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

Four Law Firms in Texas Cut Deal with White House

Faced with the threat by President Donald Trump of potentially ruinous executive orders, five of the largest and most profitable corporate law firms in the U.S. — including four that have large operations in Texas — reached settlement agreements Friday with the White House that require them to allow an independent outside counsel to monitor their recruiting and hiring practices for possible discriminatory efforts.

April 11, 2025 Mark Curriden

P.S. — Sound of Service: This Year’s ACC Houston Pro Bono and Diversity Recipients Strike Common Chord

This week’s P.S. Column is packed with award winners, from corporate counsels who are leading the way in pro bono and diversity initiatives to the longest-serving woman justice on the Texas Supreme Court to rock-and-roll attorneys fundraising for charities. 

April 11, 2025 Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

Should Law Firms Settle or Fight Trump’s EOs? Readers Respond in a Texas Lawbook Online Forum: Sally Helppie, Attorney (Dallas-Fort Worth)

Large corporate law firms have faced unprecedented actions, including presidential executive orders targeting them and more. The Texas Lawbook established an open forum for lawyers, general counsel, law professors and judges to provide substantive responses to seven questions in an online survey. We're publishing the individual responses from our readers.

April 11, 2025 Jeff Schnick

Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center Reaches Major Milestone

For the first time this week, the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center has lawyers stationed at each of the county’s 10 eviction courts. They will be available to help tenants every day there’s an eviction docket. The center, founded by Holland & Knight partner Mark Melton, reached this goal at a time when the Texas Legislature is considering bills that would scale back due process and judicial oversight for evictions. 

April 9, 2025 Krista Torralva

O’Melveny, Texas-based First Liberty Institute Win Preliminary Injunction For Church in California

A federal judge in the Central District of California handed a win Monday to a Chinese- and Taiwanese-American church in Santa Ana that is represented by a pro bono team of lawyers from O’Melveny & Myers and Plano-based First Liberty Institute.

April 8, 2025 Krista Torralva

Nine Texas Litigation Firms Sign Amicus Brief in Opposition to Presidential EOs

Stating that their “abiding commitment to preserving the integrity of the American legal system leaves us no choice,” 504 law firms across the U.S. signed an amicus brief Friday supporting the corporate law firm Perkins Coie in its battle for survival against the Trump administration. Of those 504 law firms supporting Perkins Coie, only nine are based in Texas and not a single law firm with a corporate transactional practice signed the brief. The firms include Yetter Coleman, Susman Godfrey, Graves Dougherty, Nachawati Law Group, Aldous Law, Crain Brogdon and Waters Kraus.

April 4, 2025 Mark Curriden