Southwest Airlines is seeking a court judgment that would allow it to pay nominal damages and attorneys’ fees without an admission of liability in a federal civil rights lawsuit over a now-defunct program that offered free flights to low-income Hispanic students. Prominent conservative Edward Blum’s American Alliance for Equal Rights, which sued the airline on behalf of white and Asian students, argued in a court filing Tuesday that Southwest’s request is improper and aimed at avoiding legal accountability. The group urged the judge to reject Southwest’s bid and instead grant its own motion for summary judgment to resolve the case on its merits.
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With Ivett Hughes at the Helm in Houston, ‘Baker Hughes is a Corporate Leader in Pro Bono Service’
In the first quarter of 2024, Baker Hughes launched a global legal and compliance diversity, inclusion and belonging counsel with the mission of infusing those values into the legal department through internal and external engagement. Led by Ivett Hughes in Houston, a regional team of lawyers and staff partnered with Houston Volunteer Lawyers to represent four clients — roughly one pro bono case per five lawyers. They blew past their goal by 500 percent. The Houston Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook have selected Hughes and Baker Hughes as its 2025 Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service award recipient.
Federal-Style CFIUS Review May Be Coming to Texas
On March 13, the Texas Legislature introduced HB 5007, which, if enacted, would establish the Texas Committee on Foreign Investment, the first U.S. state regime tasked with screening foreign investments on national security grounds. The proposed TCFI is not an entirely new idea; indeed, it closely mimics the responsibilities and purpose of its national regulatory counterpart, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Grocery Deliverer Claims Private Equity Firm Cost It Millions in Longstanding Contracts with El Rancho Chain
Skyward Transportation’s lawsuit claims all was well until El Rancho was acquired in 2023 by an arm of Apollo Global Management.
Sorrels Law Launches Beaumont Office with Veteran Maritime Litigator David James
Sorrels Law has expanded its Texas footprint again, this time by opening an office in Beaumont led by newly named partner David James, the firm announced in a news release on Tuesday.
Sidley Strengthens Dallas Office by Hiring David Monteiro
Sidley has hired David Monteiro as a partner in its Dallas office, bolstering the firm’s banking and financial services practice, the firm announced Tuesday in a news release.
SBSB Eastham Adds Veteran Trial Lawyer In Corpus Christi
SBSB Eastham has hired veteran litigator Dabney Pettus as a partner in its Corpus Christi office, the firm announced Monday in a news release.
Kathryn Hand Achieves a Host of Early Successes at Enbridge
Kathryn Hand’s first job out of college in 2013 was, in her words, “not-so-great — it felt mindless to me. I knew I needed a career that was going to be challenging,” she told The Texas Lawbook.
In the dozen years since, Hand obtained her law degree, spent five years getting trial experience and has spent the past two years scoring litigation achievements as senior counsel for litigation at Canada-based midstream energy giant Enbridge, including winning a case at the Ohio Supreme Court in which hundreds of millions of dollars were at stake. Citing her remarkable achievements in such a short time, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Hand as one of two finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Rookie of the Year.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Kathryn Hand
In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, Kathryn Hand discusses the traits she seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with her and more.
Litigation Roundup: SCOTX Decides Barratry Case
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a Dallas law firm gets another favorable verdict in a mesothelioma trial against Johnson & Johnson, a federal judge in McAllen hands out prison sentences for participants in a $110 million kickback scheme, and the Texas Supreme Court clarifies the limitations of a state law that prohibits the unlawful solicitation of legal clients.