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P.S. — Lynn Pinker Leads Pledge for Hispanic Law Scholarships & More Fundraising News

This week’s P.S. column features background information on two fundraising events on June 13: a luncheon event that raises scholarship funds for Texas Hispanic students interested in a career in the law and an evening event to celebrate Pride Month and raise scholarship funds for LGBTQ+ law students. 

Firms featured in this week’s P.S. include Reed Smith, Lynn Pinker, Dykema, Paul Hastings, Sidley, Baker McKenzie, V&E, Gibson Dunn, Holland & Knight, Baker Botts, Greenberg Traurig, Jackson Walker, Kirkland, Bell Nunnally, Weil, Haynes Boone, Foley, O’Melveny, Law Office of Domingo Garcia, Norton Rose Fulbright, McKool Smith, K&L Gates, Alston & Bird, Linebarger, Jackson Lewis, Ogletree Deakins, Akin, Barnes & Thornburg, Lira Bravo Law.

For V&E Associate Jas Sethi, New UT Social Work Scholarship Stems from Personal Loss

Vinson & Elkins associate Jas Sethi was a second-year law student at Northwestern University when his 19-year-old sister lost her life to suicide after a yearslong battle with depression and addiction. While at first the tragedy eliminated his reason for attending law school, it helped him begin his legal career with a new sense of purpose. This upcoming school year, the University of Texas’ Steve Hicks School of Social Work will begin offering a scholarship Sethi started for students pursuing social work careers that specialize in substance misuse and recovery. Beyond honoring his sister, Sethi hopes the scholarship helps bring more social workers into the space who are energized to pursue reforms to the system he says failed her.

“I want to make it so that nobody ever has to feel like Simran did,” Sethi said. “I can’t do that all in one day, and I don’t know if I can do that at all, but the scholarship is what I can do now.”

Pictured: Jas Sethi (right) with his sister, Simran Sethi (left), and their parents, Tarminder and Jigyasa Sethi (center).

Expert: SEC’s Texas Office ‘Will Remain Very Active and Aggressive’ in 2024

With U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regional Director Eric Werner and his new leadership team in place, the SEC will likely remain aggressive in bringing enforcement actions regarding traditional oil and gas offering fraud cases, large public company matters, market manipulation cases and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters, according to former SEC senior counsel for enforcement Rebecca Fike, who is now a partner at Vinson & Elkins.

This coming Wednesday in Houston, Fike is moderating a CLE program that includes Werner, who heads the Fort Worth office, and former SEC associate director Jessica Magee, who is now a partner at Holland Knight. The Texas Lawbook CLE will hosted by V&E and Holland & Knight. Texas Lawbook subscribers and members of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston and DFW Chapters are welcome to attend in person in Houston or via a webcast. In advance of Wednesday’s CLE, Fike gave an interview to The Texas Lawbook.

‘Act of State Doctrine’ Nets Houston Museum a Win in Fight Over 18th Century Painting

In a unanimous 24-page ruling issued Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison’s April 2023 dismissal of the lawsuit brought by the heirs of Dr. Max Emden against the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The lawsuit revolved around who is the rightful owner of a 1764 painting by Bernardo Bellotto called “The Marketplace at Pirna.”

The Corner Office: Q&A with Joe Coniglio

In this Q&A, Greenberg Traurig Dallas office managing partner Joe Coniglio shares the pillars of his success, describes how “showing up” is a differentiator, and offers observations from his health care practice.

Democrats, Republicans Lock Arms to Extend Polling Hours After Election Day Storms Rocked Dallas 

Thanks to joint efforts by the Dallas County Democratic and Republican parties, voting hours were extended after severe weather that knocked out more than 100 polling locations. Lawyer Robert Tobey, representing the Democrats, and GOP chair Jennifer Stoddard-Hajdu, a lawyer herself, worked together and later consolidated cases with the sheriff who hired Carter Arnett to also extend voting hours. The parties got an assist from the Dallas County district attorney’s office, which represented the Elections Department.

Be Careful Where You Seek Pre-Suit Discovery: Appellate Divide on TCPA Deepens

In Amarillo, Austin, and just recently Fort Worth, the party resisting pre-suit discovery under Rule 202 can (in the right circumstances) file a motion to dismiss under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), requiring the petitioner to meet the TCPA’s evidentiary hurdles or risk paying the other side’s fees and getting sanctioned, all while potentially engaging in a protracted process that spoils the entire purpose of Rule 202 petitions. But both Houston Courts of Appeals have rejected the applicability of the TCPA to pre-suit discovery. Until the Texas Supreme Court resolves the split, where a pre-suit petition for discovery is filed can have a dramatic impact on the outcome.

Wachtell, Kirkland Lead $22.5B Deal Between ConocoPhillips, Marathon

ConocoPhillips has agreed to acquire Marathon Oil for $22.5 billion in an all-stock deal, which includes $5.4 billion of net debt and offers Marathon shareholders a 14.7% premium. The merger is expected to generate $500 million in savings in its first year and significantly boost ConocoPhillips’ U.S. onshore portfolio. Pending regulatory approval, the deal is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter, furthering the consolidation trend in the energy sector as companies seek to enhance reserves and cut operating costs.

ExxonMobil Wants $725M Award Wiped Out or Knocked Down to $250K

Lawyers from Dallas-based Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel earlier this month convinced the jury in a 10-2 decision that their client, Paul Gill, was entitled to damages from ExxonMobil for its failure to warn consumers about the risk of exposure to benzene that is in its petroleum products, including gasoline. Gill, who worked as a Mobil service station mechanic between 1975 and 1980, was diagnosed in 2019 with acute myeloid leukemia and testified about using gasoline to clean car parts.

CDT Roundup: 13 Deals, 15 Firms, 171 Lawyers, $9.7B

We’re more used to writing about semiconductor chips than corn chips, but this week the CDT has the pleasure of highlighting the ones you stick in salsa. Yes, it’s a PE deal involving one of our favorites, And you can enjoy it alongside our usual review of last week’s dealmaking.

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