Kerrie Forbes stood behind a huge red ribbon on the tarmac at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport with a 30-seat JSX jet behind her. It was 11 a.m. on April 28, the grand opening of JSX’s new Southern California airport terminal, which Forbes describes as her best day on the job since she joined JSX as chief legal officer in January 2024. Orange County was the 2016 birthplace of JSX — a now Dallas-headquartered public charter jet operator offering business-class service to more than 350,000 passengers last year — and the site of its rebirth of sorts nine years later. Legal industry experts say that Forbes, who was an in-house lawyer at Southwest Airlines for 16 years, was the perfect lawyer to be JSX’s first general counsel. She recently discussed her career and more in an exclusive interview with The Texas Lawbook.
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Premium Subscriber Q&A: Kerrie Forbes
In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, JSX CLO Kerrie Forbes discusses her biggest accomplishments at JSX and what she looks for in hiring outside counsel.
Texas ER Docs Win Fifth Circuit Reversal Against the Blues
Fifty-six Texas emergency medical physician groups will get to pursue legal claims that two dozen Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans underpaid them for treating patients. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday that a Texas federal judge wrongly dismissed hundreds and hundreds of claims for tens of millions of dollars by ER doctors from Texarkana to Port Arthur and from Collin County to Odessa.
CDT Roundup: Data Centers Continue to Dominate as $16B Week Defies Oil’s Downshift
The week ending Aug. 9 was a strong one by any measure: 19 deals for $16 billion. It follows 17 deals at $19 billion the week prior and compares very favorably with 20 deals for $12 billion this time last year. There were, of course, a healthy number involving data centers or data center infrastructure. Those will be moving the dial for a while. But the word that best describes the week is “wrinkled.” Because there were lots of wrinkles. That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
Husch Blackwell Names Erin Banks Chief Business Development Officer
The Kansas City-based law firm, which has more than 115 lawyers in Texas, announced this week that it has added the Dallas-based veteran legal marketer and business development professional to its C-suite.
Womble Adds Construction Pro in Houston
Bob Hancock was previously a leader in Munsch Hardt’s construction practice.
$28M Dispute Between Trucking Companies Revs Up with Motion to Dismiss
A Texas freight trucking company brought a complaint to the Texas Business Court, alleging an Indiana company caused $28 million in damages for alleged fraudulent schemes. The defendant calls the complaint “baseless” in a motion to dismiss.
Nat’l Firm Joins Bell Nunnally and Vartabedian in Summer Associate Bonuses
The number of business-focused law firms offering summer bonuses to associates is growing. New York-based corporate law firm Milbank became the largest firm to announce that it is offering summer bonuses for its associates. Two DFW boutique law firms, Bell Nunnally and Vartabedian, Hester & Haynes, announced during the past week that their partners were paying their associates summer bonuses in excess of $5,000. The managing partners at Vartabedian and Bell Nunnally said they are simply rewarding everyone’s hard work and to share some of the fruits of a successful first half of the year.
P.S. — Texas Legal Advocates Earn State, National Awards; Attorney Group Dedicates Fundraising Year to Homelessness Prevention
In this week’s P.S. Column, we highlight standout leaders and organizations who their peers are recognizing for making a difference. Texas Appleseed has named Travis Torrence, U.S. Head of Legal at Shell USA, as this year’s J. Chrys Dougherty Good Apple Award recipient. The nonprofit will also honor Alston & Bird with its Pro Bono Leadership Award at its Nov. 5 dinner in Austin. Meanwhile, Attorneys Serving the Community announced Shared Housing Center as its next beneficiary, supporting efforts to prevent homelessness in Dallas. On the national stage, the American Bar Association is honoring the State Bar of Texas Law Practice Management Committee with a Solo and Small Firm Project Award. And in Houston, the Hispanic Bar Association welcomed eight new board members.
Western Midstream to Acquire Aris Water Solutions for $1.5B
Vinson & Elkins and Gibson Dunn advised on the deal, which extends Western Midstream’s reach for critical water resources into Eastern New Mexico.