On Thursday, the U.S. Trustee and Jackson Walker filed dueling motions to strike, with the law firm arguing the expert opinions of Richard J. Davis and Jonathan C. Lipson — a retired partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges who now is in private practice, and a tenured bankruptcy law professor at Temple University-Beasley School of Law, respectively — and the U.S. Trustee arguing the same about an expert opinion from Renee Jefferson, who is the Larry Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics at the University of Houston Law Center.
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CDT Roundup: 16 Deals, 7 Firms, 200 Lawyers, $10.1B
The fourth quarter of 2024 showed a decline in M&A transactions in Texas and, it turns out, everywhere else. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that M&A deals are heading for problems this year, says Pitchbook in its annual review of global M&A activity. The CDT Roundup takes a particular look at what it might mean for PE activity, which has been a soft spot in recent years. And, of course, we include the usual list of deals reported last week in Texas.
Q&A with Trial Lawyer Daryl Washington
Washington began his legal career working in mergers and acquisitions for Jackson Walker. A former wide receiver for the Grambling State University football team, Washington also represented professional athletes and college coaches, where he got a taste of litigation. But he wanted to be a fulltime trial lawyer.
P.S. — 2024 DFW Corp. Counsel Awards Big Winners: Keurig Dr Pepper, Texas Capital, Arcosa, Toyota, Texas Pacific Land
More than 400 corporate general counsel, senior in-house counsel and prominent business lawyers across North Texas celebrated the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards Thursday night at the George W. Bush Institute. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook presented awards to 15 in-house counsel who achieved extraordinary successes during the past 18 months.
Viper Energy Acquires Diamondback Upstream Assets for $4.45B
Kirkland & Ellis advised Diamondback while Hunton AK counseled Viper’s audit committee in a transaction that includes 69.6 million shares of Viper’s operating subsidiary and $1 billion in cash. The deal is designed to reduce Diamondback debt accrued in its $26 billion purchase of Endeavor Energy Resources last year.
JCPenney Tells Court Jackson Walker Must Disgorge Bankruptcy Fees
The 18-page lawsuit seeking to claw back about $1.1 million in bankruptcy fees, along with other damages, was filed Tuesday in the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division and brings claims for disgorgement for failure to make bankruptcy disclosures, breach of fiduciary duty and negligence.
DOJ Sues to Block HPE’s $14B Acquisition of Juniper Networks
The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit in Northern California Thursday seeking to block the $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks by Texas-based Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company. Although investigated and recommended during the Biden Administration, the lawsuit is the first major regulatory litigation by the incoming Trump Administration.
FirstService Residential GC LaToyia Pierce Frink is a ‘Proactive Agent of Change’
Change management requires a leader who values continuous learning and team building. It begins with empathy and effective listening to identify how to best utilize each person’s skills for team success. This role is similar to that of a point guard or a quarterback, where collaboration and a broad perspective are key to achieving larger organizational goals efficiently.
Upon becoming vice president of legal affairs and general counsel at FirstService Residential Inc., LaToyia Pierce Frink began the task of uniting six regional offices into one cohesive team to consolidate the company’s legal approach and streamline its strategies, and improved internal communication to inform managers about cross-regional legal issues that could impact their work.
For these attributes and more, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have selected Pierce Frink as one of two finalists for the 2024 DFW General Counsel of the Year Award for a Midsize Legal Department, which is six to 20 lawyers.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: LaToyia Pierce Frink
In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, FirstService Residential general counsel LaToyia Pierce Frink discusses the traits she seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with her and more.
Dallas Cowboys Deputy GC Kaleisha Stuart is ‘Absolutely Unwavering in Her Commitment to D&I’
Kaleisha Stuart was the only Black lawyer working in-house for an NFL team when she joined the Dallas Cowboys legal team in 2016. “Over the years, legal departments have grown and diversified,” Stuart told The Texas Lawbook. “Noticing this trend, I decided to create a group for the Black women lawyers working at NFL teams. The goals of the group were to make Black women taking on these new roles feel immediately welcome, to have a safe, supportive outlet to share ideas or ask questions and to make new friends.”