Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
For more than three years, The Texas Lawbook‘s readers have enjoyed the benefits of having the only full-time journalist who covers pro bono, public service and diversity in Texas.
The position is funded entirely by donations made to the Texas Lawbook Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
But those tax-deductible donations have declined significantly as pro bono, public service and diversity initiatives have become politically unpopular.
Two new federal judges with connections to The Valley will be taking the bench in Texas soon, after the Senate Judiciary Committee gave approval to President Donald Trump’s nominees for the roles in the Southern District of Texas.
In this edition of Asked & Answered, FBFK’s Solomon Wisenberg talks about how he got involved in the Whitewater-Lewinsky investigation and what trends he is seeing in his white collar criminal defense practice. While the Texan has spent the majority of his career in Washington, D.C., he returned home to the Lone Star state a few years ago and joined FBFK in December.
The explosion not only devastated a Texas community, it initiated a reevaluation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Management Program. As of 2026, the RMP is entering its fourth major rulemaking cycle since the explosion in West.
The Texas Lawbook asked 18 corporate in-house counsel at businesses ranging from LyondellBasell, Energy Transfer and ExxonMobil to PepsiCo, Houston Methodist and Fertitta Entertainment for their experiences so far with AI.
Bill Nelson has joined Latham & Watkins in Houston after seven and a half years at A&O Shearman, including more than two years as the managing partner in the firm’s Houston office.
An error in the jury charge means Union Pacific Railroad Company will be getting a new trial in a lawsuit brought by a woman who drunkenly fell asleep on the tracks in a seated position and sued the company for her injuries.
A little less than two years after joining Winston, Kevin Brophy and Ming Lei are on the move again; this time to Bracewell as partners in the oil and gas transactions group in Houston.
SpaceX announced on June 16 in a social media post that it exercised an option to acquire Cursor in an all-stock transaction valued at $60 billion, with Gibson Dunn and Kirkland advising.
SpaceX plans to fold Cursor into its X67 Inc. unit. The deal was first announced in April, when SpaceX said it would “pay $10 billion for our work together” if it didn’t exercise the option.
Olin Corp. and Huntsman Corp. announced June 16 that they have merged in an all-stock deal that creates a chemicals company with more than $12 billion in annual sales.
Kirkland, Cravath and Sidley advised on the transaction.
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