Fifty-nine law students from eight different Texas law schools are among the 1,224 law students who filed an amicus brief supporting Susman Godfrey and three other law firms fighting executive orders issued last spring by President Donald Trump declaring the law firms to be threats to national security.
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Lanier Talks Jury Selection, Outcome, What’s Next After Win Against Meta, Google in California Trial
When it came time to pick the jury for a landmark, bellwether social media addiction trial against Meta and Google, Mark Lanier had a choice to make: Did he want a jury more likely to find liability, or a jury more likely to maximize damages? “In this case, I made the choice for a liability jury,” Lanier told The Texas Lawbook in an interview Thursday. “In this case, the most important thing was to win. I told the team, we may win and only win $250,000, but I want to make sure we win.”
Abu Dhabi Investor Acquires EMG Pipeline Interests for $2.25B
An Abu Dhabi investor announced late Tuesday that it is taking a stake in two major natural gas pipelines that operate across and between the Upper Midwest and Canada.
Weil is advising on the deal with a team led from Houston.
Winston & Strawn Co-Chair Moves to Yetter Coleman
Houston litigator Michael Murphy has joined the boutique law firm Yetter Coleman as a partner. Murphy was with Winston & Strawn for six years, where he served as co-chair of the firm’s Houston litigation practice.
Leadership Lessons We Weren’t Taught in Law School but Should Have Been
In law school, we were taught to think critically, communicate persuasively and pay attention to detail. Law firm training was much more of the same, except with even greater emphasis on precision, especially as an M&A attorney. Often, the best lawyers are promoted to managers because of their technical skills or business development success. That doesn’t mean they’re prepared to lead people. We were trained to advise. Not to lead. And when the promotion comes, we’re often thrown into the deep end. Leadership becomes a trial by fire. But it doesn’t have to be.
My Five Favorite Books: John M. Farrell (Corporate Counsel at Keurig Dr Pepper)
Did you know reading is a competitive sport? I did not either. That is, not until 4th grade when Ms. Duncan told the class that we were required to turn in book reports for at least 12 different books off the reading list. She informed us that we could read as many as we wanted. The record was something like 27. Wait…what? She keeps track of the record?!? Well, time to reset it at an unattainably high mark…I did 98.
Unfortunately, these days I read far more about paid sick leave requirements, disability accommodations, and overtime exemptions written by authors with very little flare for the intelligible (much less the dramatic). It is far less interesting but, hey, at least it pays more. Without further ado – here are five books that I just love.
Munsch Hardt Announces New Texas Office
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr formally announced Wednesday the firm’s expansion to Fort Worth with a seven-lawyer office to be housed in 5,787 square feet of scalable office space on Main Street.
O’Melveny Snags Doug Lionberger from Holland & Knight
O’Melveny & Myers announced this week that veteran capital markets advisor Doug Lionberger has joined the firm from Holland & Knight — the sixth partner to lateral to the firm’s Houston office in the last two years.
The Texas Reincorporation Trap — What the ExxonMobil Vote Reveals About Board Power
ExxonMobil’s shareholders are being asked to cast a vote this May that they may not fully understand. The company’s board has unanimously recommended moving its state of incorporation from New Jersey to Texas, framing the change as a step toward “maximizing shareholder value.”
That framing is misleading. What the reincorporation actually does is place ExxonMobil under a body of Texas corporate law that gives the board sweeping authority to restrict shareholder rights at any time, through a simple bylaw amendment, without asking shareholders for permission. Shareholders are being invited to approve a transaction that hands the board the keys to a governance regime that those same shareholders may one day wish they had never unlocked.
Litigation Roundup: Fifth Circuit Revives Megatel’s Water Fight with Mansfield
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a recent ruling from a federal judge in Texas gives more clarity to oil and gas operators regarding the application of old contracts to modern drilling practices, and former Fifth Circuit Judge Gregg Costa gets a win in a gun rights case where he was appointed as amicus counsel to defend the Texas Penal Code.