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The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

  • Appellate
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  • Commercial Litigation
  • Corporate Deal Tracker
  • GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.
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Mark Curriden & Makenna Brooks

J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus Paid $100M in Bankruptcy Fees to Lawyers & Bankers

Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy on May 7. Eight days later, J.C. Penney petitioned for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Even before they filed, the two DFW retailers had paid legal and financial advisors $30 million to prepare the case. And those fees were only the start. The Texas Lawbook has details.

February 8, 2021 Mark Curriden & Makenna Brooks

The Texas Lawbook Bankruptcy Advisor Database

December 13, 2020 Mark Curriden & Makenna Brooks

M&A Down Substantially in Texas in Q3

While the deal count stayed above 200 in the third quarter, it was the lowest level over a 12-year period since the second quarter of 2013. Observers blame trade wars and economic concerns as the culprits.

October 7, 2019 Mark Curriden & Makenna Brooks

Does An Unexpected Mid-Market Low Mean Trouble For M&A? Maybe. Maybe Not.

Fourth quarter mergers and acquisitions involving middle and lower middle market Texas businesses have hit an unexpected low. Texas lawyers say their businesses are currently thriving, but the drop shouldn't necessarily be ignored. Claire Poole and Mark Curriden have their insights on a perplexing end for 2018.

December 6, 2018 Mark Curriden & Makenna Brooks

Law Firm Competition Intense for M&A Deals in Texas

(April 16) – The Texas Lawbook’s 2017 Corporate Deal Tracker results for M&A dealmaking are final and there are some major surprises. V&E still reigns No. 1, but a handful of national law firms that have moved into Texas are threatening to take its crown. The Texas Lawbook has all the numbers on M&A by Texas law firms.

April 16, 2018 Mark Curriden & Makenna Brooks

Dr Pepper GC Jim Baldwin Leads $18.7B Deal with Keurig

Dr Pepper Snapple General Counsel Jim Baldwin and the soft drink maker’s in-house legal team - including assistant GCs Art Swanson and Wayne Lewis - led the Plano company’s $18.7 billion merger negotiations with Keurig Green Mountain. Morgan Lewis, Skadden Arps and McDermott are advising in the transaction, but none of the key lawyers are based in Texas.

January 29, 2018 Mark Curriden & Makenna Brooks

Cross-Border Dealmaking for TX Companies Plunges in 2017

Cross-border deals in Texas are down dramatically in 2017. Aside from the usual suspects – a strong dollar and undependable oil prices – is a new one: the uncertain parameters of the Trump administration’s “America First” policies. Some transactional lawyers think a lack of policy structure breeds uncertainty among foreign investors. Others think it has no effect at all. This exclusive in The Texas Lawbook has the numbers and the story behind them.

December 6, 2017 Mark Curriden & Makenna Brooks

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Features

  • P.S. — ‘This is Our American Dream,’ DFW Corp. Counsel Award Winners Share Inspiring Acceptance Remarks - Last week, The Texas Lawbook had the honor of co-hosting the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards with the Association of Corporate Counsel DFW Chapter. The words shared by the four honorees in the Diversity and Inclusion and Pro Bono and Public Service categories are still resonating with us and are well worth sharing with readers in this column.

    In this edition of P.S., we also report that Dallas-based Attorneys Serving the Community held a record-breaking fundraising event for Shared Housing Center and a Paul Hastings Texas partner has joined the advisory board of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law.
    February 6, 2026Krista Torralva & Elle Grinnell
  • ‘To the Gates of Hell’ One Dallas Lawyer Was Willing to Go in Federal Habeas Fight Over ICE Detention - Charles Gearing felt an itch last summer to get more involved in pro bono work. The healthcare litigation lawyer at Weaver Johnston Nelson in Dallas found a project that advertised a limited scope — helping detained noncitizens apply for bond — that seemed like work that required less lawyering than sleuthing and logistical hustle, or so Gearing thought. He took on the case of Pedro Romo Navarro, a Mexican citizen living in Dallas for the past three decades who was facing deportation after being stopped by police for riding a bicycle without a front light.

