A team of former partners at Smyser Kaplan & Veselka, including cofounder Lee Kaplan, have departed the boutique to launch a new firm, Murphy Ball Stratton. Members of the new firm, according to its website, are Land Murphy, Dane Ball, Michelle Stratton and Lee Kaplan.
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Biggest Texas Verdicts of 2023
The types of cases that topped the list of damages awards in Texas this year were varied, but some of the usual suspects, like patent cases in the state’s Eastern and Western districts, occupy four of the Top 10 spots. Jurors in Harris County awarded damages totaling nearly $2 billion in three cases on the Top 10 list, and Jurors in the Western District doled out awards taking three of the Top 10 spots, totaling $857.7 million.
Top 10 Texas Legal News for 2023
Nearly every headline-gripping news item we read last year had a legal tie, from the mysterious missing animals at the Dallas Zoo to the historical impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Many of the stories that made this list will be drawn out in 2024. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, for example, could still be compelled to submit DNA testing to determine if he is the biological father of a woman who works as an aide to U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson of Amarillo. And the criminal case for the Houston man accused of killing Migos rapper Takeoff is scheduled to go to trial this year.
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Pro Bono and DEI Awards Go to Counsel at Nexstar Media, Toyota
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook received dozens of nominations for the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards, which recognize the successes and leadership demonstrated by in-house counsel in North Texas. ACC-DFW and The Lawbook put together an independent group of judges to review the nominations and select the best of the best in 13 categories. During the next 10 days, The Lawbook and ACC-DFW will announce the finalists for GC of the Year, Senior Counsel of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Deal of the Year, Corporate Secretary/Legal Advisor of the Year and Lifetime Achievement.
P.S. — New DHBA Leadership, New VA Program Benefiting Homeless Vets
In the last edition of P.S. for 2023, the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program announces January dates for pro bono legal clinics, Witherite Law Group donates tens of thousands to support families and seniors in need during the holidays, the VA rolls out a new program supporting homeless veterans (or those facing homelessness) and the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association announces its 2024 president and other new leadership.
Top Litigation Matters in 2023
In this article, The Texas Lawbook looks back at some of the most significant litigation Texas lawyers handled in 2023, as well as a rundown of major changes to civil litigation practice in the state wrought by lawmakers who this session created a new system of business courts and a new appellate court.
Latham, Jackson Walker Lead Mark Cuban’s $3.5B Sale of Mavs; Deal to Close This Week
On Wednesday, the NBA Board of Governors approved the majority stake sale from Mark Cuban to the families of Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, and Sivan and Patrick Dumont, who serves as president and COO of the casino company and is Adelson’s son-in-law. A Houston partner from Latham and Dallas lawyers from Jackson Walker played key roles in the deal.
Litigation Roundup: Dallas Lawyers Get $30M Mesothelioma Win; Jury Awards Revenge Porn Victim $450K
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a jury in Dallas awards a woman $450,000 in a revenge porn lawsuit, Dallas lawyers secure a $30 million win in an Illinois mesothelioma case and a federal judge in Houston brings a rare, early end to a patent case following a Markman hearing.
CDT Roundup: 23 Deals, 13 Firms, 219 Lawyers, $4.2B
Want to know what 2024 will look like? Just take a hard look at 2023, according to many of the respondents to the Dallas Fed’s quarterly energy survey. Buoyed by a belief that oil prices will remain more than $70 per barrel, even with depressed natural gas prices, energy producers in the Fed’s Region 11 expect consolidations to continue in East and West Texas including a few blockbuster deals. That’s what 2023 looked like. The CDT Roundup looks at the details of the Dallas Fed survey along with the usual list of lawyers and firms behind the 23 transactions reported during the next-to-last week of the year.
Biden Nominees Bring Prosecutorial, Judicial Experience
Nominees for vacancies in the Western District of Texas would be among the first under the current administration. Sens. Cornyn and Cruz are on board with Ernest Gonzalez and Leon Schydlower for courts in Del Rio and El Paso. Former president Trump had a considerably larger impact as he addressed a backlog of vacant benches in Texas.