Christopher L. “Kit” Crumbley navigated unprecedented trials as an administrative judge on the U.S. Patent and Trial Appeal Board beginning in 2012, as the America Invents Act went into effect. He said he left the bench in pursuit of his “next challenge.”
More Stories
Lawyers, Guns and Money: An Occasional Series on Movies, TV and Other Stories about Lawyers and the Law
The Insider is not a movie about the law per se. Like most Michael Mann movies, it’s about men engaged in an operatic, high-stakes dance with each other and with their fates, coming together and splitting apart in a flurry of paradoxically macho sensitivity. It’s about the sacred bond between a journalist and his source, and the troubling divide between the noble work journalists do and the corporate interests of their employers. As such it’s one of the great journalism thrillers; there’s no heresy in mentioning The Insider in the same breath as All the President’s Men. But there is, in fact, a lot of law in The Insider, and a fair number of lawyers.
Four Texas GCs: ‘The Why for [DEI] is Especially Important’
Four Texas-based general counsel — Justin Johnson of Jacobs, Monica Karuturi of CenterPoint Energy, Aparna Dave of the Texas Dow Employees Credit Union and Clay Allen of the Houston Rockets — kicked off the 31st Annual Texas Minority Counsel Program conference discussing the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion to them personally and how it comes into strategic play at their organizations. The four GCs also talked about their preferences and dislikes about law firm business development efforts. Texas Lawbook pro bono, public service and diversity reporter Natalie Posgate is at the event and filed this report.
One Nation Under Insurance: The Insurance Industry’s Hold on Our Country, Our State, and Our Pocketbooks – Part 1
Insurance. It touches everything you do as a lawyer and suffuses the entire scope of human endeavor. Think for a moment how crucial insurance, in general, and the claim process, in particular, is to the smooth functioning of every Texas business. This article considers the insurance industry’s influence in fostering a flourishing commercial environment in Texas.
Receiver’s Request for Criminal Defense Lawyer’s File Draws NACDL, TCDLA Challenge
The subpoenaed criminal defense attorney, former federal prosecutor Richard Kuniansky, told The Lawbook the request from receiver Levi Benton, a former Harris County civil district judge, was “crazy,” and said if Benton is allowed access to the entire file it would have ramifications well beyond this case. The client, Ataa Shadi, was sued in civil court by duped investors who got a $3 million default judgment against him in 2020. He was indicted on related criminal fraud charges in May.
SCOTX to Decide if Thousands of Plaintiffs Can Sue Their Former Fen-Phen Lawyer
Houston lawyer George Fleming says Texas law should bring an end to the claims of thousands of his former clients by analyzing “privity,” or the existence of a legally binding relationship between them, under standards articulated both in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Taylor v. Sturgell and Section 40 of the Restatement of Judgments. SCOTX justices heard arguments Tuesday and had plenty of questions.
‘Think Like an In-House Lawyer’
Porter Hedges founder Bill Porter must have seen something special when he recruited Vanderbilt University second-year law student Joyce Soliman in 1996. Twenty-seven years later, the Houston-based, 125-attorney, full-service law firm has named Soliman, a corporate finance lawyer and the past chair of the Asian American Bar Association’s board of trustees, as its new co-managing partner.
CDT Roundup: 16 Deals, 13 Firms, 165 Lawyers, $6.8B
This week’s transactions include two take-private deals. According to studies by Bloomberg and White & Case, turmoil across the equity capital markets is making such deals attractive, with more companies being taken private so far this year than traditional public offerings. In the 18 months from January 2022 through June 2023, there were 47 P2P transactions in the U.S. versus 39 IPOs. And the P2P pace for 2023 may be even quicker. Claire Poole has the specifics, along with the usual roundup of deals and dealmakers for the week.
Litigation Roundup: Ernst & Young Beats Fraud Claims, Sandy Hook Families Prevail in Alex Jones Bankruptcy
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a massage company pays $1 million to end the sex assault claims lodged by two female customers, a lawsuit between the parent company of Ace Cash Express and a former business partner seeks as much as nine-figure damages, and American Airlines wins an appeal in a discrimination lawsuit venue fight.
Texas Attorneys for Chevron Co-Lead on $60B Acquisition of Hess
A pair of in-house attorneys for Chevron in Texas is co-leading on the company’s purchase of New York-based Hess Corp. for $60 billion, including debt. Paul Weiss is serving as outside counsel to Chevron, while Wachtell Lipton advised Hess.