In this edition of P.S., civil rights organization LatinoJustice PRLDEF has honored Sidley Austin Management Committee Chair Yvette Ostolaza with a 2026 “Latina Trailblazer” award; representing a former Houston police officer on a pro bono basis, Rusty Hardin and John MacVane secured a unanimous victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in a lawsuit stemming from the high-profile 2019 Harding Street raid; and Akin Gump recently announced the winners of its annual firmwide Bruce McLean Pro Bono Awards.
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Platt Richmond Promotes Three to Partner
Platt Richmond has promoted Joseph Kim, Kinsey Lakey and Christopher Harbin to partner, recognizing their contributions to the firm’s commercial real estate, litigation and bankruptcy practices, the firm announced.
Corporate Lawyer Named Shareholder at SA Firm
Jake Pylman, a corporate lawyer, has been named a shareholder at Elder Bray & Bankler in San Antonio. He focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, buy/sell transactions, capital investments, startup and working capital financings and other commercial contracts.
West Texas Jury Awards $229M in Patent Case
For infringing one patent held by Viasat that covers technology used in flash memory, jurors Thursday afternoon determined Kioxia owes $229 million in damages in the form of a running royalty.
Billion-dollar Bar Box Score: Dallas Star Keeps Houston from Running Away with M&A
The state’s largest cities are locked in their classic M&A arms race and the lawyers in the two cities are playing a different game in the first half of 2026 when it comes to billion-dollar deals.
The Texas Lawbook‘s exclusive Corporate Deal Tracker breaks down the lawyers who lead the most megadeals for the first six months of the year.
The Real Harry Potter’s ‘Magic Wand — Loyalty to the Law’
“Your boss is a crook!” Arthur Golden, a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell and a lawyer for Big Tobacco, screamed into the telephone in the fall of 1998. “A crook!”
On the other end of the line, Harry Potter, then a special assistant attorney general in Texas running the tobacco litigation, who was appointed three decades ago by then-Texas Attorney General Dan Morales to lead the historic lawsuit brought by the state of Texas against Big Tobacco. Potter and Golden had negotiated the details of the historic $15.3 billion settlement agreement between the state of Texas and large cigarette makers.
“Arthur was extremely angry — livid,” Potter said. “He talked about secret lawyer contracts. I didn’t know anything about it, but it sent chills throughout my body.”
In Part II of The Texas Lawbook‘s series on the tobacco litigation, learn the story of the real Harry Potter, a Houston lawyer whose secret power was his ethics and commitment to the law.
Houston Personal Injury Partner Moves to Sorrels Law
Brooks Tobin, a personal injury partner, has joined Sorrels Law in Houston. He will focus his practice on catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death litigation.
Houston Litigation Partner Laterals to Burke Law Group
Liz Klingensmith, a litigation partner, has joined Burke Law Group in Houston from Pillsbury. She will focus her practice on high-stakes commercial, energy, construction and trade secret disputes.
Asked & Answered with Yetter Coleman’s Tim McConn: Trials, Travel and a Calling
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Yetter Coleman partner Tim McConn talks about the first time he took the lead on a case and the most memorable case in his career so far. He also discusses trends he is seeing in his oil and gas practice and using AI.
Ampersands in Overdrive: Kirkland, Latham & Gibson Fuel $1B Deals
The Texas Lawbook is kicking off 1H 2026 rankings with a look at billion-plus M&A through our Corporate Deal Tracker rankings, highlighting the firms that have dominated the first six months of the year. And shocker, the ampersands continue to impress.