the national average, corporate law firms based in Texas experienced major increases in revenue and profits per partner in 2025, according to a new report by Citibank’s Global Wealth Law Firm Group. Citi’s Michael McKenney said 2025 started slow for the business law community with fears about a federal government shutdown and other macro concerns but ended the year in record fashion. March 10, 2026
Litigation Roundup: Susman Gets FCA Case Against Lockheed Martin Revived - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit sides with Susman Godfrey and undoes the dismissal of a qui tam False Claims Act suit against Lockheed Martin, and a former financial advisor is convicted of defrauding three NBA players, including two who played for Dallas and Houston. March 9, 2026
Expert Voices
The Lateral Portal — Clients are the Winners - Much has been written about the “hot” lateral market for law firm partners in recent years. This publication, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and others have all noted the fierce competition for talent. In years past, that competition centered around transactional or corporate lawyers. Today, it also centers around trial lawyers. Why? With fewer cases going to trial than ever before, even as deals are being done at historically record levels, why would trial lawyers be as in demand as deal lawyers? The answer: There aren’t that many of us around. March 11, 2026
Learning from One of the First Business Court Trials - When the Texas Business Court opened its doors in September 2024, following years of discussing its potential promise, there was a flood of excitement from the business and legal community. Cases streamed into the new court in greater-than-expected numbers, especially in Houston and Dallas. But filing a case and trying it are two very different things. March 10, 2026
Stories You Might’ve Missed
Texas Courts Cold as Ice to Winter Storm Uri Victims - Winter Storm Uri brought single-digit temperatures and freezing precipitation to Texas in February 2021. Power lines snapped. Natural gas and power generators went silent. Pipelines froze. At least 246 people died. Thousands and thousands more suffered serious medical injuries. In all, 31,600 Texans and businesses sued energy companies for gross negligence. But five years later, not a single case has made it to trial. February 13, 2026
