The Texas Supreme Court rejected the state transportation department’s claim that it thought the large oaks and elms were in its right of way when it directed a contractor to have them cut down. Such a ruling would “eviscerate our constitutional bulwark against uncompensated takings,” the court said.
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P.S. — A Black Tie Affair, A Safe Space for Mothers, A Grant Deadline
This week’s P.S. features a grant deadline (today) for any Dallas-area organizations pursuing projects that support women; lawyers from Yetter Coleman, Shipley Snell, and Hunton Andrews Kurth receiving pro bono/community service-related awards; a trivia event that raised funds for Children’s Health; an upcoming gala that supports the Dallas LGBTQ+ community that’s in need of more sponsors; and a recent ribbon-cutting event at Houston’s civil courthouse to celebrate the recent installation of the first of several planned lactation pods.
Pictured: a group of Munck Wilson Mandala lawyers at the 2023 Black Tie Dinner that supports the LGBTQ+ community.
Crescent Captures SilverBow Resources for $2.1B
Vinson & Elkins counseled Crescent, which counts KKR as a major investor, and Gibson Dunn advised SilverBow on the deal, which builds scale in South Texas’ Eagle Ford shale.
Norton Rose Fulbright Adds IP Lawyer in Dallas
Adam Rehm is part of a trio of former Polsinelli lawyers who went to Norton Rose’s IP practice. Rehm is a former design engineer and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner with more than two decades of legal experience.
Office Manager for Imprisoned Telemedicine Exec Points Finger at Texas Doctor in Phony Prescription Scam
“If I sent him 25 prescriptions, within 20 or 30 minutes, they were signed,” the onetime employee of Sunrise Medical Inc. of Florida told jurors in the Dallas trial of Dr. David M. Young.
Shell’s Hector Pineda: A ‘Change Agent’ for DEI
Hector Pineda is kind of a big deal at Shell. Throughout his nearly three-decade career at one of the world’s largest oil companies, he’s gone from battling a snake wrangler in a West Texas courtroom to handling major projects and commercial transactions to providing strategic advice to top executives and managers leading Shell’s downstream and renewables businesses in the Americas. But no matter how high he climbs in the company, it is his ability to advance others and be a microphone for diverse voices that he is most proud of.
Pineda is one of three finalists for the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Diversity and Inclusion, and the winner will be revealed Wednesday at an awards ceremony hosted by the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook.
Q&A: Hector Pineda
Shell’s Hector Pineda discusses what he considers when hiring outside counsel, diversity and inclusion efforts and more.
SilverBow Resources’ Asst. GC Jennifer Cadena Knows How to Win ‘The Litigation Chess Game’
One month before the Texas Supreme Court revived a novel lawsuit SilverBow Resources Operating lodged against Energy Transfer alleging it had interfered with its drilling rights via underground contamination linked to an injection well, Jennifer Cadena was promoted to become the company’s assistant general counsel and senior land manager after three years as senior exploration and production counsel.
She worked alongside outside counsel at Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing to ensure when the McMullen County jury finally got to hear the case, they would agree SilverBow was entitled to damages from Energy Transfer.
When the jury awarded SilverBow $24.5 million in damages in February 2023, it was a hard-fought result eight years in the making.
Dallas Trial Begins for Physician Indicted in $39M Medicare Fraud
Dr. David M. Young of Fredericksburg, Texas, is accused of electronically prescribing orthotic devices and genetic tests for thousands of patients he never met. U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr told the 14 jurors and alternates chosen Tuesday that the trial is expected to take about two weeks.
Virage Capital Asst. GC Leslie Hillendahl is ‘Leading an Industry Constantly In Flux’
Leslie Hillendahl wanted to be a lawyer since the fifth grade, but she faced an obstacle. Her father, a Houston police officer, “was quite adamant about steering me away from a legal career. He insisted that if I were to pursue law, I needed to first obtain what he called a ‘solid’ degree in accounting or finance.”
“While I initially resisted, I now appreciate his guidance, as it ultimately led me to a fulfilling career path that I love,” Hillendahl told The Texas Lawbook. Hillendahl earned degrees in accounting and law and is now the assistant general counsel at Virage Capital Management, a Houston-based litigation funding operation with an estimated $1 billion in assets. During the past two years, she and outside counsel have scored several multimillion-dollar courtroom victories and she currently manages more than $350 million invested in disputes spanning several states. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Lawbook have named Hillendahl the winner of the 2024 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.