More law firms in Texas scored revenues per lawyer of $1 million or more in 2019 than ever before. In fact, The Texas Lawbook 50 averaged seven-digits for the first time ever last year. Twenty-three law firms operating in Texas achieved the lofty standard demonstrating success. The Lawbook has the data and the details.
SCOTX Extends COVID-19 Emergency Order, Includes Jury Trial Provisions
Texas judges will be permitted to conduct jury trials remotely and sometimes in-person as long as they develop a plan that follows the social distancing guidelines and other safety provisions established by the Texas Office of Court Administration, according to a new order issued Wednesday by Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht.
Two Foreign Corporations, a $165M Dispute, COVID-19 and a Fight with a Judge over a Trial Date
Lawyers at Norton Rose Fulbright representing a Spanish tether chain maker have asked the Fifth Circuit to force a federal judge in Houston to postpone a civil jury trial until early next year. The business, Vicinay Cadenas, argues that the judge’s order that the $165 million contract dispute go to trial in July violates their constitutional rights and puts the defense at a tactical disadvantage against the plaintiff, Petrobras.
Willkie Farr Adds Pair of Corporate Energy Lawyers in Houston
Willkie Farr announced Tuesday that it has added two experienced corporate M&A lawyers – former McGuire Woods partner Jay Hughes and former Grizzly Energy General Counsel Jonathan Curth – to its Houston office.
New HBA Prez Bill Kroger Talks Billy Gibbons, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Yellow Fever and ‘Monumental Challenges’
Baker Botts partner Bill Kroger knows music and Texas legal history. He needs both as he faces some monumental challenges as the new president of the Houston Bar Association. Exactly 150 years ago, Baker Botts co-founder Peter Gray was the bar’s first president. His big issue in 1870: a healthcare crisis known as the Yellow Fever, which killed thousands of people, bankrupted Texas businesses and led to an armed quarantine.
‘There is a Tsunami Coming’
More Texas businesses are filing for bankruptcy this year than during the Great Recession or anytime in the past two decades, and legal experts say the wave of insolvencies and restructurings is still far from breaking or hitting their peak. Houston has emerged as the preferred venue for large, complex restructurings for companies such as J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus, though Dallas has a new bankruptcy judge on deck. The Texas Lawbook examines the trends and provides analysis from the top bankruptcy experts.
GC Brandy Treadway Leads J.C. Penney into Chapter 11
On Page 15 of J.C. Penney Company’s bankruptcy filing Friday late afternoon, there is the signature of the corporation’s general counsel and corporate secretary, Brandy Treadway. “Attached hereto is a true, complete, and correct copy of the resolutions of the Board of Directors of the Company.” Here is a profile of J.C. Penney’s GC, who will play a critical role in the retailer’s restructuring.
The Texas Middle Market – Flat or Firm, Stable or Stale?
There are seven middle market corporate law firms in The Texas Lawbook 50 in 2019 – down from nine a year earlier. They employed 721 corporate lawyers and generated $452 million in revenues. Some had record years. Others restructured. Legal industry analysts say these firms are a throwback to old-fashioned legal practices when lawyers were actually counselors for their business clients, and they might just thrive in this new crisis environment. Updated to include correction.
SCOTX Bill Brewer Sanctions Opinion ‘May Do Incalculable Damage to Jury System’
Four prominent trial organizations representing more than 10,000 lawyers in Texas filed a brief Friday asking the Texas Supreme Court to reverse an opinion it issued two weeks ago that tossed out sanctions against Dallas lawyer Bill Brewer for allegedly trying to taint the jury pool in one of his cases. “This opinion appears to set a new and disturbing standard,” the brief states.
The Last Trial of T. Boone Pickens: Q&A with Authors Chrysta Castañeda and Loren Steffy
There were few more colorful characters in the corporate world than T. Boone Pickens. Chrysta Castañeda and Loren Steffy got to know him well – Castañeda as his lawyer representing him in a major trial in West Texas and Steffy as a long-time journalist who interviewed the oilman several times over three decades. The Texas Lawbook conducted a virtual interview with the duo.