The legal community in Texas is facing some huge issues in 2024 that require significant thought, in-depth research, strong leadership and an open discussion. There is the immigrant crisis on the border and how state, local and federal governments and the courts are handling it — or not handling it. Diversity and inclusion efforts have never been more important, more complicated or more controversial. Legal aid for the poor is at a critical stage, as veterans, single mothers, tenants and the elderly face significant perils without the assistance of lawyers. The need for a full-time reporter and writer covering pro bono, public service and diversity in the Texas legal profession has never been greater.
Norton Rose Fulbright Study: Lawsuits Against Texas Companies Up, Fear of Litigation Up More
Texas companies’ reprieve from litigation due to the Covid-19 pandemic is over. A new study of corporate general counsel in Texas finds that the number of lawsuits filed against larger businesses jumped 75 percent in 2021 over the previous year and that the fear of additional litigation in 2022 has increased, too. The good news for lawyers at Texas law firms is that companies returned to pre-Covid levels of hiring outside counsel to handle their litigation battles in 2021.
Fort Worth Bankruptcy Judge Hears Details of $33M Elevate Credit Settlement
The multistate predatory lending and fraud litigation pitting more than a million low-income plaintiffs against two Fort Worth financial tech companies – Think Finance and Elevate Credit – is in “its final chapter,” lawyers told a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Harlan Hale Wednesday. Elevate agreed to pay $33 million to settle three class actions and an adversarial bankruptcy complaint that alleged a decadelong scheme of predatory lending and subsequent corporate transactional legal maneuvering that claimed victims in nearly every state.