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Jury Orders NAE Enterprises to Pay $21.6M in Construction Case  - A Tarrant County jury awarded a local family more than $21.6 million after finding that construction defects in their home exposed them to toxic sewer gas, mold and insects, in violation of the state Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The jury trial began on Oct. 5 in Judge Don Cosby’s courtroom in Fort Worth. October 14, 2026Alexa Shrake
Bankruptcy Judge: Camp Mystic Trustee Ruling Should Come Next Week - After hearing nearly four hours of closing arguments Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said he should have a decision within about a week on a proposal to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee over the Camp Mystic bankruptcy. October 13, 2026Michelle Casady
Dallas Federal Judge’s Entire Docket Transferred to Other Judges - The chief judge of the Northern District of Texas has issued two separate “special orders” that remove all civil and criminal cases from the docket of U.S. District Judge Ada Brown, who is a highly respected jurist and believed to be the only Native American woman federal judge in Texas. Neither of the special orders provides an explanation. October 12, 2026Mark Curriden
CDT Roundup: A Return to Business As Usual? - The 11 deals valued at $16.4 billion reported last week amounted to an average week on the year. But as the second highest value since early August, it may be a signal that uncertain deal markets are returning to 'normal' — whatever that is in a topsy-turvy year. October 11, 2026Jason Philyaw
SpaceX Enters D2D Services with $8B Spectrum License Buy - The acquisition — advised by Gibson Dunn, Milbank and Latham & Watkins — opens the door for the company's Starlink network to connect directly with cellular customers. And compete directly with cellular providers like Verizon and AT&T. October 9, 2026Allen Pusey
Trustee or Fiduciary? Judge Takes Camp Mystic Governance Fight Under Advisement - So many people showed up to the Camp Mystic bankruptcy hearing Friday morning that extra chairs were brought in and the courtroom doors were propped open to let the overflow hear. Opening statements, and much of the testimony, focused on the acrimony and distrust the creditor families say has infected the case. October 9, 2026Michelle Casady
‘Staggering’ M&A Deals Remain for Q4 2026 - Texas lawyers expect a busy final three months of 2026, according to panelists at the UT Law M&A Institute on Thursday. October 9, 2026Jason Philyaw

Centerpiece

Lewis Energy’s Wes Sharples Runs a Lean Legal Team and a Growing HR Department - Wes Sharples had a clear vision when he left Texas for college at Dartmouth in 1999: Play football, earn a degree in economics and get a big job on Wall Street. “My playing career ended after a year and a half along with my interest in economics,” Sharples told The Texas Lawbook. "I ultimately determined law school was the best fit, but it was more pragmatism than lifelong ambition.” Twenty-seven years later, Sharples is the GC at Lewis Energy Group, where he has guided the San Antonio-based privately owned energy company through five transformational corporate transactions and negotiated a highly favorable settlement agreement in an eight-figure litigation during the past two years. And he is also the 2026 San Antonio GC of the Year for a SMall Legal Department. October 14, 2026Mark Curriden
Litigation Roundup: Pioneer Sees Uri-Related ‘Force Majeure’ Win Affirmed - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the SEC’s Fort Worth regional office closes out a case involving an alleged $91 million Ponzi scheme, a Dallas jury sides with Jani-King in a franchisee dispute, ExxonMobil investors are granted class certification in a securities suit and a Fifth Circuit panel affirms Pioneer Natural Resources’ force majeure win in a Winter Storm Uri dispute. October 12, 2026Michelle Casady

Expert Voices

Juries May Not Get the Last Word on AI - A recent Lawbook piece cited trial experts predicting juries would become AI’s de facto regulators as litigation surges. History says otherwise — pointing to how Congress and state legislatures moved to shield gun makers and businesses from similar waves of lawsuits before they ever reached juries. October 14, 2026David Coale
Business Court’s September 2026 Decisions: Who Gets In, and Who Gets Out Early - Four of the Texas Business Court’s September opinions asked a threshold question: Can the court hear this case at all? The answers show a court leaning on its own growing body of precedent and a strictly textual reading of its jurisdiction statute. September also brought a Rule 91a fight over an expelled LLC member and a venture capitalist’s claim to a share of a multibillion-dollar sale that ran into his own release. October 12, 2026Zack Ewing & Sofia Michael

More Stories

ACC San Antonio Honors USAA’s Michael Danforth and H-E-B’s Abel Martinez
Business Court Jurors Hear Opening Statements in Multimillion-Dollar Contract Dispute
Texas Lawbook Issues Correction, Apologizes to Justice Lehrmann
More Stories


Appellate

Bankruptcy

Commercial Litigation

Corp. Deal Tracker/M&A

GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.

White-Collar/Regulatory

Firm Management

Stories You Might’ve Missed

  • Energy Boom to Space Race: The Stellar Career of Hillary Holmes - In a wide-ranging interview, Gibson Dunn capital-markets leader Hillary Holmes takes Texas Lawbook subscribers inside a career that placed her at the center of SpaceX’s historic public offering this year. But that is only the latest chapter in a much deeper Texas story that charts her rise from the Houston “deal room” of her childhood to one of the country’s top corporate lawyers, known for her instinct to see beyond the transactions themselves. September 24, 2026Allen Pusey

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