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Texas Lawyers Lead SEC, AT&T $6.25M Lawsuit Settlement - AT&T and the SEC announced they have agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the Dallas-based telecom giant of selectively leaking confidential financial information to Wall Street analysts in hopes of potentially manipulating revenue projections during the first quarter 2016. Two AT&T in-house counsel and a slew of lawyers from Norton Rose Fulbright, Tillotson Johnson & Patton, Willkie Farr and Haynes and Boone represented AT&T and its executives. December 3, 2022Mark Curriden
Baker Botts Awards $20K-$115K Annual Bonuses to Associates - Baker Botts became the first Texas-based law firm to announce year-end bonuses to associates. The Houston-based firm, in a Dec. 2 memo by Baker Botts managing partner John Martin, said associates hired out of law school in 2021 will get a $20,000 bonus this holiday. The scale accelerates up to $115,000 bonuses for seven- and eight-year associates hired in 2015 and before. December 2, 2022Mark Curriden
Comcast, NBC Dropped From $332M Astros Sale Lawsuit - In orders issued Friday morning, the Texas Supreme Court granted a request from Houston Baseball Partners to drop its claims against Comcast and NBC. That means the case now pits current owner Jim Crane against the man who sold him the team, Drayton McLane. December 2, 2022Michelle Casady
David Peavler Leaving SEC is ‘A Big Loss’ - For nearly two decades, David Peavler has roamed the offices of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth Regional Office – first as a rookie lawyer in its enforcement position, later as assistant regional director and for the past three-and-a-half years as the head of the office. The SEC announced Thursday that Peavler is stepping down as the director of the Fort Worth Regional Office this Saturday. Associate regional directors Eric Werner and Marshall Gandy will fill the role until a replacement is announced. Experts say Peavler scored huge successes during his time at the SEC and his departure is a major loss. December 1, 2022Mark Curriden
SCOTX: Tort Claim Act Again Under Scrutiny in Roadway Conversion Case - Justices consider Texas A&M University’s governmental immunity claim in case involving single-vehicle crash by a deputy sheriff at a recently altered intersection. The deputy wants an opportunity to replead his premises liability case. November 29, 2022Janet Elliott

Centerpiece

P.S. — A Couple Awards, A Memorial Fund, ‘It’s Fun to Stay at the YMCA’ - In this week's P.S. column, the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas hosts its annual Stories from the HeART fundraiser and honors a group of Texas lawyers for their contributions, a memorial fund set up in the memory of the late Dallas lawyer, Clarence Brown, seeks to raise more funds to benefit students of color at the Lamplighter School, and two nonprofits announce leadership efforts by lawyers.  December 2, 2022Natalie Posgate

Expert Voices

The Use (or Abuse?) of the Mail and Wire Fraud Statutes - Ask any fraud prosecutor what their bread-and-butter criminal statute is, and you’ll surely hear about mail fraud or wire fraud. Taken together, they account for a significant percentage of fraud prosecutions at the federal level. Both statutes are broad and malleable, requiring a fraudulent scheme to obtain money or property, a criminal intention to defraud someone and either a mailing or interstate wire transmission. And, properly drafted, just about every type of economic crime can be cabined into a charge of mail or wire fraud. The U.S. Supreme Court is revisiting the scope of property rights protected under the mail and wire fraud statutes this term in Ciminelli v. United States. November 29, 2022J. Nicholas Bunch & Ashley Koos

More Stories

Litigation Roundup: Trade Secret Spat Heads To Trial, Judge Chided For Procedural Misstep
The Texas Lawbook Team Gives Thanks
P.S. — Thanksgiving Edition
Baker Botts Brings Houston Folklorist’s Extensive Archive to Smithsonian
Texas Trial Lawyer Wants ‘Unhinged’ Ex-Associate Sanctioned
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Corp. Deal Tracker/M&A

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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

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