Among the law firms involved in the litigation sprawling across state and federal courtrooms in California, Texas, Louisiana and New York are Gibson Dunn, Holland & Knight, Sheppard Mullin, Quinn Emanuel and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. It all began in December with the filing of a since-dismissed Jane Doe lawsuit in the Southern District of New York that accused Jay-Z and Sean Combs of “drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl” in 2000.
More Stories
Trouble & Justice: How Trouble in Texas Led to the Court Martial Trial of America’s Beloved Jackie Robinson
Decades before Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos), a Texas U.S. Army base, made national civilian news over the ever-present dangers and sexual misconduct-related injustices that too often await military service women — like Vanessa Guillen who was sexually harassed and murdered there in 2020 — it was the site of another type of injustice: racial discrimination against its Black servicemembers. Too often in the 1940s, racial discrimination, both on and off U.S. military bases, was so heinous it ended in tragedy. In one notable instance, it would lead to the court martial trial of Major League Baseball’s future pioneer and legend: Jackie Robinson.
‘What Did You Do Last Week?’ Texas Judges Hit With ‘DOGE Emails’
Just days after Elon Musk said “it is time” to consider impeaching federal judges who block President Donald Trump’s government reform initiatives, at least six federal judges in Texas and many more of their clerks and staff received so-called “DOGE emails” the past two days demanding that they justify their jobs by providing explanations of the work that they did last week. The federal judges, who spoke to The Texas Lawbook on the condition that they not be identified, said the emails created “incredible unease and stress” and caused many of the clerks and staff to ask whether their positions were in danger of being eliminated. The email from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management told the recipients to reply with five bullet points listing their work accomplishments and to copy their supervisor. In a statement posted on the social media platform that he owns, Musk wrote, “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
SCOTUS Appoints Kasdin Mitchell to Argue Case
Once a year or so, the U.S. Supreme Court appoints a lawyer to advocate a legal position that none of the active parties in the case favor but that needs to be addressed. The justices did just that Thursday.
P.S. — Living Black History Panel, DFW Lawyers Rock for Charity, Houston Corp. Counsel Diversity and Pro Bono Nominations Open
Black History Month comes alive Feb. 23 with an extraordinary panel discussion in downtown Dallas. In two weeks, musicians from more than a half-dozen law firms will rock for charity. And nominations are officially open for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards, recognizing pro bono and diversity.
Antonio Milton: Black History Month is about ‘Generations Past that Struggled to Ensure the Basic Freedoms and Privileges’
Antonio X. Milton got the bug to be a lawyer when he visited his father’s southern Louisiana law office after school. “I was in first grade, and I’d go to his office to do homework,” Milton told Tulane University, his alma mater, in a 2022 interview. “I would see him working with clients, representing real people and arguing before the courts. Just seeing him in action had such an impact on me.”
Milton was the first African American editor-in-chief of the Tulane Law Review, clerked for former Chief Judge Carl Stewart of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and is now a lawyer at the Houston litigation firm Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing. For Black History Month, The Texas Lawbook asked Milton five questions about race, diversity and inclusion and whether he worries about Black history being “cancelled.”
SCOTX Considers Bounds of Public Information Act
In the litigation initiated by self-described government watchdog group American Oversight, the Texas Supreme Court is being asked to determine whether trial courts have jurisdiction to order the governor and attorney general to release information under the Public Information Act. American Oversight turned to the courts to get access to communications surrounding two events: the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol and the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde.
Texas Supreme Court Aggressively Quizzes Lawyers in Winter Storm Uri Litigation
For 45 minutes Wednesday, the state’s highest court questioned lawyers on both sides of the dispute about whether the entire litigation should be dismissed or whether it should proceed toward trial.
Tenaris Wants Negligence Verdict in Flooding Case Undone
The Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday morning was told there isn’t enough evidence that the construction of a pipe manufacturing plant in rural Matagorda County was the cause of flooding that damaged several neighboring homes during Hurricane Harvey.
Exclusive CDT Data: Capital Markets Dominated by Latham Last Year
Whatever else may have happened in the Texas-related capital markets during 2024, the deals they represented left behind some unnervingly easy math. As is true of most years, debt issues outnumbered equity offerings about 2 to 1. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t some interesting trends and transactions alongside the usual reshuffling of debt.