Crowded court dockets mean the interest in, and need for, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) continues to grow throughout Texas. How can you set the stage for successful mediation? When is the right time to mediate a case? What should you do before you arrive at the mediation? And why is having a settlement range important?
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Latham’s Gamechanging 15 Years in Texas: How The Firm’s Houston Office Wrote the Playbook for National Firms to Storm the State
The Houston office of Latham & Watkins had not been open for a year when Ryan Maierson experienced a significant realization. The office opened in February 2010, and as the year progressed, he and the other partners at Baker Botts began to marvel at how easily this “non-native” firm from Los Angeles integrated itself into Texas’s established transactional law environment.
Other national firms had previously entered the Texas market. However, with Latham — the second most profitable law firm in the world — something felt different. In less than a year, Latham had achieved what no other national firm had managed to do: it instilled a sense of fear in the long-established Texas firms that had previously dominated corporate law in the Lone Star State.
Fifteen years later, this is the story of how Latham changed the game in Texas.
Exclusive Q&A: Why Houston M&A Powerhouse Stephen Gill Chose Skadden
When veteran Houston M&A lawyer Stephen Gill moved to Skadden last month, it was a seismic move on a national scale in terms of hiring skilled dealmaking talent. In this exclusive Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, Gill took some time to talk about trends, why the time was right to make the move to Skadden and more.
New SCOTX Justice Sullivan Once Ran Afoul of the Fifth Circuit for Tone of Rehearing Petition
As an assistant attorney general, James P. Sullivan saw his petition in a habeas case struck for its tone and lack of respect. He says he apologized and learned from the incident. Gov. Abbott in January elevated Sullivan from his general counsel to the Supreme Court. Relatively unknown in the Texas legal community, Sullivan’s judicial application sheds some light on his judicial philosophy. Most of his litigation experience was in federal court, the document shows, with only 20 percent in state appellate courts.
Conservative Group Targets American Airlines’ Diversity Contracting Program in New Lawsuit
The American Alliance for Equal Rights, headed by political conservative Edward Blum, has filed a lawsuit against Fort Worth-based American Airlines and its supplier, alleging the airline’s diversity policy for awarding certain contracts violates civil rights law. Blum, who took down affirmative action in college admissions, has recently been targeting diversity programs in law firms and corporations, including Southwest Airlines in a lawsuit last year alleging a charitable program that provided free tickets to low-income Hispanic students flying home to visit their parents is illegally discriminatory.
Katten Lands PwC Expert to Grow Private Wealth Practice
John Collins III assists prominent families in multiphase estate planning, executing advanced trust and gift strategies, and working through complex tax, wealth transfer and business planning needs across a range of asset mixes, industries and stages of development.
CPS Energy Hit with $109.5M Verdict in Residential Explosion Trial
A cap on damages agreed to by CPS Energy and Robert and Virginia Rymers in advance of trial means the utility will only owe $60 million. The Rymerses suffered burns, and lost two pet dogs as well as all possessions inside their rental home as a result of the blast.
Litigation Roundup: Another OAG Alum Heads to Washington
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Beck Redden and Dykema Gossett go head-to-head in a jury trial in Harris County, a group of Dallas residents get an appellate win in the fight over restrictions on short-term rentals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit undoes a victory for the Austin American-Statesman in a lawsuit over an anonymous advertisement.
Akin Strengthens Special Situations Practice with Familiar Hire
Chad Nichols is returning to Akin after two years at Gibson Dunn. In 2024, Nichols provided financing advice on the divestiture of Arcosa’s steel unit as part of the Dallas company’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Stavola and on the formation of a joint venture in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Exclusive CDT Data — Kirkland, Gibson, V&E, Haynes Boone and Latham Top 2024 Texas-Led M&A Rankings
Mergers and acquisitions practices at nearly all law firms operating in Texas thrived in 2024. Eight law firms in Texas saw their M&A lawyers lead buyers, sellers and targets in 50 percent more M&A deals last year than they did in 2023, according to exclusive new data from The Texas Lawbook’s Corporate Deal Tracker. Nine other law firms witnessed a 10 percent or more increase in leading the principals in M&A activity in 2024, CDT data shows. But no law firm’s Texas deal lawyers were busier in 2024 than those at Kirkland & Ellis.