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The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

  • Appellate
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  • Commercial Litigation
  • Corp. Deal Tracker/M&A
  • GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.
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Nick Peck

M&A Newsmaker: Katherine Terrell Frank Never Became Perry Mason, But It Still Worked Out

Katherine Terrell Frank has fond memories of growing up watching Perry Mason with her grandfather. “I imagined the life of a lawyer as theatrical and dramatic, with cases neatly resolved within an hour,” Frank said. But it was while she was with V&E that she discovered something different while working in their capital markets and M&A practice. “It turns out I really enjoy transactional work,” Frank said.

May 7, 2025 Nick Peck

M&A Newsmaker: A Wild, Busy Week for Brittany Sakowitz

The first week April was a busy one for Kirkland & Ellis’ Brittany Sakowitz. The Houston M&A and PE partner led or co-led three separate deals. “[It] was an exciting one … Three important clients, signing three different types of transactions and in three different industries, all in the same week.” After pausing to catch her breath, Sakowitz caught up with The Texas Lawbook to discuss her career, M&A and her predictions for the rest the year.

April 28, 2025 Nick Peck

CDT Roundup: A ‘Rinse-and-Repeat’ Week

Last week looked much like the week that preceded it. The week ending April 26 saw a dozen deals for $8.8 billion. The preceding week saw 11 deals for $8.1 billion. This time last year we were reporting 19 transactions for $16 billion. Deals for the week included a couple of upstream asset acquisitions, a de-SPAC merger involving potential cancer cures, the sale of a waste-to-energy recycler, the acquisition by Japanese investors of Australian-owned asset management businesses, a couple of data center deals and the purchase of a school bus company still shaking off the effects of the pandemic.

April 28, 2025 Nick Peck

Kirkland, V&E Advise on EQT Acquisition of Olympus Energy Assets for $1.8B

EQT Corporation announced late Tuesday that it had entered an agreement with Olympus Energy Holdings, Hyperion Midstream and Bow & Arrow Land Company to acquire Olympus Energy’s upstream and midstream assets for $1.8 billion. Lawyers from Vinson & Elkins and Kirkland & Ellis are advising on the deal.

April 23, 2025 Nick Peck

Willkie Adds Veteran Duo From Baker Botts

Willkie Farr & Gallagher announced Tuesday that it has hired two Texas-based partners, Jon Platt and Larry Hall, to its Dallas office, which was launched nearly a year ago. The duo joins from Baker Botts after each spent significant time working within the firm’s transactional practices there.

April 22, 2025 Nick Peck

CDT Roundup: Deals Still Lagging Versus Last Year at This Time

For the week ending April 19, there were 11 transactions for $8.1 billion. The deals included nine acquisitions involving a home design group, a portfolio of lifestyle brands, a pair of data center operations, a pair of power stations, a pure-play FPGA chip developer, an IPO and several investments in upstream producers. That and more in this week’s edition of CDT Roundup.

April 21, 2025 Nick Peck

Lowe’s Announces Acquisition of Dallas’ Artisan Design Group for Over $1.3B

Lowe’s announced on April 14 that it had entered an agreement to acquire Artisan Design Group, a Dallas-based designer, distributor and service provider for interior finishes, for $1.325 billion. Lawyers from Latham & Watkins and Covington & Burling are advising on the deal.

April 16, 2025 Nick Peck

CDT Roundup: Deals Dip to 14 From Previous Week

The week ending April 12 saw 14 deals reported with an aggregate value of only $2.7 billion. Don’t let that mislead. It’s both better and worse than the numbers suggest. There were 10 M&A/funding deals. But the bulk of the M&A/funding value was provided by a $1 billion fund closing. That and more in this week’s CDT Roundup, The Texas Lawbook‘s regular feature highlighting the work Texas dealmakers are doing inside and outside the state.

April 14, 2025 Nick Peck

M&A Newsmaker: Term Sheet to Triumph, Pillsbury’s Andy Smetana Fuels Startup Successes

Andy Smetana took what he considers an unconventional path to transactional law. After graduating from Boston University School of Law, he sensed that the conditions weren’t favorable for dealmaking. He patiently worked as a litigator while waiting for corporate and market opportunities to improve. Once they did, Smetana quickly transitioned into the transactional sector and has not looked back since, he told The Texas Lawbook.

April 7, 2025 Nick Peck

CDT Roundup: Final Deadline for Submitting Deals for Lawbook’s 1Q CDT Rankings

In this edition of the CDT Roundup, we take a look at a more robust deal week than we’ve seen recently, while the first-quarter deadline for being included in the rankings is later today. Plus, a helpful guide is now available for all things Corporate Deal Tracker. That and more in this week’s CDT Roundup, our regular feature highlighting the work Texas dealmakers are doing inside and outside the state.

