Exxon Mobil assistant general counsel David Woodcock has departed the energy giant to join the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as the firm’s SEC enforcement practice co-head. The move surprised many within the legal department at Exxon Mobil because Woodcock, who was a past regional director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth office, was viewed as a likely candidate to be the company’s next chief legal officer.
Veteran Dallas Prosecutor Tapped as EDTX U.S. Attorney
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, as expected, Damien Diggs would be the first Black U.S. attorney in the 166-year-old Eastern District.
Former Texas Appellate Judge Rejoins Dykema
After eight years on the Dallas Court of Appeals, former justice David Schenck is practicing law at his old law firm. In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Schenck said Dykema was the only firm he seriously considered.
Haynes and Boone Opens Virginia Outpost
The Dallas-based firm expanded to Northern Virginia by adding 19 lawyers with expertise in government contracts, construction and white-collar law.
White & Case Hires Three Bracewell Litigators in Houston
Sean Gorman, Chris Dodson and Andrew Zeve are joining a team of about 90 attorneys in White & Case’s Houston office after tenures at Bracewell that included leading the firm’s $1.6 billion win for BMC against IBM.
Remembering Fort Worth Federal Judge John McBryde
Senior U.S. District Judge John McBryde of Fort Worth was old school and hardcore, viewed as the epitome of a federal judge and always regarded as the lord of his courtroom. Criminal defense lawyers compared him to the hanging judges of the Wild West because of the lengthy prison sentences. But other lawyers and judges say he was a fierce protector of the rule of law and the right to trial by jury. Judge McBryde, appointed to the federal bench in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, died Sunday. He was 91.
Winstead Elects Jeff Matthews as Next Leader
Shareholders at the corporate law firm Winstead have elected the chair of its business and transactions practice, Jeff Matthews, as the firm’s next chairman and CEO. A 2003 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and the son of a former Exxon general counsel, Matthews replaces David Dawson, who has led Winstead since 2014. In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Matthews discusses the Texas firm’s position in the legal market, how 2022 has gone so far and whether there is any interest in a future merger.
This Associate Logged 100 Hours of Pro Bono in the Last Year. Here’s How He Did It
As the year comes to an end, some may be reflecting on their legal practice and looking for ways to squeeze more pro bono into their life. The Texas Lawbook spoke with Stinson associate and pro bono pro Grant DuBois, who manages a pro bono misdemeanor criminal docket in his spare time and provides tips for weaving more pro bono work into the daily grind.
“Attorneys have been viewed by the general public as an undesirable group since the beginning of our profession,” DuBois says. “Many refer to us as ‘money-sucking vampires’ motivated not by client service, but by greed. One of the ways we can start to change this generalized perception is to provide pro bono services as often as we can.”
SEC’s David Peavler Joining Jones Day
David Peavler is following in the steps of his two predecessors who were regional directors of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth office. Peavler, in an exclusive interview with The Texas Lawbook, said he will join the Dallas office of the global law firm Jones Day as a partner leading the firm’s Texas securities litigation and SEC enforcement practice.
Peavler, who announced Thursday that he was resigning as the regional director of the SEC, is a huge catch for Jones Day because of his deep experience in the area of financial accounting and because he has prior experience as a corporate general counsel – the very people who hire Jones Day for legal advice.
P.S. — A Couple Awards, A Memorial Fund, ‘It’s Fun to Stay at the YMCA’
In this week’s P.S. column, the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas hosts its annual Stories from the HeART fundraiser and honors a group of Texas lawyers for their contributions, a memorial fund set up in the memory of the late Dallas lawyer, Clarence Brown, seeks to raise more funds to benefit students of color at the Lamplighter School, and two nonprofits announce leadership efforts by lawyers.