A tall, folksy man in a stovepipe hat rides into town on a mule, looking to get his law practice off the ground. He quickly ingratiates himself to the community, making fast friends and even judging a pie contest at the county fair (where he also wins a rail-splitting contest, naturally). Like a good lawyer, or perhaps just a hungry lawyer, he weighs his pie duties carefully, going back and forth between the peach and the apple, steadily gobbling down both. He’s a man of the people, and soon he’ll become a rather impromptu defense attorney in a murder trial.
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Party City Hires Paul Weiss and Porter Hedges To Advise on Chapter 22 Bankruptcy
On Saturday, retailer Party City voluntarily filed for its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in under two years in the Southern District of Texas. Following the filing and after being in business for nearly 40 years, it will officially look to close its business. As it begins to take the necessary steps to do so, it has selected New York’s Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison as its legal counsel and Houston’s Porter Hedges as local counsel.
The Container Store Hires Latham, Hunton AK, Houlihan Lokey to Advise on Bankruptcy
The Container Store, a Coppell-headquartered retailer specializing in home organizing solutions, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Sunday in the Southern District of Texas, seeking to restructure its debt and address operating losses. Container Store CLO Tasha Grinnell hired Latham & Watkins and Hunton Andrews Kurth as legal advisors. The ad hoc committee of lenders is represented by Paul Hastings.
CDT Roundup: 11 Deals, 9 Firms, 92 Lawyers, $2.8B
Just in time for Christmas, DOE has published its months-awaited study on the economic and environmental effects of LNG exports. The report was promised in January as a rationale for the Biden Administration’s decision to pause permitting of new LNG export processing facilities. The CDT Roundup takes a brief look at the exhaustive study and wonders if DOE has missed the irony in its concern about the effect of LNG exports on future natural gas prices That, and the usual review of last week’s major Texas-related transactions.
DFW Business Litigation, M&A Deal and Creative Partnership of the Year Announced
The corporate legal departments at Arcosa, Helmerich & Payne, Jacobs Solutions, SPCA of Texas and Texas Pacific Land and their outside law firms are finalists in three key categories at the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced the finalists for the 2024 DFW awards for Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Deal of the Year and Creative Partnership. These three awards are unique because they celebrate the in-house corporate legal departments and their outside lawyers.
SCOTX Will Review Winter Storm Uri Claims Against Transmission and Distribution Giants
Four years after devastating power outages resulted in death and destruction, justices will hear arguments in February on the utility companies’ mandamus effort to end claims by more than 15,000 plaintiffs. The utilities say they had no duty under the exigent circumstances to supply power to any particular customers for any particular duration.
P.S. — Law Firms Share Holiday Spirit with Those in Need
With fewer than five days until Christmas Day and the start of Hanukkah, corporate law firms in Texas continue to demonstrate their giving spirit for those in need. During the past month, The Texas Lawbook’s P.S. column has highlighted nearly 20 law firms for their contributions to helping feed, clothe and house thousands of Texans who are struggling. Today, we turn the spotlight on three law firms — Sidley Austin, Katten and White & Case — for the support they are providing to those less fortunate.
2024 DFW Senior Counsel, Rookie of the Year Finalists Unveiled
Corporate in-house lawyers at American Airlines, Texas Capital Bank and Workrise are on the short list for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel of the Year Awards for Senior Counsel of the Year. And attorneys from ECI Software Solutions and Matador Resources are the finalists for DFW Rookie of the Year.
Law Firm, Transocean Slapped with $500K Sanction in Hurricane Zeta MDL
In three orders issued Wednesday and Thursday, Harris County District Judge Rabeea Collier sanctioned Transocean and its former legal team for “egregious” conduct in the multidistrict litigation. The judge declined to disqualify the company’s new legal team, AZA, from continuing its representation of the drilling company.
Baker McKenzie, Eversheds and Reed Smith Promote New Partners
The parade of firms announcing their 2024-25 partnership class continued Thursday. Two global corporate law firms — Baker McKenzie and Reed Smith — each announced that three of their younger Texas lawyers had been elected to their partnerships, while Eversheds Sutherland promoted one.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the number of new Texas partners announced by Baker McKenzie, as well as a promotion that wasn’t to its partnership class. The Lawbook regrets the error.