The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

More Stories

City Electric Supply’s Clinton Willett is ‘Not Afraid to Get into the Weeds’

Clinton Willett was a teenager when his mother waged a mighty battle against cancer — a fight she heartbreakingly lost. “Being a lower-middle-class family, I saw the devastating financial implications of such a fight,” said Willett, noting that his father was a career U.S. Postal Service employee. “I knew I had to find a career that would allow me to provide a different lifestyle and comfort level for my family if I worked hard enough.”

Fifteen years later, Lynne Willett would be mighty proud of her son. Willett earned a bachelor’s degree from Dallas Baptist University, graduated cum laude from the University of North Texas Dallas College of Law and is now corporate counsel of City Electric Supply in Dallas. He has been so successful during his first two years at City Electric that the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Willett as one of two finalists for the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel of the Year Award for Rookie of the Year. This is his story.

Q&A: Clinton Willett of City Electric Supply

For Premium Subscribers Since joining the City Electric Supply legal team in November 2021, Clinton Willett has “successfully risen from a driven new attorney to the ‘go-to’ finance, corporate structure

Steptoe Acquires Smyser Kaplan & Veselka ‘Lock, Stock and Barrel’

Craig Smyser, who cofounded SKV in 1995, said his firm had been approached several times over the years by national and international firms looking to expand into Texas. There’s one reason in particular why the negotiations with Steptoe, which began in May, ended with this merger: Steptoe was willing to take on every member of the SKV team.

“It’s an amazing law firm with a lot of magic,” Gwen Renigar, Steptoe’s chair, said in an interview with The Lawbook. “The magic they had is magic I did not want to disturb.”

Q&A: Diane Hornquist of Hunt Realty

For Premium Subscribers As nearly 300 Dallas leaders gathered at 2323 North Field Street just north of downtown on Oct. 10 for the official groundbreaking of Goldman Sachs’ new $500

For 25 Years, Diane Hornquist Has Been Hunt Realty’s Go-To Problem Solver

As nearly 300 Dallas leaders gathered at 2323 North Field Street just north of downtown on Oct. 10 for the official groundbreaking of Goldman Sachs’ new $500 million, 800,000 square-foot complex, Diane Hornquist sat on the front row just absorbing it all. Hornquist never took the stage but she was critical in the 11-acre North End mixed use development becoming a reality. “This deal involved a complicated build-to-suit lease, entitlement work, master development work, a joint venture, a mortgage loan and a mezzanine loan, and Diane led and was deeply involved in all aspects of it,” said Baker Botts partner Jeremy Gott. “I can easily say that without Diane’s leadership and tenacity, it would have been next to impossible to have successfully concluded this transaction in a timely manner — or perhaps at all.”

Law Firms Promote Twice as Many Men as Women in 2023-24 Partnership Class

The new partnership class of 2023-24 in Texas is big on litigation and trial lawyers, leans heavily toward Houston offices and is overwhelmingly male-dominated. Business law firms have voted 143 Texas lawyers into their partnerships during this partner promotion season — down slightly from the 146 the same firms boosted into their elite ranks a year ago, according to data collected by The Texas Lawbook. Fifty-two law firms have announced their new partnership classes during this cycle. Half of the 52 firms promoted more attorneys than they did last year, while 17 firms named fewer new partners and nine named exactly the same number as a year ago. The Lawbook has the details.

Akin, V&E Lead Nearly $1B Deal Between 7-Eleven, Sunoco

7-Eleven Inc. has agreed to purchase 204 stores hat include the Stripes and Laredo Taco Company brands from Sunoco LP.

With locations primarily in New Mexico, Oklahoma and West Texas, the stores will join 7-Eleven’s more than 13,000-store portfolio. The purchase, valued at a reported $950 million, is the latest expansion for the convenience store giant.

Akin, led by Thomas Yang and Ashton Barrineau Butcher, advised 7-Eleven on the deal, while Vinson & Elkins team, steered by Lande Spottswood and Yong Eoh, advised Dallas-based master limited partnership Sunoco.

SCOTX Rejects Justice’s Request to Remove Opponent, Justice Devine, From Ballot

The Texas Supreme Court appeared displeased with the timing of Second Court of Appeals Justice Brian Walker’s challenge to his opponent’s ability to appear on the March primary ballot. Justice Walker is running against incumbent Justice John Devine. In a ruling issued Thursday, the Texas Supreme Court denied mandamus relief, holding that even if Justice Walker promptly brought his challenge, the law requires Justice Devine be given an opportunity to cure any deficiencies in his application. “A timely challenge would advance rather than impede ballot access because it would alert all parties to any deficiencies and enable a candidate to correct them if he could,” the court wrote. “But when a party slumbers on his rights — or, indeed, does not slumber but carefully lies in wait — these principles are not advanced but impaired.”

© Copyright 2026 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.