American Airlines and Qurium Solutions, doing business as Supplier.io, have settled a federal lawsuit brought by Edward Blum’s American Alliance for Equal Rights, which alleged that their supplier diversity practices unlawfully prioritized race and ethnicity. While both companies denied any wrongdoing, they agreed to revise their policies to clarify that race and ethnicity will not factor into supplier eligibility or contracting decisions.
More Stories
Simpson Thacher Hires Project Finance Veteran
Fern Han spent more than 14 years at White & Case advising on large-scale infrastructure finance. Her hiring raises the STB Houston office headcount to 85 lawyers.
Shell US Lawyers Adam MacLuckie and Huyen Luong Have a ‘Need to be an Ally’
Adam MacLuckie and Huyen Luong led the Shell US Legal DEI Council during a pivotal time, fostering open dialogue and community through their “Let’s Talk About It” campaign as the company returned to in-person work post-pandemic and amid a nationwide reckoning with racism. Drawing from their personal backgrounds – Luong’s journey from post-war Vietnam and MacLuckie’s lifelong path to allyship – they built inclusive, two-way engagement that increased participation and trust. Their efforts earned them the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Diversity and Inclusion.
Womble Adds Veteran Biz Litigator in its Houston Office
Womble Bond Dickinson has hired an experienced business litigator in its Houston office, the firm announced Tuesday in a news release.
Gibbs & Bruns Notches 2 Trial Wins in 2 Days
Recently, trial teams from Gibbs & Bruns convinced two Harris County juries to return complete defense wins for two of its clients, one that was facing as much as $13.7 million in liability and another that was fighting claims seeking more than $20 million in damages.
Lawbook 50 — The Texas Magnificent Seven
Seven corporate law firms operating in Texas witnessed extraordinary growth in 2024. The Texas version of the Magnificent Seven far outpaced their competitors by increasing Texas headcount by 24 percent in 2024 and Texas revenue by an astonishing 42 percent, according to The Texas Lawbook 50, which documents the annual Texas headcount and revenues of business law firms. Three of the Tex Mag Seven were founded in California, three in New York and one in Chicago. All seven firms achieved record-high revenues in 2024.
Federal Court Strikes Down FDA’s LDT Final Rule — Implications for Clinical Laboratories
On March 31, a pivotal ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s final rule on laboratory developed tests. The ruling has far-reaching implications for laboratories, healthcare providers and patients.
Litigation Roundup: En Banc Fifth Circuit Decides to ‘Unweave Weaver’
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we detail two recent Texas Supreme Court rulings defining the contours of the Texas Citizens Participation Act, the whole Fifth Circuit unites to overturn a 45-year-old binding precedent in a lawsuit between a Houston plaintiffs firm and a former associate, and in another Fifth Circuit ruling, a panel upholds a $26.5 million award for a man injured in a collision with a letter carrier, writing that it wouldn’t “manufacture inequity, uncertainty, and arbitrariness” by adopting arguments presented by the Department of Justice in that case.
Baker Hughes’ ‘Fearless’ VP of Litigation: Teresa Garcia-Reyes
Baker Hughes shifted from defendant to plaintiff in a years-long legal battle with LiquidPower Specialty Products, overcoming patent infringement claims through inter partes review while building a strong antitrust case. This strategy, spanning U.S. and Canadian courts and the Patent Office, enabled Baker Hughes to settle in December 2024 and clear the way for a new product launch. Vice President of Litigation Teresa Garcia-Reyes, who oversees about 80 attorneys, emphasized the high stakes involved. “We are an energy technology company, so we take IP cases and the effect that they have on the ability to market our products very seriously,” she said. “There was real money at stake here, and it had been going on for so long, that it was nice to drive this one to closure.” The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook congratulate Garcia-Reyes for being selected as one of two finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Business Litigation of the Year. The awards ceremony is set for May 22 at the Four Seasons downtown.
CDT Roundup: Power Moves Supercharge the Week
It was a week could be easily and properly labeled “Infrastructure Week.” Of the 10 M&A transactions reported last week, eight were related to energy or data center/storage infrastructure or both.