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My Five Favorite Books: Nick Nelson (Litigation Partner, Nadler Nelson, PLLC)

My sister-in-law is a librarian with an infectious love of books. Each time a niece or nephew celebrates a birthday, she takes them to Half Price Books to pick out a book (or two or three). This has been going on for years now, so you can imagine the sense of anticipation that has developed around this tradition. As attorneys, we read a lot. Not everything we read inspires anticipation and wonder. Here are five books that might.

Nick Nelson

CDT Roundup: No Summer Slowdown for Deals

For the week ended June 20, the CDT Roundup reported on 11 deals with a disclosed value of $68.1 billion. Those are numbers that come naturally when SpaceX is involved.

Aside from a $60 billion SPCX stock swap for a San Francisco AI startup, there was an abundance of other billion-dollar deals. Pizza Hut had two of them, in fact.

That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.

Jason Philyaw

CDT Roundup: Megadeal Leads Eclectic Mix of M&A, IPOs and Odd Pairings

For the week ended June 13, the CDT Roundup reported on ten deals with a disclosed value of $11 billion.  

A year ago at this time, the Roundup reported on nine deals with a combined disclosed value of $478 million.

By far the largest deal of the week was a massive venture involving PE, a sovereign fund, a power provider and a major chipmaker. That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.

Jason Philyaw

CDT Roundup: AI, Energy and Giant Deal Shape Diverse Week

Three AI-related deals. A soon-to-be-Japanese-owned digital infrastructure provider sopped up a major alternative energy investor. A Miami-based PE firm bought 10 data centers. You get the idea.

For the week ended May 30, the CDT Roundup reported on 14 transactions valued at a nearly $19.9 billion.

That falls short of last week's 15 deals for $75 billion, but within shouting distance of the 19 transactions valued at $23 billion at this time last year.

That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.

Jason Philyaw

Texas Supreme Court Orders Dallas Judge to Lift Mask Mandate

The Texas Supreme Court issued an order Friday instructing Dallas County at Law Judge D’Metria Benson to immediately rescind her standing court order requiring lawyers, witnesses, jurors and others in her courtroom to wear masks.

“The Court disapproves of any such policy in any Texas courtroom,” a three-page order signed by all nine justices released Friday states.

Mark Curriden

As Austin Business Skyrockets, So Too Does Reliance on Modern Dispute Resolution  

As the city has grown rapidly, this thriving business hub has seen increased complexity in legal disputes tied to technology, construction, energy, healthcare, and employment matters, just to name a few. With this increase, the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services has also steadily risen. Fortunately, Austin has long enjoyed a sophisticated ADR marketplace, serving this expanding business community for approximately three decades.

Jonathan Moss

NextEra, Dominion Energy Merge in Stock Swap Valued at $66.8B

NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy announced Monday an agreement to merge in an all-stock transaction valued at $66.8 billion. Kirkland & Ellis advised NextEra with a team led by Zach Savrick and Andy Calder in Houston with David Feirstein, who works from Houston and New York, and Brooksany Barrowes in Washington, D.C. Dominion Energy is being advised by McGuireWoods.

Jason Philyaw

CDT Roundup: Light Week, Heavy Energy as Power Plays Drive Activity

For the week ended May 16, the CDT Roundup reported on 12 deals – eight of which were in capital markets – with a total value of about $6 billion, which are both down from the prior week's 21 deals valued at $11.3 billion.

Despite the light slate, last week's transactions were dominated by energy of all kinds.

Jason Philyaw

Texas Business Court Quarterly Update – 2026 Q1 Summaries

In the first quarter of 2026, the Texas Business Court continued to make progress through the ever-growing number of lawsuits appearing on its dockets. In the first few quarters following the Business Court opening its doors Sept. 1, 2024, the vast majority of its opinions resolved the jurisdictional and procedural questions entailed in standing up a new court with limited jurisdiction. In the second half of 2025, such procedural decisions were increasingly mixed with substantive decisions. Early 2026 marked a new phase of the Court gaining “cruising altitude,” with many of the initial procedural and jurisdictional questions behind it and most decisions addressing the merits of the disputes.   

Jeff Crough, Marisa Secco Giles & Quentin Smith

CDT Roundup: Utilities, Pipelines and Oil Take Center Stage

For the week ended May 2, the CDT Roundup reported on 13 deals valued at nearly $37.9 billion. The prior week had 11 deals reported with a total value of about $19.7 billion, while a year ago at this time, the Roundup reported on 11 deals valued about $4.3 billion.

On the M&A side, the week proved to be all about power and energy and data centers. That and more in this week's CDT Roundup.

Jason Philyaw

Tariffs and Trade: Dallas Leaders Examine a Changing Landscape

As policymakers continue to recalibrate U.S. trade policy in the wake of “Liberation Day,” the real-world effects are still rippling across boardrooms, factory floors, and checkout counters. At a recent economic roundtable hosted by The Texas Lawbook, four international trade experts offered a look at how tariffs and the uncertainty surrounding them are reshaping decision-making for Texas businesses and consumers alike.

Here are highlights from the conversation.

Elle Grinnell

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