The chief engineer of the Singaporean container ship MV Dali has hired prominent Houston criminal defense attorney David Gerger to represent him against federal charges filed Tuesday involving the ship’s March 2024 crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge that killed six people and caused billions of dollars in damages.
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Dallas Lawyer Challenges Judge’s Mask Mandate
Products liability and medical malpractice trial lawyer Scott Frenkel has filed a legal challenge against a Dallas judge who continues to require the people in her courtroom to wear Covid-19-era facemasks.
Kirkland, Sidley, Simpson Thacher Advise VoltaGrid, Blackstone, Halliburton Deal
Blackstone and Halliburton agreed to invest $1 billion in VoltaGrid, a Houston company that provides power generation, portable power, CNG fuel supply, infrastructure and energy management services. VoltaGrid also is acquiring Propell Energy Technology, a Granbury manufacturer of oilfield and well-servicing equipment.
Kirkland & Ellis and Sidley Austin are advising VoltaGrid, while Simpson Thacher is advising Blackstone.
Justice Gorsuch Shares Stories of the Nation’s Founding
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch visited the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Southern Methodist University’s campus Saturday afternoon for a talk and reading of his children’s book Heroes of 1776. Young children gathered to hear who the justice’s favorite heroes were.
Judge Gilstrap Mulls Permanent Injunction Against Samsung
MARSHALL — A lawyer for Samsung argued during the hearing that the injunction Collision Communications seeks in the patent infringement case would prevent his client from importing “well above 75 percent of products” the electronics giant produces, including all phones and tablets. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap took the motion under advisement and told the parties he would issue his decision as soon as practicable.
Litigation Roundup: Energy Transfer Gets Partial Win in Arbitration Dispute
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Google gears up to defend against patent infringement claims in Midland, the battle between the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars won’t be going to a jury trial, a $17 million Ponzi scheme architect from Houston goes to prison, and the Texas Supreme Court sides with a lawyer fending off claims from a dissatisfied client.
President Trump Makes Nominations for Northern, Southern District Benches
President Donald Trump made two nominations for the federal benches in Texas Monday. He nominated Kirkland & Ellis partner Kasdin Mitchell in Dallas and deputy chief of staff to Gov. Greg Abbott, Angela Colmenero, in Houston.
Talen Energy’s GC Change is ‘Getting the Band Back Together’
When Talen Energy General Counsel John Wander told his fellow executives and corporate board earlier this year that he planned to retire, the hunt for a replacement did not take long. Next week, former Vistra Corp. Deputy GC Dan Kelly officially replaces Wander as the booming Houston energy company’s top lawyer.
Business Court: April 2026 Decisions
The Court continues to cement its judicial heavyweight status — with the month’s marquee event ringing in a 90-page opinion in the high-profile fight between the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars over control of the American Airlines Center. The Court also maintained its strategy of deploying Rule 166(g) to narrow cases early and tackled personal jurisdiction.
CDT Roundup: Lone Star Deal Machine Keeps 200+ Lawyers Busy for the Week
For the week ended May 9, the CDT Roundup is reporting 21 deals valued at nearly $11.3 billion. And that doesn’t include a $3.25 billion notes offering that closed three weeks ago nor the $56 billion unsolicitied offer for eBay by $11 billion-market-cap GameStop scooped by The Wall Street Journal last week.
White & Case is advising Grapevine-based GameStop, with a team led from New York. GameStop’s general counsel is Mark Robinson, who received the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.