KSAT TV in San Antonio reports that several of the families of victims and survivors of the Robb Elementary school shooting in May plan to file a lawsuit seeking billions of dollars against the law enforcement agencies involved in the Uvalde tragedy and the maker and seller of the gun used in the mass shooting.
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Insurers Don’t Have to Defend Blue Bell in Shareholder Suit
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman on Monday sided with Discover Property & Casualty Company and The Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut and agreed the commercial general liability policies didn’t require it to defend the breach of fiduciary duty claims. Judge Pitman wrote that Texas courts haven’t squarely addressed the issue presented in this lawsuit.
CDT Roundup: 12 Deals, 8 Firms, 152 Lawyers, $2B
If you need some perspective on the wild swings in the oil and gas industry over the past few years, look no further than Plano-based Denbury Resources. Denbury, which sought bankruptcy protection just a few years ago, is suddenly looking prosperous enough to be scouting for a viable suitor, according to Bloomberg. Claire Poole reports on the Denbury rebound, as well as a slate of a dozen deals reported to the Roundup last week.
Elite Law Firms Dominate Corp. Deal Tracker Law Firm M&A Rankings
Forty-four corporate law firms with offices in Texas reported that their lawyers in Texas played a substantive role in representing buyers, sellers, targets, conflicts committees, financial institutions and other third parties in various kinds of transactions in which assets were bought, sold or merged. A handful of elite law firms – Sidley, Kirkland, V&E, Latham, Gibson Dunn, to name a few – topped The Texas Lawbook’s exclusive Corporate Deal Tracker law firm rankings for the first half of 2022.
Several Texas-headquartered corporate firms also experienced a strong six months, including Haynes and Boone, Baker Botts, Akin Gump and Locke Lord. Four law firms had Texas lawyers who worked on nearly three-quarters of all the transactions that had deal values of $500 million or more.
Litigation Roundup: Law Firm Draws Suit Over Charity Golf Tournament Injury, Distiller Moves To End Texas Lotto’s TM Claim, CenterPoint Hit With $15.4M Injury Verdict
This week’s edition of Litigation Roundup features another chapter in a legal malpractice lawsuit against Haynes and Boone that’s already made it to the Texas Supreme Court, a Fifth Circuit panel striking down a “vague” nationwide injunction that would have allowed oil and gas lease sales to resume and a retired dentist suing a Houston restaurant after being allegedly assaulted by its bouncer.
Cynthia Mabry Leaves Akin for Gibson Dunn
Mabry was the co-lead of the climate change group at Akin Gump, where she made partner in 2020. She is the fourth corporate lateral partner hire Gibson Dunn has made in Texas this year.
‘Can I Come Over and Hang Out?’: Behind the Scenes of Akin Gump’s Houston Office Refresh with Gensler
Individual workout and meditation rooms and Pelotons, plus an Icee machine and Houston Rockets Pop-A-Shot. Akin Gump’s revamped Houston office has them all. The Texas Lawbook sat down with Houston leaders at Akin Gump and Gensler to discuss what it takes to shepherd the “office of the next generation” and glean early reviews from attorneys and clients.
Publisher’s Note: This article is a sponsored partnership with Gensler.
Texas Lawyers to Feast on New Energy Law
Energy transition attorneys are gearing up for an uptick innovation investment and M&A activity expected to be spurred by the passage of the Inflation
Reduction Act. The IRA, signed yesterday by President Biden, contains $369 billion of climate and clean energy provisions, as well as $60 billion for environmental justice initiatives and provides incentives for substantial investments in rural communities. Significant to the Texas economy, the new law significantly rewrites the tax incentives for renewable energy and climate change mitigation under the federal tax code.
TSA Softens Cyber Rules: Trend or Outlier in Next Wave of Federal Cyber Regulation?
The TSA Security Directive issued in the wake of the May 2021 ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline imposed mandatory obligations to report incidents within 24 hours, update systems and appoint cyber security officials was criticized by industry as being too rigid and misunderstanding the unique cybersecurity needs of pipeline operators. With its July 21, 2022 revision, the TSA seems to acknowledge these criticisms by adopting a more flexible and less prescriptive approach.
This article highlights some of the recent cyber regulatory efforts by federal agencies, discusses the components of the revised TSA Security Directive and offers a perspective on whether the coming cyber regulations will adopt the TSA approach or something more draconian.
How the Government’s Case Against Blue Bell’s Ex-CEO Melted
A veteran food safety litigation expert and Paul Kruse’s own defense attorney agreed the government overcharged the CEO in this case. Jurors who heard about a week of testimony deliberated for four days before U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman declared a mistrial.