The Top Texas Legal Stories of 2021
The year’s list of top Texas legal stories as determined by the staff of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.
Q&A: Charlie San Miguel
Premium-Only Content: Charlie San Miguel is recipient of the 2021 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department. The Lawbook's Mark Curriden had a chance to ask him about the current issues facing in-house counsel and what he looks for in any relationship with an outside firm.
Q&A: Victoria Lazar
Premium-Only Content: During her three decades practicing law, Victoria Lazar has designed and negotiated multibillion-dollar, high-profile M&A deals for corporate giants like Electronic Data Systems and General Electric. Even as a young lawyer, she worked on the separation of EDS from General Motors in what was at the time the largest IPO in history. Here, Lazar shares her perceptions about the role of corporate counsel.
CDT Roundup: 16 Deals, 10 Firms, 109 Lawyers, $5B
Just because concerns about O&G prices have been replaced by concerns about ESG doesn't mean that the old ways have vanished. For instance, hydraulic fracturing — in case you were wondering — never really disappeared. Not only is fracking back, next year could well bring a healthy rebound for use of the controversial process. Details on that, and the names of lawyers involved in last week's transactions are in this week's CDT Roundup.
Corporate Deal Tracker: 2021 Capital Markets Master List
Below is a list of qualified CAPITAL MARKETS transactions reported to The Texas Lawbook. The list is organic. It is designed to grow as needed. So if you have deals that
CDT Roundup: 9 Deals, 10 Firms, 101 Lawyers, $3.5B
Global M&A is at record levels. Private equity deals, too. And tech is leading the way. Though energy is still king in Texas, technology (and PE investments in technology) are setting the pace for the kind of year people may remember when there's a new election for king. More on that and all the deals from a three-day work week in the CDT Roundup.
CDT Roundup: 21 Deals, 12 Firms, 178 Lawyers, $26.7B
Big and bad is not always good, as evidenced by some of the recent down-sizing, realigning and unloading taking place among the elite corporations: think GE, AT&T, etc. So, who's next in Texas? Meanwhile, a new Haynes and Boone survey suggests that increased oil patch optimism has bankers likely to increase borrowing bases. All that and $26.7 billion in deals are part of this week's Roundup.
Kirkland, V&E, Shearman, Sidley, Latham Lead CDT Q1-Q3 M&A Dealmaking
In the first three quarters of 2021, there were well more than 600 M&A transactions involving Texas corporate lawyers — most of them led by Texas corporate lawyers. In the latest rankings from the Lawbook's Corporate Deal Tracker database, the top 10 Texas-based offices and Texas-based firms gobbled up more than two-thirds of the transactions reported to The Lawbook. At the top, as they have been for nearly a decade, are Kirkland & Ellis and Vinson & Elkins. But there are also a few surprising new names on the list. The Lawbook has them all.
Opinion: Proposing a Better Path Forward for the Texas Bar after McDonald
The State Bar of Texas' request proposal to settle the mandatory membership litigation is not pennywise, but it is certainly pound-foolish. To have our executive director spending time fighting refunds is not a justifiable use of the job’s $300,000 salary and benefits package. The battle will cost us incredibly more in dollars than the $100 refund. Even worse, it will further alienate conservative lawyers and others for exercising their beliefs. The State Bar of Texas is going in the wrong direction. We need to do our best to assist each of our 107,000 lawyers and make them feel valuable.
A Look Back In Order to Press On
These are crazy times for real estate and corporate work and the fourth quarter is looking like it is going to be all-hands on deck. If you find yourself in this situation, I hope my family's story will help you persevere through the end of the year.
CDT Roundup: 20 Deals, 16 Firms, 175 Lawyers, $8.6B
Oil pricing hit a high unseen in nearly seven years, and energy deals seemed suddenly a thing again. It may be a passing moment, but one worth noting in this week's CDT Roundup.
Border Heritage Central in Trial Lawyer’s ‘Journey to Credibility’ with Jurors
I reflect upon how my background motivated me to be an attorney, and I appreciate how it has made me a better attorney. I have always been driven to pursue a career to help people, especially those who feel invisible, like immigrants or women of color. My heritage is just as much a piece of me as my hard work, my studies and the long hours that have brought success to me and my clients.