Holiday giving is in full swing across Texas law firms, with many stepping up to ensure kids across the state have gifts waiting for them. In Houston, the Holland & Knight office “adopted” a whopping 141 children through the Houston Young Lawyers Foundation’s drive. Boutique law firm Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing set a firm record by adopting 56 children among 35 volunteers. The Texas Lawbook‘s Krista Torralva and Elle Grinnell cover that and more in this edition of P.S.
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Judge Isgur Says Trustee’s Settlement Demand in D&O Insurance Dispute ‘Reasonable,’ Insurer’s Refusal ‘Wrongful’
A federal bankruptcy judge in Houston has determined that while a litigation trustee’s $4.65 million settlement demand is reasonable, the court cannot compel Relm Insurance Ltd. to fund the within-limits settlement.
Houston’s U.S. Attorney Wins Key Senate Vote for Federal Judgeship
The nomination of Nicholas Ganjei to the bench of the Southern District of Texas goes next to the full Senate, where swift approval is expected. Ganjei, currently the Southern District’s top federal prosecutor, is a former chief counsel to Sen. Ted Cruz.
Houston Suit Against Dollar Tree Over Ejaculation Incident Alleges Nationwide Pattern
Houston personal injury attorney Anna Greenberg represents four women who allege they were ejaculated on while shopping at Dollar Tree stores — one in Miami, one in San Diego, a client in Colorado Springs who was shopping with her mother and 2-year-old child, and one in Houston.
“I would say it’s a uniquely vile sex crime, and my clients are uniquely injured here because it’s happening to them in a public space,” Greenberg told The Texas Lawbook in a recent interview. “They are customers at a store, minding their own business and often are approached from behind and don’t know what’s happening to them until it’s too late.” (Photo by Erik McGregor/Sipa USA via AP Images)
Jury Returns Mixed Bag Verdict in Trial Over Construction of North Oak Cliff Apartments
A jury that sat through a monthlong trial and deliberated for nearly two days has found wrongdoing on both the part of Zang Holdings, and the contractor it hired to build Zang Flats, Integrity Commercial Group. Both sides were awarded damages and counsel for Zang told The Texas Lawbook an appeal is coming.
Latham Makes the Chris Heasley Move Official
After more than 11 years at Kirkland, Christopher Heasley has formally taken his diverse energy practice to Houston. The move was first reported by Bloomberg Law in late November.
Krisa Benskin Joins Hogan Lovells Houston Office
Hogan Lovells said this week that Krisa Benskin has joined the international firm as a corporate and finance partner in Houston after nearly four years with Latham & Watkins. Prior to that, Benskin spent a dozen years at Baker Botts.
Lawsuits: Texas Companies Illegally Supplied Technology to Russia for Ukrainian Attacks
Four technology companies either headquartered in Texas or with large operations in Texas illegally supplied semiconductor components — microchips, processors and programmable devices — that have been used by Russia’s military to kill thousands in drone and missile attacks in Ukraine, according to five different lawsuits filed Wednesday in the Dallas County Court at Law.
The lawsuits claim that Texas Instruments, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel and Mouser Electronics sold their technology to third parties which they knew or should have known were then providing those technologies to Russia to use in the war in Ukraine.
A team of prominent Texas lawyers, including Austin trial lawyer Mikal Watts, Dallas trial lawyer Charla Aldous and the Dallas office of Baker Hostetler, a national law firm with about 1,000 attorneys, are representing the plaintiffs.
Mikal Watts: My 10 Days in Ukraine — ‘Stop the Chips, Stop the War’
In early November, I addressed a room full of lawyers at a CLE seminar, and said, “nothing is more powerful than a bar card put to good.” A day later, a trusted colleague who was there called me with a crazy idea: Would I consider representing Ukrainian citizens injured or killed by Russian drone and missile attacks? Research provided by the State Capture Accountability Project suggested that American chip suppliers had exported the guidance chips enabling Russian drone and missiles to hit their targets.
A month of subsequent research and diligence confirmed my worst fears.
My Five Favorite Books: Shamoil Shipchandler
When I set out to write this column, I thought about all the ways in which I’d try to impress you. Law is, after all, a see-and-be-seen profession! Perhaps I’d start with William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and its dense stream-of-consciousness prose (I can’t stand it). Or the scope and cultural impact of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest (I couldn’t get through it). Or maybe I’d do something unexpected about influential children’s books and write about Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree (a truly awful, dreadful thing – I won’t be taking any questions at this time).
But what I kept coming back to was something that plays a huge role in my personal and professional life: humor. So, I chose five books that never fail to make me laugh.