In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Fifth Circuit asks the Texas Supreme Court to answer two certified questions, a team of Austin lawyers are hired to represent Twitter in a $90 million suit against Wachtell and Texas Instruments sues a slew of insurers over damage to its clean room.
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Corporate Deal Tracker: 2023 M&A Transactions
Below is a list of qualified M&A transactions reported to The Texas Lawbook for 2023. The list is organic, designed to grow as needed. So if you have deals that qualify or
Houston Chronicle: KBR Settles Iraq War Whistleblower Lawsuit for $109 Million
Allegations of waste and inefficiency surfaced against U.S. companies contracted by the military to provide equipment and services for troops following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Lawyers for two former KBR employees working in the Middle East accused the company of over-ordering $340 million worth of supplies for U.S. troops and sued KBR in 2011. A dozen years later, KBR has agreed to settle for nearly $109 million, the largest to date in connection with fraud and waste allegations during the war.
Experts: Affirmative Action Ruling Puts Weight on Firms to Foster Legal Field’s Diversity
While diversity, equity and inclusion efforts will likely continue to face headwinds, experts say the legal profession can take specific steps to mitigate the potential impact of the Supreme Court’s recent decision that banned affirmative action in higher education. Natalie Posgate sought insights from corporate in-house lawyers, law firm leaders and affirmative action experts on what the impact may be and what the reaction should be going forward. As one lawyer put it: “It’s up to us to take a stand and make a difference.”
P.S. — Winstead’s New Diversity Chair, Baker Botts’ Pro Bono Win, LANWT’s ABA Award
This edition of P.S. highlights July dates, times and locations of the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program’s legal aid clinics (with info on this month’s sponsors); a prestigious public service award that the American Bar Association will present to Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas in August, two Winstead lawyers taking leadership roles in DEI and a pro bono win by Baker Botts in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Texas Supreme Court Provides Important Guidance on the Attorney-Client Privilege
Last week, the United States Supreme Court and Texas Supreme Court issued several high-profile opinions as they cleared the dockets from last year’s terms. With so many rulings issued at once, it could be easy to miss an opinion from the Texas Supreme Court with important practical implications for the attorney-client privilege under Texas law.
Kane Russell Coleman Logan Team Comes Through for Unsecured Creditors in Icahn Co. Bankruptcy
Joe Coleman, John Kane, Brian Hail and a team of other lawyers from Kane Russell Coleman Logan recently secured a favorable outcome for a group of unsecured creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding for a Carl Icahn-owned company, Auto Plus. At the outset, it seemed the unsecured creditors stood to recoup none of their roughly $200 million in unsecured debt, but the legal team overcame three key challenges on its way to recovering more than $57 million: Auto Plus’ apparent administrative insolvency, a fast-tracked sale of assets already in motion and “the specter of the fact that Carl Icahn was the ultimate owner,” Coleman said. “Obviously, Mr. Icahn has an enormous reputation, he’s a very shrewd businessman.”
Getting Schooled on Mediation
Tapping a Texas-based legal scholar for insights into alternative dispute resolution.
CDT Roundup: 16 Deals, 10 Firms, 105 Lawyers, $6.9B
In addition to warmer temperatures, the end of spring brings us the end of Q2/H1, and a good time to check on the mid-year status of dealmaking. This week is our roundup of what the CDT Roundup has been reporting for the past six months. That, and a roster of lawyers involved in the 11 M&A/Funding deals and five CapM transactions reported last week.
Litigation Roundup: Settlement Reached in $352M Injury Case, SCOTX Sides with UT in Document Fight
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Supreme Court held that the attorney-client privilege means a conservative nonprofit news organization cannot get access to certain documents stemming from a University of Texas admissions process investigation, and the parties on either side of a personal injury lawsuit that netted a $352 million jury verdict told an intermediate appellate court a settlement has been reached.