M&A in 2022 was down by a lot, especially in deal value. Post-pandemic 2021 was a record year, so some decline was more than possible. But according to Refinitiv, the 37 percent global decline in deal values from 2021 was, in fact, the worst year-over-year drop in value since 2001. This week’s CDT Roundup observes a few other ways in which 2022 stood out, as well as the names of 167 lawyers who helped forge the first deals of 2023.
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Law Firm Lobby Shops Offer Clients One-Stop Shopping
With fewer large Texas law firms retaining lobby practice groups, those that remain are busier than ever as the 2023 legislative session promises key decisions on tax and regulatory issues for a wide range of corporate clients. The Texas Lawbook talks with three veteran lobbyists working to pass, change and kill legislation.
ERCOT to Texas Supremes: ‘Quite Literally, Chaos Will Follow’
If the Texas Legislature wanted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to be immune from civil lawsuits, it would have passed laws stating so, lawyers representing two large energy companies told the Texas Supreme Court during oral arguments Monday. The justices clearly understood the full stakes of the decision before them.
“Are you arguing that ERCOT is too big to fail?” Justice Boyd asked.
“In essence, yes,” former Texas Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, representing ERCOT, answered.
Litigation Roundup: Dallas Owes Developer $850K, Exxon Challenges ‘Windfall Tax’
In the first edition of Litigation Roundup in 2023, the City of Dallas has to pay up in a real estate dispute, Exxon Mobil sets its sights on undoing a “windfall tax” the European Union has imposed on energy companies and the Fifth Circuit revives an excessive force case against a cop who punched a man at Hobby Airport.
Fifth Circuit: Bankruptcy Court Cannot Decide Validity of ERCOT, PUC Pricing During Winter Storm Uri
Just Energy, a Canadian-owned power retailer operating in Texas, must go through state administrative proceedings and state court in Travis County – not federal bankruptcy court – to challenge the record-high rates that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas charged power companies during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday.
P.S. — 5Ks, Housebuilding & Fair Debt Collection
A grant that will help consumer debt defendants in Texas. A 5K that helps women struggling with substance abuse. A new board appointment for the Austin Habitat for Humanity. A major Texas corporation recognizes a law firm for it diversity efforts. All in this week’s P.S. Firms featured this week include Gibson Dunn and Winstead.
CDT Roundup: 16 Deals, 11 Firms, 113 Lawyers, $3.3B
In dealmaking 2022 was no 2021. Still, the CDT Roundup reported a total of 778 deals during the 52 weeks just ended, and we can show you how the CDT Roundup’s year stacked up against last year’s record-smasher — not to mention the names of those Texas lawyers who worked before and during the holidays.
Fight Over Noneconomic Damages Cap Teed Up for Texas Supreme Court
If a trucking company gets its way at the Texas Supreme Court, the grief of rich plaintiffs will be worth more in wrongful death damages than the grief of poorer plaintiffs, numerous law professors and a trial attorney interest group argue.
Trustmark Bank Settles Stanford Ponzi Scheme Lawsuit for $100M
One of five banks facing a multibillion-dollar fraud trial next month in Houston for providing financial services to Ponzi scheme perpetrator R. Allen Stanford and his investment firm has agreed to settle its part of the case for $100 million. Mississippi-based Trustmark Corporation, the parent of Trustmark National Bank, agreed late New Year’s Eve to pay the $100 million instead of facing a federal jury alongside four other banks accused of “aiding, abetting and participating in the fraudulent scheme” perpetrated by Stanford and his associates.
Texas Law Firms Predict 2022 Revenues, Profits Will Hit Record Highs
Boosted by a huge burst in complex commercial litigation in 2022, many of the largest corporate law firms operating in Texas predict they scored another record year of revenues and profits, according to a new survey of law firm leaders by The Texas Lawbook.
The new survey, which also looks at revenues from firms’ 2022 litigation and M&A practices in Texas, builds on other recent evidence of the successful year for corporate law firms in 2022, including rates of promotion to partner and year-end bonuses for associates. In addition, several law firm leaders openly declare their firms experienced record revenues and profits in 2022.
The Texas Lawbook has exclusive details.