Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Eleven of the dozen Texas-based corporate law firms in the Texas Lawbook 50 experienced record revenue and profit in 2025, and the 12th firm did pretty damn well, too.
Citing heavy demand in legal services for real estate, tax, corporate transactions, fundings, commercial litigation and intellectual property disputes, the Texas-based lawyers for the Texas 12 generated $3.58 billion in 2025 — 10.56 percent more than the year before, according to the Lawbook 50.
In the first quarter of 2026, the Texas Business Court continued to make progress through the ever-growing number of lawsuits appearing on its dockets. In the first few quarters following the Business Court opening its doors Sept. 1, 2024, the vast majority of its opinions resolved the jurisdictional and procedural questions entailed in standing up a new court with limited jurisdiction. In the second half of 2025, such procedural decisions were increasingly mixed with substantive decisions. Early 2026 marked a new phase of the Court gaining “cruising altitude,” with many of the initial procedural and jurisdictional questions behind it and most decisions addressing the merits of the disputes.
Toyota Motor North America chief legal officer and corporate secretary Sandra Phillips told The Texas Lawbook Tuesday that she is retiring from the company’s top legal post July 31 to spend more time with her parents, who are in their 80s, and to focus more on serving on corporate boards.
“I’ve been living the dream job for 15 years, working with a great team,” Phillips said. “I am proud that I was able to help Toyota navigate some of its most difficult issues and to help move this great company forward. This is a good time to transition to a team that is ready to take more responsibility and lead Toyota into the future.”
Lisa Staler Gallerano is returning to private practice after nearly a decade in-house, joining BakerHostetler’s Dallas office as of counsel in the firm’s litigation practice group. Gallerano also will be a member of the firm’s commercial litigation team.
Clifford Chance has named J. Laurens Wilkes a partner in its Houston office and global head of infrastructure disputes.
The firm also appointed Caitlin Gernert as a Houston partner, adding further depth to its infrastructure, energy and construction litigation team.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett spoke about her book Listening to the Law at the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Southern Methodist University’s campus Monday evening. From clerking for Justice Antonin Scalia to ruling on a death penalty case, Justice Barrett covered a few topics in her book.
Brad Jorgensen, a government contracts partner, has joined Kirkland & Ellis in Austin from DLA Piper. He will focus his practice on government contractor focused mergers and acquisitions, compliance counseling and high-stakes disputes.
The Texas Lawbook caught up with Jorgensen about trends he’s seeing in his practice area and more.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton & Garrison announced Monday that its Houston office has added two major deal lawyers: Aisha Lavinier, from Kirkland & Ellis, to its corporate department and Jim Cole, from Latham & Watkins, to tax.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Hunton Andrews Kurth scores a win for Oncor in an appeal of a National Labor Relations Board decision, and the former head of internal audits for a defunct electric vehicle company strikes a deal to settle insider trading allegations.
Following a four-week trial, a jury determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association is liable for negligence in a lawsuit brought by the family of a former Southern Methodist University football player who died of chronic traumatic encephalopathy dementia.
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