Cara Vasquez and Mark Waite are “complete opposites” on paper, but the unlikely duo decided to launch their own firm in 2024 focused on representing petrochemical and construction companies in litigation. Vasquez, who spent her entire career at DLA Piper, and Waite, who was a senior in-house lawyer at LyondellBasell before practicing at DLA for the past six years, launched Vasquez Waite on Jan. 1 and have been “way busier” than they anticipated.
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Dallas Financial Restructuring Partner Joins Baker Botts
With the firm’s third lateral partner hire in Texas in 2024, Baker Botts added depth to its financial restructuring practice with Travis McRoberts from Squire Patton Boggs.
Fifth Circuit Panel Hears Round 2 Challenge to SEC’s ‘No Admit, No Deny’ Policy
Christopher Novinger, of Mansfield, was before the Fifth Circuit for the second time on Thursday morning seeking relief from a “no admit, no deny” provision in a 2016 settlement agreement he entered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In July 2022 a different panel of that court rejected his attempt to free himself from the gag order provision via a Rule 60(b) motion that argued the “no deny” portion of the policy violated his First Amendment and due process rights.
Finance Attorneys Navigate Active Texas Municipal Bond Market Amid ESG
A strong Texas municipal bond market and continued questions around state regulations related to environmental, social and governance policy kept Texas public finance attorneys busy last year.
California Resources Buys Aera Energy for $2.1B
Latham & Watkins lawyers in New York and Houston counseled Aera’s owners IKAV and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board on the deal, which will enhance CRC’s scale across both the upstream and carbon management businesses.
Baker Botts Expands U.S./Asia IP Capabilities with New Hires
Houston attorney Jeffrey Johnson and California partner Robert Benson join from Orrick, where they worked closely together for clients in the U.S., Taiwan and China.
2023: A Year in Review for Trade Secret Litigation
2023 confirmed that, in some ways, trade secret litigation remains the Wild West for litigants. Large verdicts and unsettled law have made this a popular venue for plaintiffs. 2023 did little to disrupt the status quo.
Berry Spins Off Unit, Merges with Glatfelter in $3.6B Combination
A Houston deal team from King & Spalding counseled Glatfelter on the transaction, which is expected to bring Berry $1 billion in proceeds to repay debt.
Veteran Energy Partner Carl von Merz Joins Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Houston Office
A Houston partner boasting a two-decade track record of guiding notable energy industry transactions has left Mayer Brown to become the head of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s U.S. oil and gas practice.
Crane Collapse Injury Suit Settles on Eve of Trial
A Dallas jury who heard a wrongful death case last year for the same crane collapse awarded $860 million — the second-largest Texas jury verdict in 2023 — to the parents of a woman killed. This week, companies Greystar and Bigge Crane & Rigging Co. avoided a second trial in a lawsuit brought by a man who was pinned in his car when the crane toppled onto the apartment building and parking garage.