Chief Judge Jennifer Elrod of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has filed an official complaint claiming there is probable cause that U.S. District Judge Ada Brown of Dallas “treated other judges and judicial employees in a demonstrably egregious and hostile manner” and that she “created a hostile work environment” for those who work with her, according to Bloomberg Law.
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Book Excerpt: Reconstructing Immigration
Texas built a parallel deportation system, the Supreme Court narrowed judicial review, and the practical consequences are landing in Texas courthouses first.
P.S. — It’s Pro Bono Month; Baker Botts, Toyota Recognized for Joint Legal Clinics
October brings a national spotlight to pro bono service, with legal organizations across the country celebrating attorneys who volunteer their time to help those who cannot afford legal representation.
Reese Marketos Scores $213M Patent Win Against Comcast
Adam Sanderson was in a patent trial in Chicago in 2016 when opposing counsel pulled him aside. He had a potential big case but also a conflict and offered to introduce Sanderson to his client. Today, a decade later, Sanderson won a $213 million federal jury verdict for those clients in a patent case against Comcast.
Texas Raises the Stakes for Data Center Disclosures
As state oversight tightens, inconsistent communications can put projects at risk.
‘Picking the Right Word’: Troutman Pepper Locke’s Paul Coggins Talks Trials, Fiction Writing
Former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and Troutman Pepper Locke partner Paul Coggins spends his mornings writing legal thrillers before stepping into court to defend complex white-collar cases. With a new Cash McCahill novel hitting shelves and a securities-fraud trial on his docket, the veteran advocate reflects on decades of practice in Texas and why trial strategy and fiction writing draw on the same craft.
Heritage Is a Skill Set
I grew up bilingual in New York, the daughter of an Italian-American father and a Dominican mother. I did not think much at the time about what that combination would mean for my career. I just knew both worlds were central to my identity.
Only later as a young associate at Milbank did I understand that moving naturally between those worlds was not simply part of my identity; it was a professional capability.
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.
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.
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.