Ann Saucer will stand before the Texas Supreme Court Wednesday morning to argue the largest and possibly most important civil litigation dispute the state’s highest court has handled this decade. The Dallas appellate law expert represents 15,000 individuals and small business owners who are asking the Texas justices to allow their Winter Storm Uri-related claims for wrongful death, personal injury and property damage against the largest electric transmission and distribution utilities in Texas to move forward to trial. Combined, the plaintiffs seek billions of dollars in damages from the energy companies.
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Diamondback Energy Acquires Subsidiaries from Double Eagle for $4.1B
The cash and stock deal, advised by Kirkland & Ellis and Vinson & Elkins, comes a little more than a year after Diamondback’s $26 billion merger with Endeavor Energy. It involves about 40 thousand acres near or adjacent to Diamondback’s core holdings in the Permian.
Litigation Roundup: DOL’s ESG Investing Rule Survives Post-Loper Bright
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Supreme Court answers two certified questions from the Fifth Circuit, and a plaintiff who saw her $222 million jury award canceled abandons her appeal.
SEC Enforcement: What to Expect Under New Administration
Eric Werner, director of the Fort Worth regional office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, joined two leading securities experts in private practice, Jessica Magee of Holland & Knight and Rebecca Fike of Vinson & Elkins, to discuss what’s changing (or might be) under President Donald Trump.
M&A Newsmaker: Sidley’s Sara Garcia Duran Closes Deals and Opens Doors
Sara Garcia Duran never considered becoming a lawyer until she was asked to make a decision while on a student trip in high school. She thought about being a politician, but that option didn’t sound terribly appealing. “I’ll go join the lawyers,” Duran said.
The M&A-focused partner at Sidley is pleased with her choice. Duran recently gave The Texas Lawbook an in-depth look into her journey and her experience as a woman working as a Texas dealmaker.
V&E’s Quentin Smith: Black History Month Helps ‘All Better Understand Our Nation’
The spring, summer and fall of 2020 was a time of turbulence and uncertainty. The Covid-19 shutdowns meant law firm offices were closed, courts put all trials on hold and clients were struggling to survive. The media was filled with stories on the killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. There was a feeling of isolation. But it was later that year that Vinson & Elkins promoted Quentin Smith to partner.
Smith has scored a handful of multimillion-dollar trial victories for clients and is currently one of the lead lawyers representing Oncor Electric Delivery and other transmission and distribution utilities in the Winter Storm Uri litigation in which 15,000 plaintiffs seek several billions of dollars in damages in wrongful death, personal injury and property damage cases. Despite his busy schedule, Smith agreed to discuss Black History Month and diversity efforts with The Texas Lawbook.
CDT Roundup: 12 Deals, 13 Firms, 134 Lawyers, $12.1B
The phrase “Drill, Baby, Drill,” may be short code for the new administration’s energy policy, but according to a recent analysis by S&P Global, don’t expect the slogan to characterize the short-term CapX plans for major O&G producers. Stalled by stubborn market prices, fossil fuel production by the world’s largest energy producer has plateaued for the moment, a situation that is likely to characterize all of 2025. The CDT Roundup takes a look at the numbers for the U.S. and Texas, as well as the usual summary of Texas-driven transactions reported last week.
Judge By Day, Director By Night: How Judge Christine Weems Balances the Bench and Backstage
Judge Christine Weems of the 281st Civil District Court in Harris County is ruling on cases by day and acting and directing by night. Weems’ new show, The Five Minute Mile, put on by a 13-person ensemble cast, is slated to open Feb. 15.
Kirkland & Ellis Partner Launches IRISI, Empowering North Texas Teens Through Leadership Camps
Daniel Hernandez Alvarenga’s mother noticed a change in her 17-year-old son when she picked him up from the Dallas airport following a two-week stay at a rural camp nearly 2,000 miles away in Maine. Indeed, Hernandez had changed. The Dallas high school student gained energy, ideas and hope, he said in a testimonial video published by IRISI, a non-profit organization founded by Kirkland & Ellis Dallas partner Michael Considine and his wife, Megan Considine, that raises scholarships to send teenagers to camp. Irisi, which since 2023 has sent about a dozen North Texas students to the Seeds of Peace Camp in Otisfield, Maine, officially launched this year.
P.S. — Meet The Lawbook’s New Pro Bono & Diversity Reporter
Throughout the world of corporate law, there have been attacks on diversity and inclusion, as the biggest companies and law firms in America have bowed to pressure to back off their public commitment to DEI. At the same time, some political leaders and media commentators openly shame lawyers for tackling unpopular defendants or policies. The Texas Lawbook is actually doubling down on our commitment to pro bono, public service and diversity in the legal profession. Today, we officially announce the hiring of Krista Torralva as a new pro bono and diversity beat reporter for The Texas Lawbook. Krista is a former Dallas Morning News courts reporter who has covered litigation for The Lawbook for more than a year.