Nicki Gersch was part of the Comerica legal team that won the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for M&A Transaction of the Year related to the bank’s $10.9 billion merger with Fifth Third Bank. In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, she discusses the traits she seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with her and more.
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Premium Subscriber Q&A: Comerica Division General Counsel Steve Franklin
Steve Franklin was part of the Comerica legal team that won the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for M&A Transaction of the Year related to the bank’s $10.9 billion merger with Fifth Third Bank. In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, he discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with him and more.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Comerica Deputy GC General Counsel Ashley Fincher
Ashley Fincher was part of the Comerica legal team that won the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for M&A Transaction of the Year related to the bank’s $10.9 billion merger with Fifth Third Bank. In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, she discusses the traits she seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with her and more.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Von Hays
In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, Von Hays discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with him and more.
CDT Roundup: Cold Front, Hot Government Capital
For the wintry week ended Jan. 31, the CDT Roundup saw 11 deals reported with a total value of nearly $4 billion — and the bulk of that was, in essence, a preferred equity funding deal involving the federal government.
A week earlier, eight deals were reported with only three disclosed values totaling a little more than $1.3 billion. This time last year there were 16 deals worth a little more than $10 billion that passed across our desk. That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
P.S. — Texas Native Named Dean of Yale Law School
In this edition of P.S., we report that San Antonio native Cristina M. Rodríguez is set to make history as the first Latina to lead Yale Law School when she assumes the deanship on Feb. 1. Also, the San Antonio Legal Services Association has announced that Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby will serve as the keynote speaker at its premier fundraising event in April. And retired U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn, a trailblazer and mentor to many, will be honored with the Charles O. Galvin Award for Extraordinary Service as part of SMU Dedman School of Law’s 2026 Distinguished Alumni Awards.
Smith, Gambrell & Russell Expands Texas Reach with New Addition
International law firm Smith, Gambrell & Russell added Mitch Ackal on Monday and hopes to grow an office in the Houston market. Before joining SGR, Ackal spent two decades at Gray Reed.
Legal Aid Feels ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’ After Latest Funding Loss
A 3.6 percent funding cut approved by the U.S. Senate for the Legal Services Corporation — the federal nonprofit that funds legal aid organizations nationwide — will result in an estimated $1.9 million loss for Texas, marking yet another setback for legal aid providers after a year of repeated funding reductions, advocates said.
“It’s been death by a thousand cuts,” said Betty Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, which also supports the state’s three major organizations: Lone Star Legal Aid, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. Advocates remain grateful that funding continues for LSC, which had been on the chopping block after President Donald Trump proposed eliminating it entirely.
Former SEC Chief Trial Lawyer Takes Practice to Vartabedian
Prominent white-collar defense and corporate securities lawyer Toby Galloway has joined Vartabedian Hester & Haynes, a 35-lawyer Fort Worth boutique that has witnessed significant growth since it was founded two years ago.
The Texas Lawbook interviewed Galloway about the move to VHH.
Baker Botts Secures a Win for Solaris in Patent Challenge
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruled that all claims of Masaba’s patent for sand-handling equipment are unpatentable as obvious over combinations of prior art references. Masaba accused Solaris Oilfield Services Operating of infringing on the patent in a 2023 lawsuit before the Wyoming District Court.