Bracewell partner W. Stephen Benesh was sworn in as president-elect of the State Bar of Texas June 22 during the annual meeting in Austin. He answered questions from The Lawbook about why he wanted to take a leadership role and what his goals are.
Two Houston Heavyweights Representing Ken Paxton Call Impeachment ‘Baloney’ and ‘Tomfoolery’
At an Austin news conference, lawyers Tony Buzbee and Dan Cogdell promise a protracted fight to acquit the beleaguered attorney general. They also poked fun at the lead impeachment prosecutors, Rusty Hardin and Dick DeGuerin, saying the pair were introduced earlier by the Texas House “like they were the homecoming king and queen.”
Legislature Makes Seismic Shifts on Civil Courts
Lawmakers upended the state’s system of elected district court judges and regional intermediate appellate courts as business interests won a new court system for complex business disputes. The 2023 legislature rejected efforts to cut local governments out of public nuisance suits and weaken the state’s anti-SLAPP statute.
Amici Take Sides in $1.6B IBM, BMC Appeal
Six amicus briefs have been filed with the Fifth Circuit in the case where IBM is trying to undo a $1.6 billion judgment entered against it after a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Gray Miller. BMC had filed a cross appeal in the lawsuit but dropped that fight in April to “simplify and shorten the proceedings.”
Fifth Circuit Seeks SCOTX Input in Flight Attendants’ Boeing Suit
A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit has asked the state’s high court to answer two certified questions that will determine if two flight attendants, Marvin Sanders and Matthew Sodrok, can proceed with their suit against Boeing over the alleged malfunction of a smoke detector on one of the company’s planes.