In this edition of Litigation Roundup, an improper jury argument wipes out a $222 million award on appeal, a Dallas firm notches a $15 million verdict in a Connecticut mesothelioma case and the Texas Supreme Court declines to revive a lawsuit a couple dozen cities brought against streaming giants Disney+, Hulu and Netflix.
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Lawyers, Guns and Money: Quiz Show — An Occasional Series on Movies, TV and Other Stories About Lawyers and the Law
In this installment of Lawyers, Guns and Money, veteran entertainment writer Chris Vognar reviews Quiz Show, the 1994 movie directed by Robert Redford starring Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes and John Turturro.
Q&A with Katten’s New M&A Litigation Chair
Former DLA Piper partner James C. Bookhout has joined Katten to chair its mergers and acquisitions litigation practice. The Lawbook visited with Bookhout about the move and how his practice has developed.
Akin Gains Energy Transactions Partner in Houston
Trent Bridges is the firm’s third lateral partner hire in Houston this quarter. The former senior in-house lawyer with deep midstream experience was most recently at Sidley.
TxDOT to Face ‘Takings’ Claim Over Tree Removal, SCOTX Says
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.
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.