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Indian Minister Visits Dallas as Texas Business with Country Flourishes

S.M. Krishna, India’s Minster of External Affairs and a 1959 graduate of the SMU Dedman School of Law, is returning to his alma mater Wednesday. The highest-ranking Indian official to ever visit Dallas, Krishna’s presence comes at a time when Texas-based companies are doing more and more business with their counterparts in India.

During the past two years, businesses in Texas, including Fluor Corp, Pioneer Natural Resources, Atlas Energy and ConocoPhillips, have inked more than a dozen deals with companies in India. In addition, Indian-based companies are hiring Texas-based law firms, including Thompson & Knight, Vinson & Elkins and Akin Gump, to handle their complex legal transactional work in Texas and globally.

Edith Jones Resigns as 5th Circuit Chief Judge

Chief Judge Jones is stepping away from the leadership role for “various family reasons,” but she will stay on the court as a judge. Her resignation means that Judge Carl Stewart, a 1994 Clinton appointee, will become the first African-American to serve as chief judge of the Fifth Circuit. The timing of Judge Jones’ announcement is not without controversy on the court.

Fifth Circuit: Texas Open Meetings Act is Constitutional

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled unanimously Tuesday that the open meetings law does not violate the free speech rights of government leaders and does not criminalize all private speech of those officials. James Ho, a partner at Gibson Dunn in Dallas representing Belo and other news media organizations, says the court decision is “a complete and total victory for those who believe in open government.”

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