In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a short-lived trademark infringement suit over the name of a Dallas restaurant settles, a trade secrets dispute marches toward a jury trial in Fort Bend County and a judge in Midland gets chided for a procedural misstep in granting a change of venue request.
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The Texas Lawbook Team Gives Thanks
When I started The Texas Lawbook 11 years ago this month, I had no idea what I was doing. My team may tell you that I still don’t. But the success The Lawbook has achieved seems like a miracle.
The reason: The Lawbook team. Without them, I would be operating a blog that not even my parents would pay to read. This week, I celebrate Thanksgiving because of my colleagues.
P.S. — Thanksgiving Edition
A short and sweet public service column highlights the work one Dallas firm is doing to benefit a local children’s shelter and three Houston women lawyers who were recently honored for their commitment to their communities and advancing women. Happy Thanksgiving from The Texas Lawbook.
Baker Botts Brings Houston Folklorist’s Extensive Archive to Smithsonian
Last week, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History announced that it has accepted a massive blues and folklore archive gifted by Baker Botts client Susannah Nix, the daughter of the late prominent folklorist Robert “Mack” McCormick. Nix and her lawyers spoke with Natalie Posgate about the donation and the legal work that went into it.
SEC Shifts Focus on Employees’ Off-Channel Business Communications to Investment Advisers
Over the last year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been laser-focused on the use of personal devices by employees of the large Wall Street banks to conduct company business. The SEC’s investigations have focused on whether the banks complied with the “books and records” requirement that they preserve all communications that relate to company business. The SEC’s actions are having a ripple effect in civil litigation as well.
Texas Trial Lawyer Wants ‘Unhinged’ Ex-Associate Sanctioned
After being dragged into six fights by a former associate who alleges he’s owed back wages — before the labor commissions in California and Texas, the bar associations in each state and courts there — the Berg & Androphy partner David Berg is asking a Harris County district judge to sanction Justin Carl Pfeiffer. In an answer and counterclaim filed Monday, Berg referred to Pfeiffer as “unhinged” and a “vexatious litigant” who “harasses all whom he claims have wronged him.”
Texas M&A Law Firm Rankings Q1-Q3
The Texas lawyers at 12 corporate law firms were involved as lead counsel in 20 or more M&A deals during the first nine months of 2022. Four firms were lead legal advisors in more than 60 deals. One firm saw its attorneys in Austin, Dallas and Houston hit triple digits in deal count for lead legal advisors during the first three quarters of 2022.
The Texas Lawbook has released its exclusive Corporate Deal Tracker M&A law firm rankings for Jan. 1 through Sept. 30. The mission is to document transactional work done by lawyers in the Lone Star state.
CDT Roundup: 21 Deals, 15 Firms, 212 Lawyers, $2.9B
As financing costs continue to endure at higher levels, no region seems to have been spared a drop in deal value — even when deals continue at an active pace. A recent Mergermarket report notes that even in the southern U.S., often a statistical outlier, the value of mergers and acquisitions are depressed as smaller deals in sectors like technology and communications gain in number. The CDT Roundup has more on the Mergermarket report, naming a few of the big deals that led the quarter — along with a cavalcade of Texas lawyers who reported their involvement in 21 transactions last week.
Fifth Circuit Rejects EDTX Class Action Against Southwest, Boeing
A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit ruled Monday that a class action lawsuit pending against Southwest Airlines and the Boeing Company should be dismissed because the plaintiffs suffered no actual damages. Southwest CLO Mark Shaw told The Texas Lawbook the decision is a major win for the airline and he praised three Southwest in-house counsel and lawyers at Norton Rose Fulbright.
Litigation Roundup: Fifth Circ. Says Federal Agency Unconstitutional, Oncor Hit with $10.8M Verdict & More
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found the insulated power structure of an agency meant to protect racehorses facially unconstitutional, Oncor was found liable for a tree trimmer’s injuries and a closely watched insurance case is teed up before the Texas Supreme Court.