Houston appellate law expert Kimberly Phillips has long been an advocate for increased diversity in the legal and energy sectors. Now, she is advocating from a new lofty position: general counsel of global litigation at Shell Oil Company.
Elite National Corporate Firms Dominate Big Dollar M&A in Texas
There have been 11,013 M&A transactions in Texas during the past 13 years with a combined value of $3.4 trillion. Mergermarket and The Texas Lawbook examined which law firms did most of the biggest deals. Only five of the top 30 firms are based in Texas. Four of the top 10 firms do not have an office in the state.
Ouch! – Houston Bar Releases Judicial Evaluations
The Houston Bar Association has released its bi-annual evaluation of state and federal trial and appellate judges. The best rated judge mustered a “B” grade. Dozens of civil court judges got straight “F’s.” U.S. District Chief Judge Lee Rosenthal got the highest score, while Houston District Court judges Ursula Hall and Dedra Davis received the lowest rating.
Jessica Magee: Going Back to TK ‘Made all the Sense in the World’
A former SEC senior enforcement lawyer, Jessica Magee talks with The Texas Lawbook about why she left Beneficient for Thompson & Knight and dishes advice to private equity on corporate governance. Meanwhile, Beneficient names a partner at Willkie Farr as its new chief legal officer.
Thirteen Years of Texas M&A: Three Law Firms, 2,000 Deals, $2 Trillion
Lawyers at Kirkland, Latham and V&E say they see each other across the table in the biggest M&A deals in the Lone Star State. New Mergermarket data shows the dominance of the trio of law firms in Texas dealmaking is far from a new trend. The numbers are staggering. To be sure, other corporate law firms operating in Texas have done their fair share of dealmaking. The Texas Lawbook looks back at more than a dozen years of M&A and the law firms doing the work.
Mergermarket: Kirkland Sets Texas M&A Record for Second Straight Year
Kirkland & Ellis is having back-to-back record years for representing businesses and private equity firms doing deals in Texas. Three law firms – Kirkland, V&E and Latham & Watkins – hold the top 18 spots for having advised the most buyers, sellers and investment banks in M&A transactions in a single year. The Texas Lawbook has the details.
Federal Circuit Reverses Part of VirnetX v. Apple $502M Verdict
VirnetX Holding’s decade-long patent infringement battle against Apple appears to be closer to a finality. The federal appeals court tossed out two of four patent violations and sent the case back to the Eastern District of Texas to recalculate damages. The Texas Lawbook explains the long and winding road.
By a Nose, Waco Overtakes Marshall as Patent Litigation Hotbed in TX
The reign of the Eastern District of Texas as the busiest patent docket in the U.S. ended last year when Delaware captured the top spot. Now, EDTX isn’t even the busiest patent jurisdiction in Texas. The designation now belongs to the Western District and new federal judge Alan Albright. The Texas Lawbook has an exclusive interview with Judge Albright, new data and an in-depth report on the new hot patent docket.
Norton Rose Fulbright began as Fulbright & Crooker at the top of a Houston bank tower 100 years ago. Here is a timeline of their ascent to one of the largest firms on the planet.
From Two Lawyers in Houston to 4,000 Worldwide – Fulbright Turns 100
Exactly a century ago, R.C. Fulbright and John Crooker started their own law firm. A dozen years later, the firm added a young unknown trial lawyer named Leon Jaworski. No Texas corporate law firm has had a bigger historical impact on the legal profession, business and politics than Fulbright & Jaworski. Now known as Norton Rose Fulbright, the firm occupies 11 floors atop the Fulbright Tower in downtown Houston and boasts more than 4,000 lawyers in 29 countries with revenues expected to top $2 billion this year. This is the story of a law firm everyone just calls “Fulbright” – how it got here and where it is going.