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David Coale

Unprecedented Situation — Creating Case Law for the New Court of Appeals

The Senate has now approved the House’s revisions to the bill that would form the new Fifteenth Court of Appeals for commercial cases. Once the two chambers of the Legislature sign the final version of the bill, the creation of that new court awaits only the governor’s signature.

Before long, that court’s justices will take office and its docket will begin to fill with cases. As a brand new institution, the Fifteenth Court will have no precedent of its own to apply in those cases. With apologies for the pun, that court will face an “unprecedented” situation.

May 21, 2023 David Coale

ChatGPT as a Pocket B.S. Detector

ChatGPT can be a valuable tool to avoid the constant occupational hazard for litigators of “groupthink.” All of you have to do is ask it some simple questions and you’ve got the opposing point of view, well-explained. Here’s why I think of it as my “Pocket B.S. Detector.”

January 30, 2023 David Coale

Night of the Living Lochner: Did the Constitution End Economics in 1791?

In 1985’s classic film, The Return of the Living Dead, a rainstorm spreads a zombie-creating chemical throughout a city. In 2022, the Supreme Court’s relentless focus on originalism has also awakened long-dead legal doctrines. One such resurrection appears in the concurrence from Golden Glow Tanning Salon v. City of Columbus, which advocates examination of a constitutional “right to earn a living” in light of how such economic matters were understood in the late 1700s.

November 14, 2022 David Coale

WWHD? — Should the Question ‘What Would Hamilton Do?’ Inform the Fifth Circuit’s Separation-of-Powers Jurisprudence?

Seven federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, have rejected arguments that federal financial regulators should not be funded by assessments made outside the usual budgeting process. The reasoning was those fundings are done pursuant to acts of Congress.

The Fifth Circuit in Community Financial Services Association of America v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau saw matters otherwise and cited several drafters of the Constitution, including the ubiquitous Alexander Hamilton.

October 24, 2022 David Coale

The Etiquette of Jurisprudential Unicorns: Review of a Recent Fifth Circuit Concurrence

Scholars traditionally classify the statements in a judicial opinion as “holdings” (the reasons for a court’s decision) or “dicta” (additional discussion not necessary to the result, with varying precedential value depending on its thoroughness). But that distinction comes up short when applied to Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho’s recent concurrence in Defense Distributed v. Platkin. The concurrence—a courteous (though unenforceable) request to a district court in another circuit—is an unusual jurisprudential addition to the patchworks of holding and dicta that ordinarily fill the Federal Reporter.

September 23, 2022 David Coale

Abortion, Texas Republicans and the Slaughterhouse Cases: A Collision Ahead

Despite the recent threats of conservative lawmakers to impose civil and criminal penalties on Texas residents seeking an abortion in another state, the privileges-or-immunities clause and the dormant commerce clause can protect interstate travel for those parties. But will they given the current makeup of the federal courts?

August 1, 2022 David Coale

‘Meatspace,’ Cyberspace and the Dallas Court of Appeals

Cyberpunk fiction often calls the physical world “meatspace,” as distinct from the online world of cyberspace. Litigation does not observe that distinction. Disputes about personal jurisdiction often ask a court to review the interaction between the physical and online worlds. The Dallas Court of Appeals recently reviewed the current state of that important law in Shopstyle, Inc. & Popsugar, Inc. v. rewardStyle, Inc.

July 28, 2020 David Coale

Bet the Business, Lose the Business

The start of Judge Andrew Oldham’s opinion in Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Quanta Storage captures the essence of high-stakes litigation. Faced with a major antitrust claim by Hewlett-Packard, “Quanta risked bet-the-company litigation and lost, so the district court ordered it to hand over the company.”

June 10, 2020 David Coale

Economic Loss in a Time of Coronavirus: Fifth Circuit Case May Drive Future COVID-19 Business Tort Litigation

The Fifth Circuit recently confronted a classic “economic loss rule” problem under Texas law. While the case involved a dispute about the operation of a power turbine, the legal framework described by Golden Spread could easily set the ground rules for future business tort litigation arising from the COVID-19 crisis.

April 10, 2020 David Coale

En Banc Dallas Court Reverses No-Evidence Summary Judgment: New Force for Circumstantial Evidence

The Dallas Court of Appeals, in an 8-5 decision issued Thursday, granted review of a personal injury case and reversed the trial court’s no-evidence summary judgment for the defendant.

