In this guest essay, name partner Julie A. Springer of Weisbart Springer Hayes reflects on her experience as a woman lawyer, how the legal profession has evolved in women’s favor and how it hasn’t.
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Q&A: Chasity Henry of Jacobs
For Premium Subscribers Chasity Henry says a “funny thing happened” on her way to becoming a litigation partner. She discovered that she “was much more interested in the inner workings
Jacobs Deputy GC Chasity Henry, ‘An Advocate for What’s Right and What’s Fair’
Chasity Henry says a “funny thing happened” on her way to becoming a litigation partner. She discovered that she “was much more interested in the inner workings of our clients’ businesses … than I was about actually going to trial.” Only 43, Henry has had an enormous impact on the Texas legal profession in strategic in-house positions with corporate giants Dr Pepper Snapple, Kimberly-Clark, CECO Environmental and now Jacobs, a Dallas-based multibillion-dollar international technical services company. She has led billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions and been one of the strongest and most effective advocates of diversity and inclusion in the DFW area.
Since joining Jacobs as deputy GC in March 2022, Henry transitioned two large internal contracting units within the company to her working group, which expanded her team from 20 to 60 lawyers, paralegals and professionals. She revised their operating model to meet the evolving needs of the business. She led the creation of a contracting process map, which enabled Jacobs to identify and implement procedural improvements and coordinate and delegate tasks more efficiently. In January, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook awarded Henry with the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department.
Fifth Circuit Says Challenge to SEC’s Gag Order Policy is ‘Procedurally Improper’
In a case that presented the court with an issue of first impression, the panel wrote that it would “decline to open that Pandora’s box of frivolous appeals” by exercising jurisdiction in the case. Christopher Novinger had unsuccessfully tried to undo the gag order provision he agreed to in July 2022, and failed again Tuesday.
Elizabeth Freeman: Secret Relationship with Bankruptcy Judge Jones Had No Impact on McDermott Restructuring Case
The decision to keep secret the relationship between then-U.S. Bankruptcy Chief Judge David Jones and Jackson Walker bankruptcy partner Elizabeth Freeman was made by Judge Jones in 2020 at the start of the multibillion-dollar corporate restructuring of McDermott International, a lawyer for Freeman stated in court documents filed late Monday in federal court in Houston. Prominent Houston corporate bankruptcy lawyer Tom Kirkendall, who represents Freeman in the ongoing litigation related to Freeman’s relationship with Judge Jones, wrote that neither Jackson Walker nor Kirkland & Ellis were aware that the couple were living together or were romantically involved and that the federal lawsuit against them should be dismissed.
SCOTX Hears Arguments in APA Challenge to PUC’s OK of Post-Uri Pricing Rule
The Texas Supreme Court must decide two things: Is the new protocol for setting prices in an electricity emergency a “competition rule” under the Public Utility Regulatory Act? And if it is, did the Public Utility Commission of Texas exceed its authority under either PURA or the Administrative Procedure Act in approving it?
CDT Roundup: 21 Deals, 13 Firms, 186 Lawyers, $11.4B
Even with an economy that seems headed for a soft landing, there are bumps on the runway. And one of the biggest and most obvious bumps to dealmakers is in real estate — especially commercial real estate, which had problems even before Covid sent workers home. The tumble in CRE hasn’t reached a crash, but a correction is coming, according to a recent report by PitchBook. The Roundup this week takes a look at the report and its relevance to Texas, where even a surge in employment hasn’t managed to fill a growing number of office buildings. Those details and the usual rundown of last week’s Texas-related deals.
Ben Barnes Talks Leaving Kirkland, Launching Texas Office for Missouri Boutique
Texas’ growing economy and “dynamic legal market” present “many opportunities for a nimble firm like Dowd Bennett,” Barnes said in an interview with The Texas Lawbook following the announcement of his move from Kirkland & Ellis. Barnes, now a partner at Dowd Bennett, has long-held ties to St. Louis, where the litigation boutique is based.
Litigation Roundup: Match Group Hires Sidley to Defend Class Action; Judge O’Connor Recuses in CFPB Challenge
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Jerry Jones gets a defamation lawsuit brought by a woman claiming to be his daughter dismissed after the plaintiff’s failed attempt to amend the claims, the ExxonMobil Oil Corporation gets its win in a coverage dispute with AIG affirmed by a Dallas appellate court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit calls out a federal judge in McAllen for denying a motion to dismiss a retaliation lawsuit with “no analysis period.”
Kirkland Hires David Beck, Seeks Dismissal from Judge Jones Bankruptcy Romance Lawsuit
Kirkland & Ellis lawyers had no knowledge that former Houston Bankruptcy Judge David Jones was having a secret romantic affair with a former partner at a Texas law firm that served as its co-counsel in dozens of corporate restructurings and that Kirkland cannot be held accountable for the ethical lapses of the judge in those cases, according to court documents filed Friday. Lawyers for Kirkland, which include David Beck, argue that the Chicago-founded law firm should be dismissed from a federal racketeering lawsuit that accuses Kirkland and its co-counsel at Dallas-based Jackson Walker of exploiting the relationship between Judge Jones and former Jackson Walker partner Elizabeth Freeman. Jackson Walker has hired Rusty Hardin and Judge Jones is being represented by McKool Smith.