Citing the growing threat of the Covid-19 Delta variant among people who are unvaccinated, several law firms in Texas – Akin Gump, Haynes and Boone, Norton Rose Fulbright and Vinson & Elkins – have announced they are delaying the date when they will require lawyers and staff to return to the office and that employees working on-site must be vaccinated.
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Premium Subscriber Spotlight: Jackson Walker
Jackson Walker had a blockbuster year for bankruptcy work in 2020, much of which was led by Houston partner Matt Cavenaugh. But not all of the firm’s successes were tied to Covid-19 and its impact on clients. A team of litigators obtained the largest known recovery in a student speech case in the U.S. Plus, the firm established new partnerships with the Buried Alive Project and the Promise of Justice Initiative.
EDTX Enters Final Judgment in Trade Secrets Case, Awards ResMan $62M
Plano-based property management software company ResMan is fixing to have a lot of zeroes in its bank account, assuming its courtroom opponents don’t appeal a final judgment entered against them Thursday. Natalie Posgate explains.
Texas-based Firms’ Finances, Part 1: Some Optimism, Some Challenges
Don’t write the obituary for Texas-based corporate law firms just yet. There are fewer than a decade ago, but most are doing quite well financially. In fact, 10 scored record Texas revenues in 2020 despite the pandemic and economic slowdown. Even more of the Texas-based firms say they’re doing better in 2021 than last year. And all of them are hiring more lawyers to handle the increased legal work clients are sending them.
CDT Roundup: 17 Deals, 139 Lawyers, 12 Firms, $13.67B
There’s no shortage of capital for Texas GPs. It’s just a question of deployment when it comes to buyouts or growth equity these days for the state’s private players. And in this week’s Corporate Deal Tracker Roundup, Texas counsel took part in 17 deals that spanned a carveout, a SPAC IPO and a cross-border direct loan.
Chesapeake to Acquire Plano’s Vine Energy
Chesapeake Energy plans to snap up Blackstone-backed Vine as it looks to create the largest producer in the Haynesville Shale. Texas lawyers from Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis and Weil provided counsel on the $2.2 billion deal.
Frost Bank Names New GC
Frost Bank clearly has a thing for lawyers at Haynes and Boone. The Texas bank has named former Haynes and Boone litigator C.E. Rhodes, who also practiced at Akin Gump and Baker Hughes, to be its new general counsel and corporate secretary. The Texas Lawbook has details.
Joshua Russ: The Whistleblower
Joshua Russ is a former East Texas federal prosecutor who dared to investigate Walmart over its alleged role in the opioid crisis. Instead, he ended up fighting his own bosses. In a series of exclusive interviews with The Texas Lawbook, he speaks for the first time about his investigation into the world’s largest corporation, about facing allegations of unethical conduct brought against him by lawyers for the retail giant and about his decision to resign and file a formal whistleblower complaint against the federal agency he once dreamed of serving.
Premium Subscriber Spotlight: Akin Gump
Akin Gump identified Dallas corporate partner Tom Yang as having a truly standout year. Yang advised on more than 20 transactions for the year, including 7-Eleven’s $21 billion acquisition of Speedway, which was a finalist for M&A Deal of the Year at the 2020 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards. The firm, in a pro bono matter with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., also helped secure an injunction in federal district court in Texas against a racially discriminatory dress and grooming policy.
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC Taps Clark Hill Partners to Lead New Texas Outposts
The Dallas, San Antonio and Collin County openings mark the single largest geographic expansion in the firm’s 108-year history.