Houston-based NRG Energy made news last week with their $5.2 billion acquisition Vivint Smart Home Inc. The deal included the assumption of $2.4 billion in debt, and was immediately unpopular with the market, but the company says the deal’s expansion of its retail utility product line is worth the price. The CDT Roundup has the lawyers behind that deal, as well as 13 others and a bonus Q&A with Latham partner Ravi Purohit, who has reported several high-profile deals in recent weeks.
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Litigation Roundup: Challenge to Texas Transmission Lines Law Expanded, Guns N’ Roses Files TM Claim Against Houston Business
In this week’s edition of litigation roundup, a team from Norton Rose Fulbright wins dismissal of a lawsuit over a never-realized business acquisition, Oncor wins an appeal in Austin in a suit over the valuation of its transmission lines, and a constitutional challenge to a state law governing transmission lines gets expanded by the Fifth Circuit.
P.S. — Two Galas, Two Donation Drives, One Huge Fundraiser
In this week’s P.S., we have the details of an inaugural ball put on by the Dallas LGBT Bar Association, updates on the Dallas Bar Association’s Equal Access to Justice Campaign and a reminder of a food drive currently being commissioned for one of Dallas’ poorest areas.
In-House & Outside Lawyers Talk Need, Best Practices at Pro Bono Summit
A group of high-ranking in-house counsel and private practice pro bono specialists swapped stories and methods for how they’ve been able to achieve pro bono engagement and keep their lawyers incentivized to give back through pro bono. Plus, the in-house lawyers discussed their positions on partnering with law firms on pro bono projects.
TX Minority Counsel Program’s 30th Anniversary Shows How Far We’ve Come, How Far We Have to Go
This year’s Texas Minority Counsel Program saw record levels of participation by corporate and governmental entities. TMCP also honored the recipients of its annual awards for Corporate Counsel of the Year, Trailblazer, Rising Star and Lifetime Achievement.
Lawsuit: Elite Privately Owned Texas A&M Dorm ‘Contaminated with Toxic Mold’
A 19-year-old Texas A&M business student has sued the owner and operator of an upscale private dormitory called The Callaway House claiming that her room and other areas of the housing unit are contaminated with toxic mold.
Experts: The Present and Future Needs of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking for a new sheriff to aggressively police corporations, cryptocurrency operations, hedge funds and thousands of investment brokers and dealers in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Only a handful of people even qualify for the position, legal experts say.
“The challenge, though, will be to look around the corner for risks that are coming, which may depend on a number of unpredictable variables such as the economy, the markets and financial innovation,” said David Peavler, who resigned as SEC regional director last week.
Five Takeaways from the FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange Fallout
Sam Bankman Fried (SBF) and his FTX exchange became the latest very public example exposing risks in cryptocurrency companies. It will take time before the entire impact of the FTX failure and bankruptcy is known. However, here are five things for investors to take away from the recent events involving FTX when considering the future of digital assets.
Jury Awards Families of Fatal Crash Victims $12.1M
A Harris County jury awarded the money to the families of three individuals who were among six killed when a twin-engine plane crashed outside Kerrville in 2019. Deliberations took about five hours before the panel determined a Raymond James financial advisor who was piloting the plane was responsible for the crash and was on the clock at the time.
Winstead Elects Jeff Matthews as Next Leader
Shareholders at the corporate law firm Winstead have elected the chair of its business and transactions practice, Jeff Matthews, as the firm’s next chairman and CEO. A 2003 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and the son of a former Exxon general counsel, Matthews replaces David Dawson, who has led Winstead since 2014. In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Matthews discusses the Texas firm’s position in the legal market, how 2022 has gone so far and whether there is any interest in a future merger.