The Texas litigation powerhouse Susman Godfrey said Thursday morning that it will fight President Donald Trump’s executive order signed Wednesday that accuses the Houston-based law firm of “egregious conduct and conflicts of interest” and representing “clients that engage in conduct undermining critical American interests and priorities.” The president’s EO came the same day that a Delaware judge gave lawyers for Susman Godfrey and their client, Dominion Voting Systems, a huge court victory against Newsmax Media in a multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuit related to the 2020 presidential election. Last week, Susman Godfrey joined an amicus brief that accuses President Trump of illegally using executive orders to punish law firms who represent clients or causes that he opposes.
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Business Court Update
It may be that no American court outside the United States Supreme Court has been more talked about over the last year than the Texas Business Court. The court opened its doors for business on Sept. 1, 2024, and received its first filing at 12:03 in the morning that same day. Since then, it has been off to a roaring start. As of this writing, more than 105 cases have been filed in the court, of which more than 75 are actively pending.
Justice Jeff Boyd to Retire
Justice Boyd issued a statement that he’ll be leaving the bench “near the end” of the court’s term this summer. “I am honored and blessed to have served on the Texas Supreme Court these past 12 years,” he said. “I’m especially grateful to gov. Rick Perry for appointing me to the court in 2012, to the many Texans who have encouraged, supported, and voted for me though two statewide elections, to my many court and campaign colleagues and coworkers for their friendship and inspiration, and to my wife Jackie and our children for reminding me daily of life’s most important blessings.”
2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards Finalists Unveiled
Energy and infrastructure dominated a significant portion of the corporate legal work of Texas lawyers in 2024. Calpine, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Energy Transfer, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Phillips 66, Shell and Weatherford International all played integral roles. So, it should not be a surprise that corporate in-house counsel for these companies are among the finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards, which recognizes the legal and business successes achieved by lawyers employed by these iconic companies.
Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center Reaches Major Milestone
For the first time this week, the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center has lawyers stationed at each of the county’s 10 eviction courts. They will be available to help tenants every day there’s an eviction docket. The center, founded by Holland & Knight partner Mark Melton, reached this goal at a time when the Texas Legislature is considering bills that would scale back due process and judicial oversight for evictions.
In a First, Texas A&M School of Law Cracks U.S. News Top 25
The school’s No. 22 ranking, four spots up from a year ago, places it behind only the University of Texas at Austin School of Law among the state’s law schools. Chancellor John Sharp of the Texas A&M University System says the school is headed for the top 10.
Q&A with Trial Lawyer Jeffrey B. Simon
“There is no right that is so entrenched in the American experience that someone can’t take it away,” trial lawyer Jeffrey B. Simon told The Texas Lawbook about writing his book, Last Rights: The Fight to Save the 7th Amendment. Simon, who co-leads the state’s opioid multidistrict litigation, shared why he wrote his book and how it’s a collection of thoughts and ideas developed over a career spanning more than three decades.
Jackson Walker Reaches Another Bankruptcy Fee Settlement
In paperwork filed with the court Monday, the chief restructuring officer for 4E Brands North America told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Lopez that the Dallas-based law firm has agreed to pay back $617,000 of what it was awarded for work on the bankruptcy case.
O’Melveny, Texas-based First Liberty Institute Win Preliminary Injunction For Church in California
A federal judge in the Central District of California handed a win Monday to a Chinese- and Taiwanese-American church in Santa Ana that is represented by a pro bono team of lawyers from O’Melveny & Myers and Plano-based First Liberty Institute.
Litigation Roundup: SCOTX Gets Fifth Circuit Homework
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Fifth Circuit sends a certified question about judges refusing to perform same-sex marriages to the Texas Supreme Court, Tesla hires Jackson Walker to defend against a workplace death lawsuit, and we take a look at three petitions for writ of mandamus the state’s high court recently granted.