Three bellwether plaintiffs were set to have their day in court Tuesday. But late last week, two bellwether plaintiffs were among nearly 100 parties who settled their claims with the performer and venue operator. The trial for a third bellwether plaintiff will be rescheduled.
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Legal Fees Hitting $2K an Hour in J&J’s Talc Powder Bankruptcy
The Johnson & Johnson talc powder bankruptcy filing in Houston is less than a month old, but new documents filed Sunday in the case show that it is going to be highly profitable for the lawyers and law firms involved. Over the past three days, lawyers for Jones Day, Porter Hedges, King & Spalding, Skadden Arps, Shook Hardy & Bacon and McCarter & English have filed their official applications to represent Red River Talc, the J&J subsidiary. Jones Day’s Dallas office is the biggest financial beneficiary.
CDT Roundup: 12 Deals, 11 Firms, 136 Lawyers, $5.3B
Dykema’s 20th anniversary M&A Outlook Survey is grounded in optimism, a far cry from the doom-saying that characterizes these final days of the presidential race. The survey, taken between late July and early August suggests that M&A may well thrive between now and mid-2025. The CDT Roundup takes a look at the apparent reasoning behind such optimism, along with the usual list of Texas-related transactions reported last week.
Apache Names David Bernal New VP of Legal
Bernal succeeds long-time general counsel Anthony Lannie, who retired.
Pedernales Electric Coop Names New GC
A long-time energy industry lawyer with extensive experience practicing before the Texas Public Utility Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been named the new general counsel at Johnson City-based Pedernales Electric Cooperative.
P.S. — Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale, Craig Glidden, Martha Hofmeister Honored, DFW Corporate Counsel Award Nominations Open
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are now accepting nominations for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards, including nominations for Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service and Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. In the news this week, the American Bar Association honors former LyondellBasell GC Craig Glidden, and the Federal Bar Association recognizes Dallas lawyer Martha Hardwick Hofmeister for outstanding leadership. On Thursday, the Dallas Bar Foundation presented retired NDTX Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale with the Justinian Award.
Plus, The Lawbook thanks Sempra Energy Chief Risk Management and Compliance Officer Carolyn Aiman and Shell USA Head of Legal Travis Torrence for donations to the Texas Lawbook Foundation to support our coverage of pro bono, public service and diversity in the legal profession.
Editor’s note: The Lawbook misspelled Judge Hale’s first name in earlier editions. We apologize for the error.
Of 3,299 State Bar Examinees, Here’s the Top 3
Scores on the state’s bar exam are confidential. Statistics are not. This much we know from the Board of Law Examiners: of 3,299 individuals who took the latest exam back in July, 74.5 percent of them passed. But courtesy of Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby, the court’s liaison to the BLE, we do know the names of the top three examinees.
‘Full Speed Ahead’: Business Courts, Fifteenth Court of Appeals Hold First Hearing, Oral Arguments
Texas’ new Fifteenth Court of Appeals is set to hear its first oral arguments at the end of the month, but it will borrow space from the Court of Criminal Appeals to do so. Earlier this month, the first-ever business court hearing took place — a video conference in the Houston-based Eleventh Division.
SCOTUS Vacates Fifth Circuit Opinion in Citizen Journalist Case
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s win-loss record in cases reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court is already in the red and it is only mid-October. The Supreme Court has vacated the Fifth Circuit opinion written by appellate Judge Edith Jones earlier this year that held that Laredo law enforcement officers who arrested a citizen-journalist in 2017 for asking for information deemed non-public cannot be sued for violating the First Amendment rights of the reporter because the officers have qualified immunity.
Phillips 66 Sells Stake in Swiss Venture for $1.24B
As part of a promised $3 billion in divestitures, P66 is selling off its minority share in Coop Pronto, an operator of food-and-gas locations across Switzerland.