    What began as a seemingly simple bond request plunged Gearing into a nationwide legal and political controversy over the detention of longtime U.S. residents with no criminal records, often for months at a time in unsanitary facilities and without the opportunity for a bond hearing. Lawyers argue that these detentions violate the Immigration and Nationality Act and constitutional due process rights.
    February 3, 2026Krista Torralva

GCs, Lawyers & Firms

  • TechnipFMC’s Former Head of Litigation Joins Fletcher Held - After over seven years as in-house counsel, Steve Ryan has switched back to private practice at Fletcher Held in Houston. He said he was ready for a change and missed the courtroom.
  • Kilpatrick Bolsters Houston Office
  • Melsheimer, Stodghill Lead Nine-Partner Litigation Team to King & Spalding
  • Groundhog Day: More Competition for Texas Talent
  • Weil Opens New Austin Office as Firm Now Has Three in Texas
  • Smith, Gambrell & Russell Expands Texas Reach with New Addition
  • Former SEC Chief Trial Lawyer Takes Practice to Vartabedian
  • Brown Fox Jumps Over to The Quad, Nearly Doubles Footprint
  • Data Security and E-Discovery Provider HaystackID Taps Dallas Lawyer as CEO
  • To Launch New Dallas Office, Dechert Snags McDermott Duo Behind Tesla’s $1 Trillion Contract
More GCs, Lawyers & Firms

Lawyers in the News

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Chip Babcock
Chris Bankler
Jamie B. Beaber
David J. Beck
Bill Benitez
Jessica Berkowitz
Brent Bernell
Tyler Bexley
Shawn Blackburn
Michael Blankenship
Jeffrey Brill
Anita Brown
Ian Brown
Stuart Campbell
Jack Chadderdon
Paul Clement
Erin Nealy Cox
Scott Craig
Kevin Crews
Shamus Crosby
Hannah M. Crowe
Geoffrey Culbertson
Sean Cunningham
John Daywalt
Rajiv Dharnidharka
James Ducayet
Brian K. Erickson
Scott Everett
Weiru Fang
Elizabeth Freeman
Tad Freese
Melanie Fry
Geoff Gannaway
Paul Genender
John J. Gilluly III
Rodney Gilstrap
Andrew Gorham
John Greer
Joseph Grinstein
Matthew Haddad
Colleen Haile
Breen Haire
Shahmeer Halepota
Dionne Hamilton
Troy Harder
Rusty Hardin
Michael Hawes
Nathan Hecht
Stephen Hessler
Hillary Holmes
Marc Jaffe
Lauren Jenkins
David Jones
Atma Kabad
Susan Kennedy
David Kinder
Justin King
Allan Kirk
Melanie Koltermann
Doug Kubehl
Joe Laurel
Sang Lee
Steven Lockhart
Arthur Lotz
Barbara Lynn
Mike Lynn
Nora McGuffey
Stephanie McPhail
Mark Melton
Jeri Leigh Miller
Kimberly A. Moore
Mark Moore
Shelby Morgan
Alia Moses
Davis Mosmeyer III
Darren Nicholson
Eamon Nolan
Ivy Nowinski
Holland O’Neil
George Padis
Ian Peck
Jonathan Platt
Chase Proctor
Doug Rayburn
Joel Reese
Kevin Richardson
Andrew Rodheim
Seth Rubinson
Mazin Sbaiti
Ana Sanchez
Vincenzo Santini
Jeffrey Scharfstein
Robert Schroeder III
Scott Seidel
Steven Sexton
Ahmed Sidik
Robert Slovak
Emily Smith
Melissa R. Smith
Jonathon Soler
Robert Soza
Lande Spottswood
Craig Stanfield
Justin Stolte
Josh Teahen
Kelly Tidwell
Linda Tieh
Rafael B. de Toledo
Monica Uddin
Rhett Van Syoc
Rahul Vashi
Gabe Vazquez
Patrick Venter
Sarah Walden
Kandace Walter
Kyle Watson
Mikell Alan West
Noël Wise
Meng Xi

Firms in the News

Hover right to show full list

AZA
Baker Botts
The Bandas Law Firm
Beck Redden
Boies Schiller Flexner
Bracewell
Bradley Arant
Burns Charest
Clement & Murphy
Condon & Forsyth
DLA Piper
Dykema
Foley & Lardner
Gibson Dunn
Gillam & Smith
Haynes Boone
Holland & Knight
Jackson Walker
King & Spalding
Kirkland & Ellis
Latham & Watkins
Lynn Pinker
Mayer Brown
MoloLamken
Pamela Welch PLLC
Patton Tidwell Culbertson
Paul Hastings
Porter Hedges
The Probus Law Firm
Reese Marketos
Rusty Hardin & Associates
Sbaiti & Company
Sidley Austin
Simpson Thacher
Skadden
Squire Patton Boggs
Sullivan & Cromwell
Susman Godfrey
Troutman Pepper Locke
Vinson & Elkins
Weil
Willkie
Winston & Strawn

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