Bankruptcy trustee James E. Cross alleges Dallas-area home flipper Skyler Aaron Cook, who has filed for bankruptcy in Arizona, defrauded investors out of at least $3 million in a scheme aided by Valliance Bank. The bank and its former executive vice president have denied the allegations.
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DBJ: Why You Should Expect Bank M&A Activity to Pick Up Next Year
Though 2022 has been a relatively slow year for bank deals across the U.S. after a record-breaking amount of activity the year prior, a possible recession could create an environment ripe for mergers and acquisitions. Veteran bank deal lawyer Sandy Brown of Alston & Bird talked with the Dallas Business Journal about what 2023 might bring.
Top Commercial Litigation in 2022
As restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic were rolled back in 2022, courts across the state went to work adjudicating long-delayed cases. Here, in no particular order, The Texas Lawbook looks back on some of the most significant litigation Texas lawyers handled in 2022.
2022 DFW Finalists Announced for Senior Counsel of the Year, Rookie of the Year
In-house counsel at American Airlines, City Electric Supply, Forney Corporation, MB2 Dental and OpTic Gaming are finalists to be honored for the 2022 Dallas Fort Worth Corporate Counsel Awards. Each year, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter and The Texas Lawbook recognize about two-dozen corporate in-house counsel for the extraordinary legal work and leadership they demonstrated during the previous year.
Remembering Fort Worth Federal Judge John McBryde
Senior U.S. District Judge John McBryde of Fort Worth was old school and hardcore, viewed as the epitome of a federal judge and always regarded as the lord of his courtroom. Criminal defense lawyers compared him to the hanging judges of the Wild West because of the lengthy prison sentences. But other lawyers and judges say he was a fierce protector of the rule of law and the right to trial by jury. Judge McBryde, appointed to the federal bench in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, died Sunday. He was 91.
‘All People Have Significance’
On the first page of the opening chapter in my book Contempt of Court: A Turn of the Century Lynching That Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism, there is this single sentence: “Ed Johnson was not a significant man, except in the sense that all people have significance.”
Johnson was a Black man who couldn’t read or write, worked two jobs to survive in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1906 who was falsely arrested for a rape he did not commit, railroaded through the criminal justice system and sentence to death – all in three weeks.
The Texas Lawbook this year created a full-time writer position to do nothing but cover pro bono and public service by lawyers in Texas. Natalie Posgate writes about corporate lawyers tackling big issues for military veterans, the homeless and those trapped in sex trafficking. She also writes about how a Texas lawyer can in just four hours dramatically change a single mom’s life for the better.
Natalie Posgate’s columns show lawyers that “all people have significance.”
2023 Partner Promotions
P.S. — Legal Aid Grants in TX, Happy Holidays, Causes ‘For the Kids’
This week’s P.S. highlights one Houston lawyers organization’s Adopt-an-Angel program, grant money awarded to two Texas legal aid organizations and a firm celebrating an exciting pro bono milestone.
Steeped in Conflict, Insurance Bar Works Together to Navigate Evolving Legal Landscape
In sheer numbers, insurance coverage disputes arguably generate more litigation than any other. The American College of Coverage Counsel recently held its annual Insurance Law Symposium at SMU in Dallas to share best practices and explore cutting-edge and emerging issues. Practitioners also addressed two cases on this year’s Texas Supreme Court docket.
ACC-DFW, Texas Lawbook Announce PepsiCo Foods, Pioneer Natural Resources, Tuesday Morning Legal Departments to be Honored
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced Thursday the second group of finalists for the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards. On the final Thursday of each January, ACC DFW and The Lawbook honor corporate in-house counsel who faced extraordinary challenges during the prior year and achieved tremendous successes on behalf of their clients and the legal profession. Today, we announce the finalists for DFW Senior Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department, DFW GC of the Year for a Small Legal Department, and the DFW Pro Bono and Public Service Award.