Agency Recommends $9.6M in Fines for Houston-based Midstream for 2022 Deepwater Spill

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday that it is recommending a fine of more than $9.6 million against a Houston-based company for a November 2023 deepwater oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. The penalty is the result of an investigation by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safe Administration and the recommended levy of $9,622,054 is described as the "largest civil penalty ever proposed" by the agency.

January 5, 2026 Allen Pusey

Rethinking the Investor-Broker Relationship in Tokenized Real Estate Markets

Illiquidity has always been a feature (and a bug) of real estate transactions. That prime piece of retail space is one of a kind, and you can’t click “sell” on that multifamily asset the same way you can on a share of a blue-chip company. Tokenization is changing that premise by turning the economics of property ownership into fractional tradable units that can be bought or sold through digital exchanges at the touch of a button. This shift matters for corporate counsel because once something trades like a security, the market structure becomes an additional risk on top of the investment itself.

December 29, 2025 Daniella Main & Michael Thompson

How Dallas’s Three New Stock Exchanges May Reshape Securities Fraud Enforcement

In a development that could fundamentally reshape the landscape of federal securities enforcement, three major stock exchanges are establishing operations in Dallas within the Northern District of Texas. This geographic diversification of America’s securities exchange infrastructure represents more than mere business expansion — it signals a potential seismic shift in federal criminal and civil securities enforcement. Cases that historically could only be prosecuted in Manhattan may soon find their way to Dallas courtrooms, bringing with them the possibility of different judicial approaches, jury pools and enforcement priorities.

December 18, 2025 Elisha J. Kobre

Houston’s U.S. Attorney Wins Key Senate Vote for Federal Judgeship

The nomination of Nicholas Ganjei to the bench of the Southern District of Texas goes next to the full Senate, where swift approval is expected. Ganjei, currently the Southern District’s top federal prosecutor, is a former chief counsel to Sen. Ted Cruz.

December 12, 2025 Bruce Tomaso

Ex-VP of Wichita Falls Bank Gets 4 Years in Pandemic Loan Scam

Kaylee Ree Lunn pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud, admitting that she used bank customers’ financial data to apply for bogus loans under the government’s Paycheck Protection Program.

December 8, 2025 Bruce Tomaso

Houston-area Energy Executive Convicted in Scheme to Bribe Mexican Officials

Jurors in the court of U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt found Alexandro Rovirosa guilty of conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A codefendant, Mario Avila, is a fugitive.

December 8, 2025 Bruce Tomaso

Former USPS Employee Pleads Guilty to Bribery Scheme 

Zechariah Yi is the fourth person to plead guilty in a bribery scheme that involved United States Postal Service contracts that awarded about a total of $15 million to three trucking companies. Yi’s sentencing is set for March 2026. 

December 5, 2025 Alexa Shrake

Litigation Roundup: Harrison County Pharma Lawsuit Nets $41.5M Settlement

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announces a $41.5 million settlement of one Harrison County state court lawsuit against pharmaceutical industry defendants and files another in the same venue, and a fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin draws a wrongful death lawsuit in the wake of a freshman’s death by suicide.

November 24, 2025 Michelle Casady