Memories of muted microphones, strange filters and unprecedented courtroom access are recalled during a recent Open Government Seminar at the state bar’s annual convention. A panel discussion on post-pandemic court proceedings found some glitches but also much to like about remote and hybrid hearings.
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Litigation Roundup: SCOTX Rules on Plant Explosion MDL, SCOTUS Clarifies Scope of RICO
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Texas Supreme Court sides with an attorney who got zero compensation for his shares when he and his old firm parted ways, McKool Smith secures a unanimous $4 million jury verdict for a software company client and Baker McKenzie notches a SCOTUS win.
Vista Sells Apptio to IBM for $4.6B
Kirkland & Ellis advised Vista, which also used the firm when Apptio bought Cloudwiry and when Vista acquired Apptio itself.
Texas Legacy Firms Finding Footing at Home
With a 16 percent jump in 2022 revenues, Jackson Walker is leading a resurgence of Texas-based firms that are growing revenues and increasing profits in their Texas operations. Fifteen of the 50 corporate law firms in the Texas Lawbook 50 are headquartered in Texas — down from 39 a decade ago. Those 15 Texas legacy firms generated $5.83 billion in 2022 — $3.37 billion from their Texas operations.
Twelve of the 15 Texas-headquartered firms grew revenues in 2022. Four firms increased year-over-year Texas revenues by more than 10 percent. Five additional Texas legacy firms reported annual revenue increases in their Texas offices by five percent or more. More than 42 percent of the revenue generated by Texas legacy firms came from their out-of-state operations. The Texas Lawbook has a full analysis.
Q&A With the State Bar of Texas President-Elect
Bracewell partner W. Stephen Benesh was sworn in as president-elect of the State Bar of Texas June 22 during the annual meeting in Austin. He answered questions from The Lawbook about why he wanted to take a leadership role and what his goals are.
Texas Supreme Court: ERCOT is Government Agency, Has Sovereign Immunity
A sharply divided Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is a government agency and is entitled to sovereign immunity from civil lawsuits. In a highly anticipated decision, the state’s highest court for civil litigation ruled that “because ERCOT performs a ‘uniquely governmental’ function as part of a ‘larger governmental system’, it is an organ of government.”
The decision to declare ERCOT a state agency and grant it immunity directly impacts thousands of wrongful death, personal injury and property damage lawsuits brought by victims of Winter Storm Uri and currently pending in a multidistrict litigation in Harris County District Court. ERCOT is a defendant in nearly all of those cases.
Houston Chronicle: Texas Senate Sets Rules for Paxton Impeachment Trial
The order was part of a package of nearly three dozen rules the chamber laid out for the proceeding after hours of closed-door discussions. Under the agreed framework, the now-suspended attorney general will be required to appear in person when the trial begins on Sept. 5.
SB 833 Protects Fossil Fuels from ESG Insurance Discrimination — But It May Not, Attorneys Say
The bill would prohibit an insurer from using a score based on environmental, social or governance characteristics — commonly referred to as ESG — to charge a rate different than the rate charged to another business in the same class for essentially the same hazard. But its success depends on whether there’s a problem to begin with. And some Texas insurance practitioners think that really isn’t the case.
History of the Heavyweights
The Lawbook has pulled together some highlights of past battles won, lost and settled between the four Houston lawyers leading the prosecution and defense in Ken Paxton’s Senate impeachment trial. Dick DeGuerin, Rusty Hardin, Dan Cogdell and Tony Buzbee have all handled blockbuster trials in their legal careers, but here we explore instances where they were involved in the same case.
History of Impeachment in Texas: Senate Vote Vanquished a Governor and an Heir to a South Texas Dynasty
In the years since Reconstruction, the Texas House of Representatives has impeached five officials. Two were convicted by the Texas Senate. The most recent was a state district judge 48 years ago. Two were acquitted, in 1893 and 1931, respectively. And now Attorney General Ken Paxton awaits his Senate trial. If convicted, he would be just the third Texas elected official removed from office by impeachment. Texas Lawbook writer Bruce Tomaso looks back to those past impeachments and what insights they might provide.