April 7, 2025 Nick Peck

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Features

  • McDermott Legal Department is ‘More than the Sum of its Parts’ - McDermott, a key contractor on the multibillion-dollar Freeport LNG facility, faced lawsuits seeking nearly $2 billion in damages. Freeport’s insurers sought over $1.3 billion in subrogation claims, while Freeport LNG itself alleged design defects. Both lawsuits were filed as adversary proceedings in the bankruptcy of McDermott’s joint venture partner, Zachry Construction. The cases involved complex engineering and contract issues among multiple partners. The cases involved complex engineering and contract issues among multiple partners. Ultimately, the insurers’ claims were dismissed as well as the consequential damages portion of the defect suit, though the insurers have appealed the dismissal. For navigating the complexities, McDermott's in-house legal team is one of two finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Business Litigation of the Year. The award will be presented by the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook on Thursday at the Four Seasons in Houston.  May 21, 2025Michelle Casady
  • Shell US Lawyers Adam MacLuckie and Huyen Luong Have a ‘Need to be an Ally’ - Adam MacLuckie and Huyen Luong led the Shell US Legal DEI Council during a pivotal time, fostering open dialogue and community through their “Let’s Talk About It” campaign as the company returned to in-person work post-pandemic and amid a nationwide reckoning with racism. Drawing from their personal backgrounds – Luong’s journey from post-war Vietnam and MacLuckie’s lifelong path to allyship – they built inclusive, two-way engagement that increased participation and trust. Their efforts earned them the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Diversity and Inclusion.  May 20, 2025Krista Torralva

GCs, Lawyers & Firms

  • Kim Bueno Among Kirkland’s Litigation Haul from King & Spalding - Kirkland & Ellis announced in a news release on Tuesday the hiring of 13 litigation partners nationwide from King & Spalding who specialize in "complex, multidistrict litigation and high-stakes trials" — including a handful in Texas, most notably veteran trial lawyer Kim Bueno in Austin.
  • O’Melveny Adds Experienced Trial Lawyer in Houston
  • Simpson Thacher Hires Project Finance Veteran
  • Womble Adds Veteran Biz Litigator in its Houston Office
  • Barnes & Thornburg Lands Veteran Louisiana Litigator for its Dallas Office
  • Condon Tobin Hires Team from Libby Sparks
  • Sorrels Law Launches Beaumont Office with Veteran Maritime Litigator David James
  • Sidley Strengthens Dallas Office by Hiring David Monteiro
  • SBSB Eastham Adds Veteran Trial Lawyer In Corpus Christi
  • Cheniere AGC Latest In-House Lawyer Going Back to Practice
More GCs, Lawyers & Firms

Lawyers in the News

Hover right to see full list

Reem Abdelrazik
Doug Bacon
Harry Beaudry
Jonathan Benloulou
Gene Besen
Doug Bland
Jacqui Bogucki
Vera De Brito de Gyarfas
David Buck
Nora Burke
T.J. Campbell
Wayne Chan
Michael Considine
Mogan Copher
James Cowen
Kevin Crews
Samantha Crispin
Dawud Crooms
Shamus Crosby
Clint Culpepper
Brock Degeyter
Nick Dhesi
William Eiland
Austin Elam
Miles Emery
Bill Finnegan
David Gail
Adam Garmezy
Sami Ghubril
Breen Haire
Kim Hicks
J. Dean Hinderliter
Nicole Islinger
James Johnston
Atma Kabad
John Kaercher
Erin Kaufman
Paul Kukish
Thomas Laughlin
Oscar Fernando Leija
Emily Lichtenheld
Rob Little
Ryan Logan
Bryan Loocke
Katy Lukaszewski
Ryan Lynch
Ryan Maierson
Benjamin J. Martin
Madeline McCune
Sean McFarlane
Richard McGee
Sarah McLean
Sameer Mohan
Andrew Monk
Charlie Ofner
Stephen Olson
Joe Orien
Zach Parker
John Pitts
Benjamin Potter
Brendan Quigley
Kevin Richardson
Alex Robertson
Jason Rocha
Julian Seiguer
Mark Sloan
Chad Smith
Lande Spottswood
John Stribling
Vanessa Sutherland
Tanner Sykes
Martha Todd
Michael Vardanian
Thomas Verity
Douglas Warner
Kyle Watson
Luke Weedon
John Wetwiska
Sean Wheeler
Debbie Yee

Firms in the News

Hover right to show full list

Akin
Baker Botts
Bracewell
Haynes Boone
Holland & Knight
Kirkland & Ellis
Latham & Watkins
Morgan Lewis
Pillsbury
Porter Hedges
Sheppard Mullin
Sidley
Simpson Thacher
V&E
Weil
White & Case
Willkie

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