Amid growing political pressure and legal threats from the Trump administration, Houston-based law firm Susman Godfrey is expanding its diversity scholarship program for law students of color. The firm announced it will increase both the number of recipients and the award amount for its annual Susman Godfrey Prize, despite accusations from federal officials that its diversity efforts violate discrimination laws.
Appeals Court Upholds Part of Verdict for Fired Southwest Flight Attendant, Tosses Religious Training Order
Southwest Airlines won partial relief from a jury verdict in a case involving the firing of a flight attendant over antiabortion messages she sent to her union president. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday that while the airline violated Charlene Carter’s right to religious expression, it did not break federal laws banning religious discrimination in the workplace. The court also struck down U.S. District Court Judge Brantley Starr’s order requiring three of the airline’s attorneys to attend religious liberty training with a Christian legal group.
P.S. — Prison Conditions, Death Penalty Cases Are ‘Projects of Compassion’ to These Pro Brono AT&T Lawyers
Jamal Wilson, an inmate at Alabama’s St. Clair Correctional Facility, survived a brutal stabbing in 2019 that left him with a fractured skull. Fearing for his life, Wilson, represented pro bono by in-house lawyers from AT&T and Foley Lardner, filed a lawsuit in 2021 alleging the prison’s failure to protect inmates from rampant violence, poor security, and mismanagement — violations of the Eighth Amendment. The Department of Justice investigated, and a settlement was reached in 2024, with Wilson set for transfer to a safer facility. Tragically, before the agreement was implemented and just months before being eligible for parole, Wilson was beaten to death. His case was among 10 prison condition cases and two death penalty appeals handled pro bono by AT&T’s lawyers, who worked with officials at Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative and its executive director, Bryan Stevenson.
P.S. — Sound of Service: This Year’s ACC Houston Pro Bono and Diversity Recipients Strike Common Chord
This week’s P.S. Column is packed with award winners, from corporate counsels who are leading the way in pro bono and diversity initiatives to the longest-serving woman justice on the Texas Supreme Court to rock-and-roll attorneys fundraising for charities.
P.S. — Free Citizens Law School in San Antonio, Tennis Clinics for Boys & Girls, $82K Raised from Law Rocks Concert
All right, all right, all right. In this week’s P.S. column, St. Mary’s School of Law and the San Antonio Bar Association announce their annual People’s Law School event. Dallas lawyers fundraised to the tune of $82,000 for local charities through a battle of the bands style concert. The Austin office of Latham & Watkins sponsored a youth tennis clinic for Boys & Girls Club and sponsored the WTA tournament that drew a local celebrity. And The Texas Lawbook needs your help identifying scholarships for low-income students who need assistance.
P.S. — AT&T and Halliburton GCs: Legal Aid ‘Is a Texas Issue that Deserves Your Voice and Advocacy’
Lawyers, corporate general counsel and leaders of the Texas legal profession — 467 of them to be exact — received an email letter Thursday from AT&T General Counsel David McAtee and Halliburton Chief Legal Officer Van Beckwith announcing the annual Champions of Justice Gala that raises funds for Texas Access to Justice and military veterans. The 2025 Gala — to be held on April 30 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin — will feature Equal Justice Initiative Executive Director Bryan Stevenson, author of New York Times bestseller Just Mercy, which was made into a major motion picture of the same name. “To me, the Champions of Justice Gala has always been special,” McAtee said. “Working with Van to extend its reach and legacy is a real thrill. The funds we raise are dedicated to the many legal needs of our veterans. Last year, we set a fundraising record. We hope to shatter that record this year.”
P.S. — Living Black History Panel, DFW Lawyers Rock for Charity, Houston Corp. Counsel Diversity and Pro Bono Nominations Open
Black History Month comes alive Feb. 23 with an extraordinary panel discussion in downtown Dallas. In two weeks, musicians from more than a half-dozen law firms will rock for charity. And nominations are officially open for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards, recognizing pro bono and diversity.
Dallas Boutique Reese Marketos Obtains $150M Verdict Against Janssen Products Over HIV Drugs
A federal jury in New Jersey found Janssen Products violated the federal False Claims Act by unlawfully promoting Prezista or Intelence. But the jury found Janssen did not violate the Anti-Kickback Statute.
New Texas Solicitor General Inherits Platform to Change Federal Law and Policies
BYU law professor Aaron Nielson is a renowned scholar and “a key member of the conservative legal movement” with expertise litigating against alleged regulatory overreach by federal authorities, according to lawyers and academics familiar with his work and even those who have battled him in court. The new Texas solicitor is an expert on the Administrative Procedure Act, a 1946 law that governs how federal agencies develop and implement regulations and a statute that Paxton has repeatedly used to challenge the authority of federal agencies. But in this article, The Texas Lawbook examines Nielson’s work on a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case in which he was appointed by the justices to, ironically, brief and argue in favor of the constitutionality of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s structure — a position that legal experts agree his boss, Texas AG Ken Paxton and other anti-federal agency advocates opposed. Nielson’s arguments won the day.