Kastner Gravelle founding partner Ryan Gravelle wasn’t always a tech lawyer, but he says he got there as fast as he could. In this Q&A, the Austin corporate lawyer talks about the climate for startup funding and M&A for tech companies, competitors that have moved to Austin and how a potential recession will affect Austin’s tech community.
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CDT: 2022 Capital Markets Transactions
Below is a list of qualified capital markets transactions reported to The Texas Lawbook for 2022. The list is organic, designed to grow as deals are reported. So if you
Texas Panel Tosses Al Hill III’s Suit Against Prominent Dallas Litigators
The First Court of Appeals on Tuesday issued an opinion affirming a trial court’s dismissal of malicious prosecution and derivative claims against Lisa Blue, Stephen Malouf, Charla Aldous, Mike Lynn and Jeff Tillotson. It wasn’t clear Tuesday whether Hill III would take the long-running fight to the Texas Supreme Court.
CDT Roundup: 8 Deals, 9 Firms, 78 Lawyers, $6.9B
There are two energy deals this week — the week’s two largest deals, in fact — that are both more, and less, than they seem. While on the surface they involve the mergers of large energy corporations, they are simply simplifications of two large corporate structures. What’s going on here? The Corporate Deal Tracker Roundup has the details, as well as the names of all of the Texas lawyers behind this week’s deals.
Litigation Roundup: Private Planes, Insurance Claims, Patent Suits Against Big Names
A lender that recently emerged from bankruptcy sues its insurance company. An out-of-state bank defeats a Dallas-based homebuilder in a dispute over an airplane. Patent infringement litigation begins against two giants in the smartphone and beverage industries. This week’s Litigation Roundup details it all.
Abortion, Texas Republicans and the Slaughterhouse Cases: A Collision Ahead
Despite the recent threats of conservative lawmakers to impose civil and criminal penalties on Texas residents seeking an abortion in another state, the privileges-or-immunities clause and the dormant commerce clause can protect interstate travel for those parties. But will they given the current makeup of the federal courts?
August Lateral Hiring Off to Sizzling Start
Baker Botts gained and lost a corporate partner; Polsinelli picked up a former assistant U.S. attorney and health care fraud expert; Gibson Dunn added a corporate debt finance partner; and BakerHostetler signed an energy litigation partner.
Sources: Veteran Dallas Prosecutor Front-runner To Be Next NDTX U.S. Attorney
Federal prosecutor Leigha Simonton, head of the Northern District of Texas’ Appellate Division, is widely praised by colleagues as smart, hard-working, and an exemplary leader. ‘She would be a great choice,’ says Erin Nealy Cox of Kirkland & Ellis, Simonton’s former boss.
Bobbleheads and Smoked Brisket at SCOTUS: Recollections and Advice from Former Supreme Court Law Clerks Who Now Practice in Texas
Washington D.C. may have an allure as the “Nation’s Capital,” but Texas certainly has demonstrated its own allure: of wide-open spaces, the Dallas Cowboys, longhorns, Willie Nelson, SXSW to name a few. But Texas has also attracted its share of those top-tier lawyers whose résumés denote them as a former clerk to a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
It’s a rarified distinction, and The Lawbook’s Tony Mauro interviewed a baker’s dozen of them about the path they took to get there, about their experiences inside and about their decision to bring their elite professional skill sets back to Texas. It is safe to say that they remain awed by the experience.
CDT: H1 2022 – A Time for Smaller Deals
The first half of the year in Texas M&A was dominated by the mid- to lower-market transactions, according to data gathered by The Texas Lawbook Corporate Deal Tracker. Although dealmaking was robust, the values of those deals declined dramatically. Of 507 deals reported by Texas lawyers, only a handful were valued at $5 billion or more, and deals valued at more than $1 billion declined dramatically from 2021. On the other hand, deals valued under $100 million help push the year’s deal counts to impressive levels. The Texas Lawbook has the details.