Sam Megally and Will LeDoux, state and local tax partners, and Cindy Ohlenforst, senior counsel, have joined Holland & Knight in Dallas from K&L Gates. The three joined the firm’s tax, executive compensation and benefits practice group and will focus their practices on Texas and multistate tax matters.
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SCOTX Issues Divided Decision in Greystar Supersedeas Bond Case
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday determined 5-4 that Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 52.006(b)(2), which applies a $25 million cap on bonds posted to appeal, applies per judgment debtor.
P.S. — Lawmakers Examine Rural Attorney Shortage, Susman Godfrey Increases Diversity Prize, HisBA Sets Fundraising Record
In this edition of P.S., we cover a Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee hearing on how the state’s law schools can help address a lawyer shortage in rural parts of Texas. Lawmakers heard from Texas A&M University School of Law Dean Robert Ahdieh and SMU Dedman School of Law Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center Executive Director Pamela Metzger, among others, about how the legislature, bar and universities can work together to ease the gap.
Shell USA’s Cisselon Nichols Hurd Is Advancing Diversity While Setting the Standard in Environmental Law
After meeting a lawyer at her elementary school’s career day, Cisselon Nichols Hurd went home and informed her mother she did not want to follow in her footsteps of becoming a teacher. She wanted to become a lawyer instead.
That’d be just fine, her mother replied.
Fast forward to 2009, and Hurd’s mother accompanied her to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Hurd helped steer a groundbreaking environmental case that narrowed seller liability, endorsed apportionment principles and remains a cornerstone to the Superfund practice.
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring Hurd, Shell USA Senior Counsel, with the Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion award at the May 28 ceremony.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Cisselon Nichols Hurd
Cisselon Nichols Hurd highlights what makes for successful diversity efforts and describes a common challenge she observes when working with outside counsel at big firms.
Shell USA Senior Counsel Sara Keith ‘Does It All’
Sara Keith is one of those people who seems to do it all and make it look effortless.
At Shell USA, where she serves as senior legal counsel of global litigation, Keith manages complex legal matters while also devoting significant time to pro bono work, mentoring young lawyers and leading service initiatives across Houston’s legal community — all while raising two daughters.
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring Keith with the Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy Award at the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards on May 28.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Sara Keith
In this Q&A, Sara Keith offers ideas for ways corporate in-house lawyers can give back to the community and talks about how AI is shaping expectations with outside counsel.
Texas Hires Ex-AG Barr to Sue ISS Over Alleged ESG Bias
Round Two of a fight between the state of Texas and proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services is now underway before Round One has ended, after a new lawsuit was filed by the state in Collin County this week.
Trucking Co. Hit With $49M Jury Verdict in West Texas
The unanimous jury verdict was returned after three days of trial just before 8 p.m. Wednesday. Steffan Robert Mick, a 29-year-old married father of two, was killed in January 2025 when an OPG Logistics 18-wheeler turned in front of him on a farm-to-market road near Midland.
Houston Methodist’s Marissa Marquez’s Best Days are Helping Others
As a child, Marissa Marquez had to navigate an educational system not designed for kids like her.
A native Spanish speaker raised primarily by a grandmother without a high school diploma, Marquez learned English in school and worked her way into the gifted and talented program and eventually graduated 8th in her high school class of about 800 students.
Now labor and employment counsel at Houston Methodist Hospital, her life work and volunteerism “reflect a through line” in her life, “from her earliest experiences as a bilingual student to her current leadership roles, of using her skills and lived experience to uplift others,” said Jackson Walker partner Sang Shin.