Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
In this edition of Asked & Answered, King & Spalding partner Bruce Hurley reflected on his career and recently being named trial lawyer of the year by the Texas chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Hearing the stories from family who were trial lawyers pushed him toward becoming a trial lawyer himself.
A Dallas jury deliberated for more than three hours after a 14-day trial in U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade’s courtroom before finding ExxonMobil did not have any intent to commit the fraud it was accused of. The lawsuit was filed nearly a decade ago.
Following a two-week trial, a Travis County jury unanimously found a brother had breached his fiduciary duty to the business he and his sibling cofounded. Texas Disposal Systems CEO Bob Gregory and his brother Jimmy Gregory started the company in 1977 with split ownership.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson shared stories from her early years at the Southern Methodist University Tate Lecture Series Tuesday evening. Justice Jackson is the third U.S. Supreme Court justice to visit the university campus in the last week.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch visited the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Southern Methodist University’s campus Saturday afternoon for a talk and reading of his children’s book Heroes of 1776. Young children gathered to hear who the justice’s favorite heroes were.
President Donald Trump made two nominations for the federal benches in Texas Monday. He nominated Kirkland & Ellis partner Kasdin Mitchell in Dallas and deputy chief of staff to Gov. Greg Abbott, Angela Colmenero, in Houston.
The Supreme Court of North Dakota has directed the trial court to enter a narrow antisuit injunction against Greenpeace International Thursday morning, barring it from proceeding with its action against Dallas-based Energy Transfer in the Netherlands. A North Dakota jury awarded Energy Transfer more than $660 million in damages against Greenpeace in March 2025.
In this edition of Asked & Answered, McKool Smith’s Sam Baxter, who recently retired, reflects on his 56-year career. While he is known for his work trying intellectual property cases in the Eastern District of Texas, he started out as a prosecutor and judge.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett spoke about her book Listening to the Law at the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Southern Methodist University’s campus Monday evening. From clerking for Justice Antonin Scalia to ruling on a death penalty case, Justice Barrett covered a few topics in her book.
Following a four-week trial, a jury determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association is liable for negligence in a lawsuit brought by the family of a former Southern Methodist University football player who died of chronic traumatic encephalopathy dementia.
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