Baker Botts, one of the oldest, largest and most successful corporate law firms in Texas, has chosen John Martin, a partner in its Palo Alto office, as its next managing partner. He is the firm’s first non-Texas based partner to lead the 725-lawyer operation.
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Akin Gump Taps John Goodgame for Houston MP
Akin Gump is handing over the reins of its Houston office from one prolific energy dealmaker to another. The firm announced Thursday that John Goodgame has succeeded Chris LaFollette as
Mary Koks Named Munsch Hardt’s Houston Office Managing Shareholder
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr has named veteran environmental lawyer Mary W. Koks as the managing shareholder of its Houston office. Koks will also sit on the firm’s operations committee.
SCOTX Reconsiders Case On Jurisdiction
Having once rejected this case involving an out-of-state insulation company, the Texas Supreme Court heard arguments last week reconsidering the threshold of Texas products liability jurisdiction. Janet Elliott reports.
Belinda Boling – An Excellent Lawyer with a Servant’s Heart
AT&T senior counsel Belinda Boling is a pro bono ball of fire. She has handled multiple asylum cases, including a heartbreaking representation of a teenaged girl whose mother’s murdered body was found by the FBI. She recruited more than a dozen other lawyers at AT&T to help asylum-seekers with their applications. She expanded AT&T’s pro bono program to its Latin America offices and joined forces with Akin Gump to help about 2,000 U.S. military veterans get legal assistance.
Punam Kaji is a ‘Gem of the Profession’ and Future of GC Suite
Ben E. Keith Assistant GC Punam Kaji is the hands-on GC of the future. She walks her company’s food distribution warehouse and rides along with sales people to catch issues before they become problems. Oh, and this is important, she actually cares about the people she works with.
Updated – For Varsity GC Burton Brillhart, Pro Bono Pays
Burton Brillhart won a $3.1 million trade secrets case and a copyright victory at the U.S. Supreme Court. He finalized Bain Capital’s $2.5 billion acquisition of Varsity. But Brillhart’s really good stories are about his grandfather, Homer Dean, a South Texas lawyer for 60 years and a close personal friend of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Dean was the Jim Wells County Attorney in 1948 when the infamous Precinct 13 ballot dispute occurred giving the U.S. Senate election to LBJ. Now that’s news.
Jury: Selgas & Green Guilty of Tax Fraud
In a unanimous verdict, a Dallas federal jury found Thomas Selgas and John O. Green guilty for one count of conspiracy to defraud the federal government. Separately, jurors found Selgas guilty of tax evasion for tax years 1998-2002 and 2005.
CDT Roundup: 21 Deals, 17 Firms, 187 Lawyers, $14.2B
The average value of M&A deals globally last year reached $389 million, the highest since 2015, and take-privates amounted to $158.3 billion, the highest value since 2007. Claire Poole discusses those and other Mergermarket statistics plus the dealmaking week that was among Texas lawyers.
Former Navy Pilot Jeff Hunt Brings Leadership Skills to Raytheon
For years, Jeff Hunt piloted E-2C Hawkeye planes for the Navy, including several encounters with the Russians. Now, he’s senior counsel at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems in Dallas, where he navigates the military contractor through a labyrinth of global laws and regulations on contracts and transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars. As The Texas Lawbook reports, Hunt also had an amazing career as a Navy JAG officer.
SCOTX Hears Case Against “Anti-Washout” Clauses
The argument before SCOTX is whether two parties can create an interest in real property that remains vested long after the agreement – or even the parties themselves – cease to be. Janet Elliott reports.
