Susman Godfrey: President Trump Executive Order is ‘Unconstitutional — Full Stop’

A lawyer for the U.S. Justice Department told a federal judge Thursday that President Donald Trump was legally exercising his executive authority by prohibiting lawyers with the Houston-based law firm Susman Godfrey from entering federal buildings or representing clients who had contracts with the federal government and suspending their security clearances. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan of Washington, D.C., repeatedly asked U.S. Deputy Associate Attorney General Richard Lawson to provide evidence supporting the president’s April 9 executive order condemning Susman Godfrey for racial discrimination in their hiring practices and for “spearheading efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrading the quality of American elections.”

May 8, 2025 Mark Curriden

P.S. — Champions of Justice Gala Shatters Record, Remembering Fallen Heroes and Dallas to Kyiv: One Lawyer’s Solidarity with Ukraine  

In this week's edition of P.S., the 2025 Champions of Justice Gala shattered previous fundraising records by collecting over $1 million to support legal aid for veterans, with AT&T’s David McAtee and Halliburton’s Van Beckwith co-chairing the event and receiving widespread support from the legal community. Keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson highlighted the importance of access to justice, while Texas lawyers Rebecca Flanigan and Fred Krasny were honored for their dedication to legal aid. Meanwhile, Dallas attorney Rogge Dunn raised over $100,000 at a dinner with Gen. David Petraeus to support Ukrainian mental health efforts and plans to attend the Kyiv Security Forum. In a separate initiative, Carry the Load launched its annual Memorial May campaign to honor fallen heroes, with longtime legal support from Sidley Austin’s Aaron Rigby, a U.S. Navy veteran and founding supporter of the nonprofit.

May 2, 2025 Krista Torralva

Texas Lawbook 50 — Susman Godfrey Scores ‘Second Best Year Ever’ in 2024

Even as Susman Godfrey is engaged in a monumental federal court fight with President Donald Trump that threatens the law firm’s very existence, the Houston-based litigation powerhouse reported 2024 revenues and profits that are once again the envy of their competitors. The firm's revenues last year were down from its record-smashing numbers of 2023, but it was still Susman Godfrey's second-best year in its 44-year history.

April 30, 2025 Mark Curriden

57 Texas Law Students Sign Amicus Brief for Susman Godfrey

The amicus briefs in the case of Susman Godfrey v. Executive Office of the President continue to stack up. On Tuesday, 1,129 law students and 51 law school student organizations filed a brief claiming that President Donald Trump’s April 9 executive order against Susman Godfrey “will cause enduring damage to the legal profession and amici as America’s future lawyers.” Fifty-seven law students from all 10 of the law schools in Texas signed the amicus brief, as did three Texas law student groups.

April 29, 2025 Mark Curriden

P.S. — Prison Conditions, Death Penalty Cases Are ‘Projects of Compassion’ to These Pro Brono AT&T Lawyers

Jamal Wilson, an inmate at Alabama’s St. Clair Correctional Facility, survived a brutal stabbing in 2019 that left him with a fractured skull. Fearing for his life, Wilson, represented pro bono by in-house lawyers from AT&T and Foley Lardner, filed a lawsuit in 2021 alleging the prison’s failure to protect inmates from rampant violence, poor security, and mismanagement — violations of the Eighth Amendment. The Department of Justice investigated, and a settlement was reached in 2024, with Wilson set for transfer to a safer facility. Tragically, before the agreement was implemented and just months before being eligible for parole, Wilson was beaten to death. His case was among 10 prison condition cases and two death penalty appeals handled pro bono by AT&T's lawyers, who worked with officials at Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative and its executive director, Bryan Stevenson.

April 25, 2025 Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

P.S. — Women’s Champions Honored, Auction Items Sought, First Amendment Lawyer Recognized

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas has announced its Women’s Advocacy Awards recipients who will be honored at its annual reception June 11 at the Arts District Mansion in Dallas. That and more, including details on the Hispanic Bar Association's Houston Annual Gala, in this edition of P.S.

April 18, 2025 Krista Torralva

Southwest Airlines Asks Judge for One Cent Judgment to End Litigation Over Squashed Free Flights Program

Lawyers for Southwest Airlines have asked a judge to enter a judgment ordering the Dallas-based airline to pay one cent and reasonable attorneys’ fees to the American Alliance for Equal Rights to end its lawsuit over a defunct program that offered free flights to low-income Hispanic students traveling to visit their parents. Southwest Airlines ended the charitable program “¡Lánzate!” — meaning “Take off!” — after political conservative Edward Blum’s AAER sued Southwest on behalf of a white student and an Asian student who claimed they were illegally denied benefits of the program. The AAER sought one cent in damages from Southwest. (Photo courtesy Ashlee D. Smith/Southwest Airlines)

April 15, 2025 Krista Torralva

Susman Godfrey: President Trump ‘is Abusing the Powers of His Office … in Retaliation Against Organizations and People He Dislikes’

Texas litigation powerhouse Susman Godfrey filed a federal lawsuit late Friday accusing President Donald Trump of issuing unconstitutional executive orders against it and other law firms and claiming the president’s actions are “a grave threat to this foundational premise of our Republic.”

April 11, 2025 Mark Curriden