The deans at Texas law schools are declining to take a stand regarding allegations that the U.S. News law school rankings system is biased, flawed and hurting the future of the legal profession. Law deans at Yale, Harvard, California-Berkeley, Georgetown, Stanford and Columbia have quit participating in the rankings. Leaders at all but one of the 10 law schools in Texas declined to comment to The Texas Lawbook.
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GOP Missive to ESG Practitioners: Real Threat or Political Theater?
Whatever its purpose or intent, a letter from five GOP senators to 51 lawyers involved in ESG transactions at their firms was mystifying to those who would talk about it. Sent five days in advance of the recent mid-term elections, the threatening tone of the letters was in keeping with a series of attempts to curb, through their lawyers, corporate support for environmental mandates, energy transition investments and changes in corporate governance — despite increasingly vocal and influential investor demand.
P.S. — Holiday Giving Begins
Holiday giving is already ubiquitous across the Texas legal community. A few ways lawyers are giving back are through turkey meal deliveries, food drives and suit donations. All in this week’s P.S. column.
Houston Chronicle: Federal Judge Prevents League of Women Voters from Naturalization Ceremony
U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge kept the nonpartisan voting rights group from attending Wednesday’s ceremony at the M.O. Campbell Center, departing from decades of tradition that historically allows new citizens to register to vote right away in a simple and easy manner.
Governor’s Justice Appointments in Volkswagen, Audi Case Stand
The German car manufacturers had argued that Gov. Greg Abbott shouldn’t be allowed to hand-pick two justices from lower courts to replace the two Texas Supreme Court justices who recused themselves from deciding the lawsuit Texas is bringing against them.
Q&A with Bell Nunnally IP Partner Roxanne Edwards
Edwards, who joined Bell Nunnally during the pandemic, visited with The Lawbook about the favorite aspects of her work and emerging and persistent intellectual property challenges, such as social media, international expansion and protecting client brands on online marketplaces.
Publisher’s Note: This Q&A is a a premium subscriber thought leadership piece.
Diamondback Grabs Midland Basin Properties from Lario Oil for $1.4B
Kirkland advised the buyer and V&E the seller in what is proving to be a dramatic pickup in second-half oil and gas deals.
Check That Off My Bucket List: SMU Dedman Law Alumni at SCOTUS
Eleven SMU Dedman School of Law alumni and the school’s new dean were sworn in before the nation’s high court in a live ceremony before all nine justices this month. The group also heard oral arguments in two related administrative law cases.
“It was like being on the 50-yard line at the Super Bowl. But better,” Amy Osteen, a 2000 graduate of the law school, said.
Dallas Jury Rules for Defendants in Wrongful Death Suit by Family of Electrocuted Worker
On their second day of deliberation, jurors in the court of state District Judge Monica McCoy Purdy awarded damages of $3.94 million to the family of electrician Gabriel Vela, who was killed in 2019 while working at a West Texas midstream energy plant. However, because the jury found Vela 51 percent responsible for his death, the defendants will not be liable. Bruce Tomaso reports.
CDT Roundup: 13 Deals, 9 Firms, 81 Lawyers, $14.8B
So much attention has been given to energy and energy transition that it would be easy to overlook other business sectors that make up the Texas M&A market. Take the healthcare sector, for instance. Healthcare has become a new favorite among PE investors, according to PitchBook. This week’s Roundup looks at a few of the reasons for that, as well as healthcare stats for Texas. All that, and the usual roster of lawyers involved in last week’s Texas-related transactions.