Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Themes of self-determination, grit, speaking truth, and building self-esteem are prominent in my favorite reads, which starts with a landmark autobiography and ends with a children’s book.
Publisher’s note: The Texas Lawbook is pleased to offer this new column in partnership with Texas-based Half Price Books sharing our readers’ favorite reads.
Tariffs and trade obligations are quickly becoming a key area for government investigations and enforcement actions. In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced settlements totaling over $24 million for alleged customs fraud, including one in the Northern District of Texas. The DOJ’s heightened focus on tariff evasion and trade cases suggests that enforcement actions will reach broadly into the supply chain. Companies and executives should take heed of the various penalties.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a Dallas-based lender can’t escape a $6.7 million judgment, and a man injured on the job asks the Texas Supreme Court to reinstate his $15.4 million win against CenterPoint Energy.
Longtime appellate practitioner joins Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Austin office to lead the firm’s state appellate practice. Ryan Clinton brings experience from the Texas Attorney General’s Office and private practice.
Latham, V&E and Akin advised on the deal which will see Diamondback and Kinetik Energy exit their ownership stake in the strategic 800-mile crude oil pipeline.
Dallas private equity veteran Nate Christensen has rejoined Weil as a partner, strengthening the firm’s dealmaking expertise in sectors including energy, infrastructure and real estate. With over 20 years of experience, Christensen is the 15th partner nationwide to return to Weil since early 2023, following his roles at Norton Rose Fulbright, Foley & Lardner, HN Capital Partners and Hunt Consolidated. The arrival follows other strategic lateral hires in Texas for the firm and Christensen chatted with The Texas Lawbook about the move, the market and more.
The week ending Aug. 30 saw 10 deals with a reported value of $6.6 billion. That’s a significant drop from the prior week’s 23 deals for $15.2 billion. We could write that off as a holiday week problem, but last year at this time, we saw 13 deals for $20.6 billion. The week began strong enough with the announcement of a $3.1 billion acquisition in the Permian and AT&T’s $23 billion licensing agreement with EchoStar, but M&A simply dwindled over the rest of the week. That and more in this week’s CDT Roundup.
Skadden’s Houston M&A group recently welcomed veteran oil and gas partners Emery Choi and Mingda Zhao, reuniting them with prominent Texas dealmaker Steve Gill. Together, Choi and Zhao bring years of experience steering energy sector clients through high-stakes M&A, joint ventures and cross-border investments. Their record includes leading transactions such as billion-dollar-plus deals for Continental Resources, Marathon Oil and Occidental Petroleum. The duo recently shared with The Texas Lawbook their insights on today’s energy M&A landscape, shifting capital trends and the evolving deal dynamics shaping the current market.
Saying she “never thought about going anywhere else,” recently retired U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn confirmed Friday that she is joining the law firm founded three decades ago by her husband, Mike Lynn. She will join Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann as a partner. Judge Lynn’s practice will focus on mediation, trial consultancy on complex business cases and internal corporate investigations. Her hourly rate will be $2,500.
Barbara M.G. Lynn, the recently retired judge for the Northern District of Texas, has been appointed as mediator in an insurance dispute involving the Boy Scouts of America that the presiding judge in the matter called “the mother of all coverage cases.”
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