March 27, 2020 David Coale

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Features

  • P.S. — Death Row Removal, Melsheimer’s Fellowship, Debt Collection Jargon Simplified - In this week’s edition of P.S., Texas Access for Justice resumes in-person legal clinics for veterans with multiple June clinic dates, Winston & Strawn’s Tom Melsheimer starts a civil and human rights-related fellowship at Notre Dame, Texas Appleseed launches an effort to make debt collection lawsuits easier for consumer defendants to understand (and participate in their own proceedings), and Kirkland & Ellis scores a pro bono win for a death row inmate in Houston. Natalie Posgate details the latest in the world of public service. June 2, 2023Natalie Posgate

GCs, Lawyers & Firms

  • Clifford Chance Lands Castelan - The energy M&A/infrastructure attorney worked on several deals for Latham, including counseling ExxonMobil and Chevron on projects.
  • Chris Bennett leaving STB for Weil
  • Rahul Vashi Jumps from Kirkland to Gibson Dunn
  • Winston Snags Rodney Moore, Sam Peca from Weil
  • Lee Yeakel Joins King & Spalding
  • Q&A with Willkie’s Tan Lu
  • Omar Samji Departs Shearman for Weil
  • Sidley Lands Winstead Bankruptcy Partner Rakhee Patel
More GCs, Lawyers & Firms

Lawyers in the News

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Kit Addleman
Geffrey W. Anderson
Daniel Avila II
Jon Benloulou
Mike Bielby
Jimmy Blacklock
Jane Bland
Thomas D. Bowers III
Denis Braham
Thomas Brandt
Ron Breaux
Kenneth Broughton
Kyle Carter
Brian Cathey
Michael Chambers
Tracy Christopher
David Coale
Samuel C. Cole
David S. Cook
Alicia G. Curran
Michael Darden
Joe Davidson
Joshua P. Davis
Adrienne Dominguez
Mollie Duckworth
Shannon Dugan
Keith Ellison
Jennifer Walker Elrod
Harper Estes
Andrew Fabens
Bill Finnegan
Bryan Flannery
Joshua Flores
Murray Fogler
Marc Fuller
Rob Goodin
Robert N. Grisham II
Richard Guiltinan
Charlie Haag
Stancell Haigwood
John Russell Hardin
Meagan Hassan
Chris Heasley
Michael Heidler
Sean M. Higgins
Laura Hill
Amanda S. Hilty 
Jim Ho
Russell Hollenbeck
Hillary Holmes
Kenneth Hoyt
Joan Huffman
Wallace Jefferson
David Johansen
Zona Jones
Jameson Joyce
Jacob Kring
David Lassetter
Tom Leatherbury
Debra Lehrmann
Brenda Lenahan
Luis Leos
Brice Lipman
Ieuan List 
Mey Ly-Ortiz 
R.J. Malenfant
Peter Marshall
Levi McCathern II
Pamela Medina
Dale Mellencamp
Todd Mensing
David Miller
Rodney R. Miller
Regina Montoya
Eric Moyé
Andrew Murr
Tim Newsom
Kurt Nondorf
Ethan Nutter
Robin O'Neil
Yvette Ostolaza
Matt Pacey
Sarah Patel Pacheco
Scott Parel
Danielle Patterson
Ken Paxton
Kelley Peacock
Eric T. Penner
Kyle Poelker
Chris Popov
Laura Prather
Gregory Pryor
Shirley Redwine
Aiesha Redmond
R. Douglas Rees
Justin Reinus
Samuel Rettew
Aaron Rigby
Justine Robinson
Ian Roffman
Kristen Rohr
James Ruiz
Dylan B. Russell
Russell Ryan
R.K. Sandill
Steven Sanfelippo
Valeria Sartorio
Neil Sawhney
Harrison Scheer
Karen Gren Scholer
Jonathan C. Scott
Tali Sealman
B. Jack Shepherd
Laura Sizemore
Ryan W. Smith
Britta Stanton
Harrison Steakley
Johnathan Stone
Gary Swaim
Laura Tamez
Matthew Turner
Rahul Vashi
Donald Verrilli Jr.
Brett Wagner
Darrin Walker
Hannah Walsh
Paul Watler
Kyle Watson
Alex Whitman
Cory T. Wilson
Randy Wilson
Travis Wofford
Eric B. Wolff
Thomas C. Wright
Angela Zambrano
Mingda Zhao

Firms in the News

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Alexander Dubose Jefferson
Allen & Overy
Anderson & Riddle
Ares
Autotalks
AZA
Azek
Azelis
Bair Hilty
Baker Botts
Beard Energy
BMW
Cozen O'Connor
Cunningham Swaim
Delta
DHLF
Dohery Wagner
Ducommun 
Fogler Brar O’Neil
Gibson Dunn
Greenberg Traurig
Gupta Wessler
Haynes Boone
Hedrick Kring
Hess Midstream
Holland & Knight
Hoover Slovacek
Hyatt
Jackson Walker
Kinder Morgan
Kirkland
Lancium
Latham
Lewis Brisbois
LG Chem
Lynch, Chappell & Alsup
Lynn Pinker
Marriott
McCathern
MoloLamken
Morrison Jones
Munger Tolles & Olson
Newmont
NOG
Nutter McClennen & Fish
Penn Law Firm
Perkins Coie
Reed Smith
Rice University
Schlumberger
Shearman & Sterling
Sidley
Sunnova
TADC
TEX-ABOTA
Texas Fueling Services
TLR
Toyota
Trafigura Trading
TTLA
United Airlines
USA Lending
V&E
White & Case
Winstead
Winston & Strawn
Womble
Wright Close & Barger

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