In this week’s edition of P.S., a Houston litigator joins the board of managers of the Houston Independent School District and Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law and its DEI office wrap up a weeklong program that exposes high school students to the law school experience.
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Gibson Dunn, Weil Lead Serta Simmons and Lenders to Bankruptcy Court Victory in SDTX
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones of Houston has approved the billion-dollar bankruptcy reorganization of mattress giant Serta Simmons, which also meant a monumental victory for a handful of investors in distressed debt and a huge legal defeat for some Wall Street leaders. The debt restructuring plan approved by Judge Jones cuts Georgia-based Serta Simmons’ secured debt from $1.9 billion to $315 million. In doing so, the judge coined a new term – position enhancement transaction or PET – that you need to learn.
The five-day trial was led for the Serta Simmons lenders by new Gibson Dunn partner Gregg Costa. This was Costa’s first trial since retiring from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and his first-ever trial in bankruptcy court.
Two Houston Heavyweights Representing Ken Paxton Call Impeachment ‘Baloney’ and ‘Tomfoolery’
At an Austin news conference, lawyers Tony Buzbee and Dan Cogdell promise a protracted fight to acquit the beleaguered attorney general. They also poked fun at the lead impeachment prosecutors, Rusty Hardin and Dick DeGuerin, saying the pair were introduced earlier by the Texas House “like they were the homecoming king and queen.”
Texas Lawyers Play Key Role in PGA, LIV Litigation That Led to Merger
Gibson Dunn retired partner Rob Walters and Quinn Emanuel partner John Bash in Austin played key roles on the teams behind the antitrust litigation between the two rival tours. Mark Curriden has the names and details.
CDT Roundup: 12 Deals, 12 Firms, 138 Lawyers, $6.1B
PureWest was sold last week for $1.84 billion to an unusual consortium of family offices and financial institutions. But you knew that because we wrote about the 67 lawyers at four different firms that worked on it. But PureWest has an interesting history that winds from Wyoming to Appalachia through a couple of bankruptcies and a couple of different names. The CDT Roundup recounts that history, along with a list of the lawyers and firms who reported their deals last week.
Litigation Roundup: SCOTX Takes Honda’s $25.9M Seatbelt Injury Appeal, Houston Firm Gets $9.8M Win in Mississippi
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a Houston firm gets a $9.8 million verdict in a workplace fatality case while the Texas Supreme Court agrees to decide both if a libel suit brought against a newspaper by a prosecutor should be tossed and if a $25.9 million product liability jury verdict against Honda can stand.
Clifford Chance Officially Hangs Shingle in Houston
The Texas Lawbook exclusively reported on Friday that Jonathan Castelan joined the Magic Circle firm from Latham & Watkins’ Houston office. Trevor Lavelle, a partner at Latham, will also be accompanying him.
P.S. — Death Row Removal, Melsheimer’s Fellowship, Debt Collection Jargon Simplified
In this week’s edition of P.S., Texas Access for Justice resumes in-person legal clinics for veterans with multiple June clinic dates, Winston & Strawn’s Tom Melsheimer starts a civil and human rights-related fellowship at Notre Dame, Texas Appleseed launches an effort to make debt collection lawsuits easier for consumer defendants to understand (and participate in their own proceedings), and Kirkland & Ellis scores a pro bono win for a death row inmate in Houston. Natalie Posgate details the latest in the world of public service.
Clifford Chance Lands Castelan
The energy M&A/infrastructure attorney worked on several deals for Latham, including counseling ExxonMobil and Chevron on projects.
Dick Sayles’ Fourth and Final Act: Master of the Courtroom
Dick Sayles announced Friday that he has departed Bradley Arant to start The Sayles Law Firm with a unique business strategy: He is not seeking any new clients. He is hiring no additional lawyers. And his business plan calls for no future growth or expansion. Instead, Sayles, who has taken more than 150 complex commercial litigation disputes to trial, plans to use his independent status to work with lawyers at other firms, including Bradley Arant, who are involved in high-stakes courtroom battles. The Texas Lawbook has an exclusive interview.