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P.S. — Toyota and Baker Botts Bring Legal Aid — and Laughter — to Exploited Victims

For several weeks that a woman found refuge at Dallas’ New Friends New Life for formerly trafficked and sexually exploited victims, the staff hadn’t seen a small measure of her joy: laughter.

Finally, at a pro bono legal intake clinic with attorneys from Toyota North America and Baker Botts, staffers caught a glimmer of hope as they heard the woman laugh after receiving legal aid. It was a moment that resonated with the staff and the volunteer lawyers, said Scott Young, managing counsel of Toyota North America in Plano.

“That is more than just turning a page,” Young said. “That’s like freeing her from her limitations.”

March 14, 2025 Krista Torralva

Texas Transaction Trailblazers: Michael Piazza Led in Deals, Shamus Crosby in Dollars

Driven by a mix of private equity interest, family office investments and strategic consolidations across multiple sectors, dealmaking was strong in 2024, particularly in Texas, revealing resilience even as the year closed amid tightening credit and unexpected headwinds. Two lawyers stood out in that Texas M&A landscape, each making their mark in distinct ways: Gibson Dunn’s Michael Piazza and Simpson Thacher’s Shamus Crosby.

March 13, 2025 Nick Peck

Planning for Growth in a Contracting Economy

Without a doubt, all law firms will eventually be tested on their ability to survive a contracting economy. Not all firms will pass the test.

March 13, 2025 Charles Gillis

EDTX Chief Judge Mazzant Carves Up Sherman Docket, Four More Judges Take a Share

On the first day he became the new Chief Judge of the Eastern District of Texas, Amos Mazzant III issued an order that shook up the caseload assignments for the eight judges who serve in that district.
Here, we share Chief Judge Mazzant’s answers to a handful of questions The Lawbook posed to him regarding the new order.

March 13, 2025 Michelle Casady

Texas Legal Market Free Agency Continues with $5M to $13M Annual Comp Offers

The number of Texas law partners who moved their practice to a new firm during 2024 hit record highs and the trend seems to be continuing in 2025. And for a growing percentage of the lateral moves, this was their second or third jump in recent years. Texas Lawbook data shows that 20 percent more partners at business and litigation practices in Texas jumped to a competitor last year. Three law firms added 10 or more lateral partners in 2024. Twenty-two firms hired five or more lateral partners. Three law firms lost 10 or more partners to competitors in 2024. The Lawbook examines the data and the individual specific lateral moves for trends.

March 12, 2025 Mark Curriden & Christi Trammell

Corporate Deal Tracker: 2025 M&A Transactions

Below is a list of qualified M&A transactions reported to The Texas Lawbook for 2025. The list is organic, designed to grow as needed. So if you have deals that qualify or

March 11, 2025 Allen Pusey

Judge Awards Cardinal Midstream $51.9M in Pipeline Explosion Suit Against Energy Transfer

A judge in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, has determined that Cardinal Midstream is owed $51.9 million in damages from Energy Transfer in a lawsuit stemming from a 2018 gas pipeline explosion.

March 11, 2025 Michelle Casady

Texas’ Business Courts Are Proving Their Supporters Right

Texas’ new system of business courts came with the kind of “fear and trembling” that often accompanies change on such a grand, institutional scale. “What else are courts created for business supposed to do besides favor business,” many worried. But our new business courts have spent the last several months both dispelling those fears and proving why these courts are a smart investment — as much for the public as for litigants.

March 11, 2025 Joshua J. Bennett

Litigation Roundup: Travis County Gets a New Judge

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a team of Kirkland lawyers gets an early win for a client facing a whistleblower’s False Claims Act suit, a suit stemming from the romance scandal involving former judge David Jones gets trimmed and the Dallas appellate court declines to bring an early end to a barratry lawsuit against a personal injury law firm.

March 11, 2025 Michelle Casady

CDT Roundup: Texas Lawbook Expanding Coverage of Top Law Firms and Lawyers with Quarterly Deal Rankings

We’re expanding our popular CDT M&A rankings from twice a year to a new quarterly format. Beginning next month, our CDT rankings for law firms and lawyers (M&A and capital markets) will be published four times annually, offering Lawbook subscribers a more frequent and detailed look at the lawyers leading and advising on deals in the Lone Star State. Plus, the CDT Roundup looks at last week’s transactions.

March 10, 2025 Nick Peck & Allen Pusey