Energy and infrastructure dominated a significant portion of the corporate legal work of Texas lawyers in 2024. Calpine, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Energy Transfer, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Phillips 66, Shell and Weatherford International all played integral roles. So, it should not be a surprise that corporate in-house counsel for these companies are among the finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards, which recognizes the legal and business successes achieved by lawyers employed by these iconic companies.
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Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center Reaches Major Milestone
For the first time this week, the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center has lawyers stationed at each of the county’s 10 eviction courts. They will be available to help tenants every day there’s an eviction docket. The center, founded by Holland & Knight partner Mark Melton, reached this goal at a time when the Texas Legislature is considering bills that would scale back due process and judicial oversight for evictions.
In a First, Texas A&M School of Law Cracks U.S. News Top 25
The school’s No. 22 ranking, four spots up from a year ago, places it behind only the University of Texas at Austin School of Law among the state’s law schools. Chancellor John Sharp of the Texas A&M University System says the school is headed for the top 10.
Q&A with Trial Lawyer Jeffrey B. Simon
“There is no right that is so entrenched in the American experience that someone can’t take it away,” trial lawyer Jeffrey B. Simon told The Texas Lawbook about writing his book, Last Rights: The Fight to Save the 7th Amendment. Simon, who co-leads the state’s opioid multidistrict litigation, shared why he wrote his book and how it’s a collection of thoughts and ideas developed over a career spanning more than three decades.
Jackson Walker Reaches Another Bankruptcy Fee Settlement
In paperwork filed with the court Monday, the chief restructuring officer for 4E Brands North America told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Lopez that the Dallas-based law firm has agreed to pay back $617,000 of what it was awarded for work on the bankruptcy case.
O’Melveny, Texas-based First Liberty Institute Win Preliminary Injunction For Church in California
A federal judge in the Central District of California handed a win Monday to a Chinese- and Taiwanese-American church in Santa Ana that is represented by a pro bono team of lawyers from O’Melveny & Myers and Plano-based First Liberty Institute.
Litigation Roundup: SCOTX Gets Fifth Circuit Homework
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Fifth Circuit sends a certified question about judges refusing to perform same-sex marriages to the Texas Supreme Court, Tesla hires Jackson Walker to defend against a workplace death lawsuit, and we take a look at three petitions for writ of mandamus the state’s high court recently granted.
A&O Shearman Snags Veteran Energy Finance Partner from Mayer Brown
A&O Shearman has hired Paul Astolfi as a partner in its energy, natural resources and infrastructure practice in its Dallas office.
Cozen O’Connor Hires of Former Judge and Veteran Houston Litigator
Cozen O’Connor has hired veteran litigator and former Texas state district court judge Jeff K. Work as a member in its global insurance department in its Houston office.
M&A Newsmaker: Term Sheet to Triumph, Pillsbury’s Andy Smetana Fuels Startup Successes
Andy Smetana took what he considers an unconventional path to transactional law. After graduating from Boston University School of Law, he sensed that the conditions weren’t favorable for dealmaking. He patiently worked as a litigator while waiting for corporate and market opportunities to improve. Once they did, Smetana quickly transitioned into the transactional sector and has not looked back since, he told The Texas Lawbook.