The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

More Stories

P.S. — Barnes & Thornburg Foundation Awards $50K Grant to Dallas-Area Nonprofit

In this packed edition of P.S., we highlight the charitable giving of the Barnes & Thornburg Foundation, collectively funded by firm lawyers and staff. Each year, five firm offices are selected to direct grants to charities in their local communities. The Dallas office was chosen this year, and it awarded a $50,000 grant to Project XVI, a Dallas-area nonprofit helping children identified as belonging to at-risk communities. Their work addresses problems that most people would drive by, said Barnes & Thornburg Dallas managing partner Thomas Haskins. Read on for more about what drew the firm to Project XVI. 

Also in P.S., we report on fundraising efforts to endow a scholarship in memory of the 8-year-old twin daughters of attorneys John and Lacy Lawrence who were lost in last summer’s Hill Country floods. 

Plus, Dallas was the site of the 47th Annual Texas High School Mock Trial Competition, Houston prepares to host Law Rocks and more.

Jackson Walker, U.S. Trustee Reach Agreement Resolving Objections to Bankruptcy Fee Settlements

Since about 5 p.m. Tuesday — Day 1 of a three-day hearing on approval of nine settlements with former bankruptcy clients totaling roughly $4 million — Jackson Walker’s counsel and the U.S. Trustee had been working, at the judge’s direction, on reaching a compromise on the settlement language. 

At the heart of the matter was the effect and scope of the language in the settlement agreements.

Fort Worth Biz Litigation Partner Laterals to Bonds Ellis

David Garza, a business litigation partner, has joined Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones LLP in Fort Worth from Winstead. He will focus his practice on complex commercial disputes, fiduciary duty litigation and high-stakes contract matters, according to a news release.

Remembering Judge E. Grady Jolly — ‘A Fifth Circuit Original’

Judge E. Grady Jolly, who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for 43 years, died Monday. He was 88.

Former Fifth Circuit Judge Gregg Costa wrote in a LinkedIn post that Judge Jolly had a “razor-sharp wit, was a world-class raconteur, and brought uncommon wisdom and judgment to deciding cases.

“Judge Jolly cared about the law and his views as much as anyone on the court. But after arguing his position with aplomb, he would walk out of the conference with his arm draped around the colleague with whom he had just disagreed, telling jokes on his way to toasting the colleague with a cocktail. We need more of that good spiritedness these days.”

My Five Favorite Books: Allison Cook (Partner at Reese Marketos)

When I started practicing law, reading for pleasure took on another hurdle: I was intellectually intimidated. I assumed all lawyers were reading the likes of Kafka, Proust, and Tolstoy for fun. And after spending my days reading case law and briefs, the last thing I wanted to do was crack open Anna Karenina. So I simply didn’t read anything.

Now I confidently crack open yet another Frieda McFadden thriller next to my insanely intellectually curious husband, who is reading yet another Dostoevsky book. Ten years ago, that might have made me self-conscious. Now it just makes me laugh.

Judge Rejects $950M Punitive Damages Award Against J&J

A California judge has rejected a jury’s $950 million award of punitive damages against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. The jury awarded $16 million in compensatory damages in October 2025.

This is just one of many cases Dallas-based Dean Omar Branham Shirley is involved with against J&J at the moment.

© 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.