Willkie Adds Dallas Office, with Three Laterals from Haynes Boone
The new laterals at Willkie — Tom Tippetts, Brandon McCoy and Chase Proctor — will be joined/supported by a few other familiar names from Willkie's New York and Texas offices.
Locke Lord in Merger Talks with Troutman Pepper
Both sides are confirming that Texas-based Locke Lord is in merger talks with the Georgia-founded firm. Texas Lawbook 50 research shows Locke Lord's revenues in Texas stayed flat in 2023, but profits per partner increased. An analyst says he sees growth in depth and breadth for both sides in the proposed merger. This isn't the first time Troutman has tried to break into Texas.
Mike Boone Named to Texas Business Hall of Fame
The co-founder of Haynes Boone will be inducted into the TBHF alongside such luminaries as former NBA great David Robinson, EnCap Investments' David B. Miller and Taylor Sheridan, creator of TV's "Yellowstone" franchise.
Jacqui Bogucki Returning to Weil
Jacqui Bogucki, a highly regarded transactional lawyer specializing in infrastructure deals, has left Simpson Thacher for Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Houston. She's the fifth partner to join Weil's Houston office in the last year.
Who the Hell is Kevin Henderson?
If ranking at the top of The Texas Lawbook's deal lists pisses off a few lawyers at Big Law firms in Texas, Kevin Henderson can live with that. In a way, he planned on it. He closed 30 transactions last year in an M&A space most of them wouldn't bother with, creating a space of his own with an unusual firm structured in an unusual way for an unusual market.
U.S. Fifth Circuit Rejects Environmental Complaints Against Offshore Oil Transfer Platform
In a decision filed Thursday, the U.S. Fifth Circuit upheld the federal permitting for the Sea Port Oil Terminal project, a massive crude pipeline network and storage facility to be located off the Texas coast. The appeals court refused a demand by environmental groups that the U.S. Maritime Administration revisit the environmental impact of the project for its potential harm to the ecological balance in the Gulf of Mexico and the possible extinction of the endangered Rice's whale.
Three Partners Named to Lead Simpson Houston Office
There's a change coming in the Houston office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. The firm announced this morning that Houston managing partner David Lieberman is stepping down and will be succeeded by a trio of partners: Matthew Einbinder, Breen Haire and Christopher May.
‘Precedent Setting’ Agreement Ends McDermott’s Billion-Dollar Colombian Refinery Dispute
Houston-based McDermott International ended its eight-year dispute with Refinería de Cartagena Friday when an SDTX bankruptcy judge signed signed off on a remarkable $900 million package that includes the surrender of 19.9% of the company’s common equity. For Mike Stenglein of King & Spalding, the unprecedented solution marks the end, not only of a grueling international litigation, but resolves all doubt that his Colombian clients were responsible for billions lost in their refinery's construction.
Feel Familiar? Texas-related Capital Markets Activity Might Seem That Way
To no one’s surprise, energy dominated other capital market sectors in Texas-related activity.
U.S. Fifth Circuit Rules in Favor of Advisor in $4M M&A Fee Dispute
The court ruled that Denver-based Catalyst Strategic Advisors is entitled to an advisory completion fee in connection with the sale of a Houston building supply company. The court determined that the "procuring-cause doctrine" was rendered inapplicable by the specific language of Catalyst's contract, even though the sale took place 15 months after the company's sale.