In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a federal judge finds more flaws in the No Surprises Act, a Houston attorney is found guilty of obstruction of justice and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton agrees to apologize and pay-up to settle Whistleblower suit.
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Houston’s Energy-Transition Moment
Long the global energy capital, the city can help lead the world toward a carbon-neutral future. A recent report from the Houston Energy Transition Initiative identifies makes the case the city is poised to do so.
Power Companies: Winter Storm Uri Lawsuits ‘Ruinous’ to Industry if Not Dismissed
Scores of Texas electric generators and distributors — CenterPoint, Luminant and NRG, to name a few — asked a Houston appeals court Friday to dismiss more than 230 lawsuits brought against them by more than 1,500 plaintiffs stemming from Winter Storm Uri two years ago because the cases are without legal merit and “upend the state’s electricity markets.”
In two separate mandamus petitions filed with the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston, lawyers for the power generators and electricity transmission and distribution utilities argue that Harris County District Judge Sylvia Matthews “clearly abused [her] discretion in allowing the cases to proceed.”
P.S. — Funding Racial Justice, Diversifying the Legal Community & Advising the Homeless
The Houston Bar Foundation names its new chair and recognizes many more for their pro bono work. Dallas lawyers at one firm advocate for people of color incarcerated by outdated drug laws. The North Texas Chamber of Commerce names new lawyer leadership on its board. All that and more in this week’s P.S. column.
Q&A: Sarah Decker of McAfee
For Premium Subscribers In this Q&A with McAfee CLO Sarah Decker, she dishes on what she seeks in hiring outside counsel, $2,000 hourly rates, the role of GCs in promoting
McAfee ‘Fortunate Beyond Words’ to Have Sarah Decker In-House
In the four years since Sarah Decker joined computer security giant McAfee, she has had a few items on her plate, including an $8.6 billion IPO amid the Covid pandemic, which meant doing all the legal work necessary for listing on the NASDAQ; a $4 billion sale of its enterprise business; a $450 million securities offering; and a $14 billion take-private transaction in 2022.
Citing numerous successes last year, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Decker as the 2022 DFW General Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department (21 attorneys or more).
Banks Seek to Postpone Multibillion-Dollar Trial in Final Stanford Civil Case
One of the banks being sued for billions of dollars for allegedly aiding and abetting Houston financier R. Allen Stanford and his investment firm in a massive Ponzi scheme has asked a federal appeals court to stop the 13-year-old case from going to trial later this month. Lawyers for the four banks want the trial set for Feb. 27 in Houston to be postponed because they say the judge in the case has issued orders that are “rife with clear and indisputable errors.”
CDT Roundup: 17 Deals, 15 Law Firms, 140 Lawyers, $8.1B
Numbers for the week ending Feb. 4 were actually far better than the week prior, or even the same week a year ago. More on that, and a spot-check on what Simpson’s Chris May is up to in this week’s Corporate Deal Tracker Roundup.
Thompson Petroleum Gets Win Against Its Former CFO
Dallas County District Judge Emily Tobolowsky granted family-owned Thompson Petroleum’s motion for summary judgment on Jan. 19, days before a trial was slated to begin in the case where its former chief financial officer argued the company should have to pay his legal fees in a dispute with its former general counsel. Plaintiff Paul Rudnicki filed notice of appeal in the case Monday.
New Texas Munis Were Down in 2022, But the Need Remains Durable
The slight drop in the number and value of new bond issues in Texas last year was more a reflection of the market than infrastructure needs in one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. The Lawbook’s Nushin Huq and Texas bond experts examine the year-that-was. She also has rankings for the firms behind the issues and underwriters for what was — in spite of the decline — a very busy year.