Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Against the backdrop of SpaceX’s long-awaited public debut last month and a potential reopening of the IPO window in capital markets, Texas is testing whether its economic strength can be matched by financial market depth.
The Texas Lawbook caught up with Carlos Pena of Texas Capital to discuss how extended private lifecycles, the evolving IPO windows and Texas’ legal and governance frameworks are reshaping capital formation.
We may be only a halfway through 2026, but the megadeal scoreboard is already starting to look like a final season tally.
The Texas Lawbook‘s exclusive Corporate Deal Tracker breaks down the first half activity for 2026 for deals valued at $1 billion or more.
About four months after the U.S. Trustee and Jackson Walker informed the court they had reached a deal that would resolve the federal bankruptcy watchdog’s objections to nine settlements totaling about $4.7 million, the judge overseeing the case has recommended the settlements be approved.
Opening statements in the fourth bellwether trial against 3M Company — stemming from a fatal explosion that rocked a West Houston neighborhood in 2020 — had an air of déjà vu Tuesday as the plaintiffs’ lawyers urged jurors to find 3M at fault, while attorneys for the multinational conglomerate argued the actions, and inactions, of Watson Grinding and Manufacturing leadership was solely to blame.
Dallas-based Ryan Cox is part of a three-lawyer Akin team joining Simpson’s Hybrid Capital practice. Cox will lead the firm’s Dallas office with Dave Nemecek.
Andrea Stover said it was a hard decision to leave the PEC, but Baker Botts feels like home. “There’s not a better place to be for this [energy regulatory] work than Baker Botts,” she said.
The deal for the Houston-based valve distributor provides both tech and customer-base expansion for Ferguson’s push into data center infrastructure air and water services. Orrick, Kirkland and Foley are advising.
William “Bill” Pedersen III has joined Cantey Hanger as a partner in Dallas. The former appellate justice will represent clients in litigation and appellate matters across a broad range of disputes.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a jury in Austin determines a company that makes synthetic turf fields “fraudulently concealed” material defects in the product and awarded an injured former high school lacrosse player about $2.7 million, and we detail two cases involving issues of first impression.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith recently authored a dissent arguing his colleagues are spending the court’s en banc bandwidth on the wrong case.
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