The daughter of a commercial real estate lawyer, Ali Denson played a leading role last year in Deep Blue’s $750 million acquisition of Environmental Disposal System from Diamondback Energy and spearheaded the $950 million term loan needed to finance the sustainable water management company’s acquisition. Citing those transformative transactions, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are awarding Denson the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.
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Premium Subscriber Q&A: Ali Denson
In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook Ali Denson discusses the traits she seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with her and more.
Wendy Wright Has Transformed the Legal Function at The Lactation Network
Wendy Wright was in the third grade when she first decided to become a lawyer. Nearly three decades later, Wright has achieved numerous successes, including making partner at a global law firm and now as the general counsel of The Lactation Network, a healthcare company trying to make a difference to families with newborns.
Citing those achievements, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Wright as the recipient of the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Solo Legal Department.
Carlyle-Diversified Energy Partnership Fuels $1.175B Deal for Anadarko Basin Assets
Diversified Energy Company and its finance partner Carlyle Global Credit announced a $1.175 billion purchase agreement for oil and gas assets in Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin owned by Camino Natural Resources.
Diversified is advised by Citi and Truist on finance and Kirkland & Ellis as outside legal counsel. Carlyle was advised on legal matters by Paul Hastings and Latham & Watkins. Jefferies is lead financial advisor to Camino with RBC Richardson Barr as co-advisor. Camino outside legal counsel is Vinson & Elkins.
Asked & Answered with McKool Smith’s Sam Baxter: Over Half a Century Practicing Law
In this edition of Asked & Answered, McKool Smith’s Sam Baxter, who recently retired, reflects on his 56-year career. While he is known for his work trying intellectual property cases in the Eastern District of Texas, he started out as a prosecutor and judge.
Willkie Adds Dallas Executive Compensation Partner
Jason Loden, an executive compensation and employee benefits partner, has joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Dallas from Baker Botts. He will focus his practice on advising companies, private equity funds and nonprofit entities on executive compensation, employee benefits and tax matters.
Dallas Assistant GC Moves from JPMorgan to Squire Patton Boggs
Richard Potomac, a financial services of counsel, has joined Squire Patton Boggs in Dallas from JPMorgan Chase. He will focus his practice on advising financial institutions and fintech companies on regulatory, transactional and compliance matters, including payments law and technology transactions.
Simpson Thacher’s Really, Really Big Year
The Texas Lawbook launched the Texas Lawbook 50 and the Corporate Deal Tracker in 2015 — two exclusive databases that calculate the law firm headcounts and revenue in Texas. The CDT documented those law firms’ M&A and capital markets transactions. Simpson Thacher didn’t make the leaderboard of either database in 2015.
A decade later, however, and the elite Wall Street corporate law firm is vaulting up both rankings by increasing its 2025 Texas headcount by 26 percent, its Texas revenue by 34 percent and leaping into the upper echelons of Texas dealmakers.
The Texas Twelve
Eleven of the dozen Texas-based corporate law firms in the Texas Lawbook 50 experienced record revenue and profit in 2025, and the 12th firm did pretty damn well, too.
Citing heavy demand in legal services for real estate, tax, corporate transactions, fundings, commercial litigation and intellectual property disputes, the Texas-based lawyers for the Texas 12 generated $3.58 billion in 2025 — 10.56 percent more than the year before, according to the Lawbook 50.
Texas Business Court Quarterly Update – 2026 Q1 Summaries
In the first quarter of 2026, the Texas Business Court continued to make progress through the ever-growing number of lawsuits appearing on its dockets. In the first few quarters following the Business Court opening its doors Sept. 1, 2024, the vast majority of its opinions resolved the jurisdictional and procedural questions entailed in standing up a new court with limited jurisdiction. In the second half of 2025, such procedural decisions were increasingly mixed with substantive decisions. Early 2026 marked a new phase of the Court gaining “cruising altitude,” with many of the initial procedural and jurisdictional questions behind it and most decisions addressing the merits of the disputes.