The hotly contested legislation establishing a new business court and intermediate court of appeals to handle complex commercial cases goes into effect Sept. 1 as litigators wait for judicial appointments and procedural rules. Many expect challenges to the business court’s system of appointed judges and the Fifteenth Court of Appeals’ statewide jurisdiction. Janet Elliott outlines the issues.
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Making Your Closing Argument — Where Exactly is the Beef?
Closing arguments are one of the most anticipated parts of any jury trial. Consequently, it’s important for the advocate to choose his or her words carefully for maximum impact. We’ve found that jurors throughout the country are very responsive to an approach that emphasizes the inability of one side to prove its case. Finding a way to couch the argument with broad appeal is all the more persuasive.
A Word With the Lawyers Who Helped Eviscerate the Texas Tampon Tax
On Friday, Texans will no longer pay sales tax for menstrual products and an array of family care products. While lawmakers passed SB 379 only a few months ago, the new state law is the product of years of work by a coalition of young Texas women and their lawyers at Baker Botts. In a Q&A with The Lawbook, the lawyers talk more about their work on this pro bono matter and SB 379’s significance.
Fifth Circuit Expands Scope of Liability for Title VII Discrimination Claims
Upending nearly 30 years of precedent, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s recent ruling in Hamilton v. Dallas County makes it easier for employees to challenge perceived workplace discrimination going forward. The resulting uncertainty in the law will likely lead to more lawsuits challenging “non-ultimate” employment decisions based on policies and practices that employees perceive to be discriminatory and fewer grants of motions to dismiss or for summary judgment.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Reality or Mirage?
Similar to trends seen in other industries, passenger and cargo airlines are taking steps to increase the visibility of efforts to reduce and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Their actions reflect the expansion of government regulatory initiatives and the changes in consumer preferences. But for the aviation industry, finding solutions that reduce or mitigate GHG emissions is especially difficult. It’s an area that will produce deals and technological investments for years to come.
CDT Roundup: 17 Deals, 13 Firms, 202 Lawyers, $12.2B
The heat is on in Texas, in more ways than one. It’s no secret that record summer temperatures have tested the durability of the state’s electric grid; but lesser known is its growing dependence on alternative energy transmissions to meet this year’s extraordinary demand. Wind and solar, however, are only as dependable as the ability to store the energy they produce, and the CDT Roundup this week looks at the growing number of deals involving utility-scale battery storage sector which have, if you’ll pardon the expression, become very hot.
Litigation Roundup: Ex-CEO, CFO Sued Over Business’ $12M ‘Downfall,’ Texas Gets Private Company’s Nuclear Storage Permit Vacated
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Texas wins an appeal to vacate the license of a company wanting to store spent nuclear fuel in the Permian Basin, a team of Haynes Boone attorneys in Dallas defended a $6.6 million award for Pizza Hut in a fight with a former franchisee, and a former general counsel and staff attorney for Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans get a second chance to bring a pay discrimination suit.
King & Spalding Grabs M&A Attorney Mitch Tiras
The lawyer, who spent 26 years at Locke Lord, has been busy on the deals front this year.
Waco Jury Denies Infringement on Halliburton Patents in Fracking Case
In an ongoing case involving numerous lawsuits and counterclaims, a jury in the court of U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright finds that Halliburton did not prove its patents for electronic fracking of oil and gas wells were infringed upon.
P.S. — Fentanyl Education, September Legal Clinics, Hispanic Law Scholarships
This week’s edition of P.S. features details on a recent scholarship awards luncheon in Houston benefitting Hispanic law students and recognizing several public service pioneers, an upcoming online program hosted by the Dallas Bar Association that will educate the public on the fetanyl crisis at a local level, and September dates for the DBA’s DVAP pro bono legal clinics.