Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
The week that ended Nov. 15 saw 16 deals reported to the Roundup, evenly split between M&A and capital/credit markets, with a total value of $16.4 billion. That’s down more than a tad from last week’s 21 deals valued at nearly $76 billion. But it continues a remarkable run of nine consecutive weeks with total reported values of $11 billion or more.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
New Jersey and McKool Smith announced Friday that the state has settled its 2021 lawsuit against Horizon Healthcare Services for $100 million. New Jersey claimed that the healthcare services provider had been submitting false funding claims to the state for years. Horizon says it never retained any of the money charged to the state for healthcare provider claims.
The families of five girls who died in the July 4 flood while at summer camp are being represented by Arnold & Itkin. They were added to the lawsuit filed earlier this week on behalf of Ellen Elizabeth Getten, the 9-year-old daughter of Baker Botts partner Douglas Getten and Jennifer Getten.
In this edition of P.S., Baker Botts launched a new women’s summit, which convened leading women general counsel for cross-industry dialogue and professional development. The law firm, which boasts a strong pipeline of alumni who advance to senior in-house roles, plans to make the summit a recurring flagship event.
We also report on significant pro bono and public service recognitions, with the Texas Access to Justice Commission honoring South Texas College of Law Houston and standout students at the University of Texas and Texas A&M law schools and the Anti-Defamation League Texoma awarding its prestigious Larry Schoenbrun Jurisprudence Award to longtime First Amendment advocate Thomas Leatherbury.
Meanwhile, Haynes Boone attorneys statewide marked Pro Bono Week through a range of volunteer legal initiatives. This issue of P.S. closes out with a call for submissions for the 2025 DFW Outstanding Corporate Counsel Awards, which includes honors for excellence in pro bono, public service and diversity and inclusion among North Texas in-house lawyers.
Christina Jump, a longtime Dallas-based attorney who leads the civil litigation department of the Richardson-based Muslim Legal Fund of America’s Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America, is leaving to launch a solo practice. A former president of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association, Jump says the move will give her the ability to “work each case more deeply and interact with each client more directly and often.”
In the concise eight-page order, Chief U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas Alia Moses denied Jackson Walker’s demand for a jury trial, hit pause on several proposed settlements the firm has reached with its former bankruptcy clients, consolidated the 34 cases where the U.S. Trustee is trying to claw back millions in fees, and sent them back to the Southern District of Texas bankruptcy judge who had been overseeing the cases until April.
Baker Botts has announced that Anna Irion is joining its Global Projects department in Houston after more than a dozen years focusing on all things midstream with Jackson Walker.
The first bench trial for the Texas Business Court resulted in a win for Marathon Oil in Houston. Marathon filed its declaratory judgment lawsuit after Mercuria claimed Marathon owed it $17.4 million for failing to deliver natural gas during Winter Storm Uri in 2021.
Sanderson Farms, five East Texas poultry and cattle farms and the Consolidated Water Supply Corporation have asked an Anderson County judge to reject legal efforts by Dallas businessman Kyle Bass to intervene in their water rights litigation.
The Lanier Firm was among the six law firms that filed suit against Camp Mystic Monday, joining Yetter Coleman, Arnold & Itkin, Howry Breen & Herman, Tefteller Law and The Armstrong Firm. In total, 15 families are represented across four lawsuits. The flood killed 25 campers and two counselors at the camp. According to those involved in the litigation, more lawsuits are expected to be filed in coming days, but some families have decided against legal action.
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