Dallas Fed Survey Reveals Anxiety in Manufacturing, Services and Retail

The latest tranche of Texas Business Outlook Surveys from the Dallas Fed was released and the outlook self-described — at least among the Texas manufacturing, services and retail sectors surveyed — is not one of unbridled optimism. Kevin Henderson, a founding partner of SMB Law, says, "We still see a ton of M&A activity in the SBA space, but when talking to current business owners, things are definitely not as rosy as they have been in the past in terms of excitement on outlook. People are nervous about tariffs and overall economic impact and how it will affect their businesses."

December 14, 2025 Allen Pusey

Latham Makes the Chris Heasley Move Official

After more than 11 years at Kirkland, Christopher Heasley has formally taken his diverse energy practice to Houston. The move was first reported by Bloomberg Law in late November.

December 10, 2025 Allen Pusey

Antero Resources and Antero Midstream Buy/Sell in Four Appalachian Basin Deals Totaling $5.1B

Antero Resources and its midstream provider Antero Midstream announced Monday (Dec. 8) their separate but coordinated acquisitions of Marcellus Basin assets from HG Energy II and HG Energy totaling $3.9 billion.

In two more similarly separated and coordinated announcements, Northern Oil and Gas and Infinity Natural Resources said they are acquiring a total of $1.2 billion of Utica Shale with Antero Resources and Antero Midstream on the sell side.

Gibson Dunn, Kirkland, Latham and V&E advised on the various transactions.

December 8, 2025 Jason Philyaw

Lone Star Sells SPX Flow to ITT for $4.8B

Gibson Dunn advised Dallas-based Lone Star on the mostly-cash deal. Paul Hastings counseled Connecticut-headquartered ITT. Lone Star acquired SPX Flow in a 2022 take-private transaction.

December 6, 2025 Allen Pusey

Adding Texas Divestitures, DOJ Approves $16.4B Constellation/Calpine Merger

A $16.4 billion merger that would create the nation's largest provider of wholesale electricity cleared its final hurdle Friday with an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice that Constellation Energy and Houston-based Calpine Energy had agreed to resolve antitrust concerns with the divestment of six power plants based in the Northeast and Texas.

December 5, 2025 Allen Pusey

Vertiv Closes $1B+ Deal for Houston-based PurgeRite

The deal includes a potential $250 million post-closing earnout for PurgeRite, which provides cooling and filtration services vital to data centers, as well as medical and research facilities and precision manufacturing plants.

December 5, 2025 Jason Philyaw

VC Advisor Carmelo Gordian Departs A&O Shearman for Holland & Knight

Veteran venture capital lawyer Carmelo Gordian, a longtime Austin-based specialist in emerging companies, has signed on as a partner with Holland & Knight, leaving A&O Shearman after a nearly eight-year run.

December 2, 2025 Allen Pusey

Harvard to Houston: V&E’s Dealmaker Powerhouse

Lande Spottswood is one of the country’s top dealmakers, hired by public companies and private capital alike for her expertise with complex transactions.

Her path to the transactional world wasn’t linear. A onetime biochemical sciences major planning for an MD/PhD, Spottswood realized lab life was not for her and pivoted to Harvard Law School, where a course on Delaware takeover doctrine (and the drama of corporate raiders and contested deals) hooked her on M&A.

The Texas Lawbook caught up with the Vinson & Elkins partner to talk about these topics, Texas transaction trends, including the ongoing consolidation in energy and more, as well as how important it is to enjoy a Friday afternoon margarita on the porch. At least when the Houston weather will actually allow you to do so.

November 30, 2025 Jeff Schnick

Targa Buys Stakeholder Midstream for $1.25B

Targa Resources said Monday that it agreed to acquire Stakeholder Midstream for $1.25 billion in cash,  expanding the Houston midstream services provider’s footprint in the Permian Basin. Latham & Watkins represented Targa with a national team led by Houston partners Ryan Maierson and James Garrett. Willkie and Clifford Chance advised Stakeholder. 

Willkie's Texas-based team was led by Houston partner Sarah McLean. Gerald Shrader has been Targa's general counsel since December 2023.

December 1, 2025 Jason Philyaw

CDT Data: Seven Law Firms Dominate the Biggest of Megadeals

Forty-four law firms in Texas led mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures between 2018 and Sept. 30, 2025, according to Corporate Deal Tracker data released last week. But seven law firms have worked on the biggest of the megadeals.

November 24, 2025 Mark Curriden

The 40-Year Legacy of Pennzoil v. Texaco — An Appeal for the Ages

Executives at Texaco woke up Nov. 20 — exactly 40 years ago today — like it was the morning after aliens attacked in the movie Independence Day. A day earlier, a Houston jury ruled the New York-based oil and gas giant had tortiously interfered with a 1984 agreement Getty Oil made to merge with Pennzoil and awarded Pennzoil $10.53 billion. Texaco’s stock took a beating — dropping from $80 per share when the litigation started to $32 the week following the trial. Some Wall Street analysts were openly warning about bankruptcy. The company’s convertible bonds plummeted in value. Texaco’s debt rating was cut by Standard & Poor’s. Interest accruing on the judgment was $2.8 million every single day.

Between Thanksgiving 1985 and Christmas 1987, the two energy companies and their ever-expanding roster of litigators did battle. The litigation itself multiplied, including a precedent-setting federal case in New York over Texaco’s appeals bond, a monumental appellate battle, a bizarre decision by the Texas Supreme Court, the world’s largest corporate bankruptcy at the time and a historic settlement.

Both sides hired major reinforcements — fresh legs and fresh eyes, if you will — as the trial teams had been going full speed for 21 straight months. The appeals team for Texaco beefed up with several heavy hitters from Fulbright & Jaworski and David Boies of Cravath in New York. Pennzoil added a Texas superstar in V&E’s Harry Reasoner and Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School.

In Part II of our series looking back at the significance of the Pennzoil v. Texaco trial, The Lawbook examines the post-verdict appeals, which were historic and precedent-setting.

November 20, 2025 Mark Curriden & Alexa Shrake

The Legacy of Pennzoil v. Texaco 40 Years Later — The Civil Jury Trial of the Century

Pennzoil v. Texaco's legacy remains significant, as it changed how companies handle mergers and acquisitions, caused the Chamber of Commerce to designate Texas as a judicial hellhole in 1986 and directly led to two decades of massive tort reform efforts that dramatically limited the rights of Texans to sue businesses, doctors and insurance companies for wrongdoing. It also launched Texas trial lawyer Joe Jamail to national stardom and made him the richest trial lawyer in American history. In this in-depth article, The Texas Lawbook provides a detailed timeline of the events involved in the historic litigation, as well as comments from more than a dozen lawyers about the legal strategies employed.

November 18, 2025 Mark Curriden & Alexa Shrake