Each year, as the weather turns (somewhat) colder in Texas, partnership season starts to reshape the legal landscape. Between October and February, law firms decide which experienced associates and seasoned counsel will make the leap to equity and nonequity partner, transforming years of late nights and high-stakes deals and trials into a career milestone, most of them announced this month.
More Stories
JAPEX Acquires DJ Basin Assets for $1.3B
Willkie Farr & Gallagher advised JAPEX and Kirkland & Ellis advised Verdad Resources Intermediate Holdings on the deal, which includes more than 100,000 acres of tight oil assets in Colorado and Wyoming.
Documents Unsealed in Paxton Divorce Case
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, agreed to unseal the documents in their divorce proceeding Thursday. Counsel for the media intervenors and the attorney general told Judge Robert Brotherton Friday morning at their scheduled hearing that “appropriate” redactions may be made.
P.S. — DFW Corporate Counsel Awards for Pro Bono and Diversity Announced
At a time when many law firms and legal organizations have suddenly gone quiet related to their pro bono and diversity efforts, a handful of leaders at DFW corporate legal departments are following the advice of the great legal philosopher Bob Seger by going “against the wind.”
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announce that senior counsel at Phillips Enterprises, Toyota North America, 7-Eleven and Jacobs International will be honored for their extraordinary work and successes involving pro bono and public service and diversity and inclusion.
TAE Technologies to Merge with Trump Media and Technology in $6B Nuclear Fusion Deal
A Texas-based Baker Botts team led the deal for TAE, which intends to add commercial, scalable nuclear fusion to the Trump portfolio. DLA Piper advised TMTG.
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.
2025 DFW Award Finalists: Senior In-house Counsel at Match, Michaels, Children’s Health, Dropbox and Caris Life Sciences
Six lawyers at North Texas companies have been named finalists for the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards for Senior Counsel of the Year. During the past week, ACC-DFW and The Texas Lawbook have announced the finalists for Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Transaction of the Year, General Counsel of the Year and Corporate Legal Department of the Year. The finalists for Rookie of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service and Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion will be announced later this week. The Lawbook has all the details.
Asked & Answered with Haynes Boone’s Catherine Robb: Fighting for the First Amendment & Family Legacy
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Haynes Boone counsel Catherine Robb talks about media defamation cases and what drew her to a First Amendment practice. Robb also discusses her family’s legacy and what she hopes hers is.
Xcel Energy Accused of Causing Deadly Smokehouse Creek Fire
Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday announced he was suing Southwestern Public Service Company, which does business as Xcel Energy, for allegedly causing 2024’s Smokehouse Creek Fire. The fire, which killed three and caused more than $1 billion in damages, was the largest wildfire in recorded Texas history. (File photo by Julio Cortez/The Associated Press)
Susman Godfrey Associate Bonuses Skyrocket
Lawyers at Susman Godfrey have had an extraordinary year — the “second-most successful year in the firm’s history,” according to Susman Godfrey leaders.
During 2025, Susman attorneys achieved a $1.5 billion copyright infringement settlement against Anthropic over its AI scraping of content. They defeated the Trump administration’s executive orders that targeted the Houston litigation powerhouse.
On Tuesday, firm leaders announced record high year-end bonuses for its associates and elected six new lawyers to its equity partnership, including one in Houston.