NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy announced Monday an agreement to merge in an all-stock transaction valued at $66.8 billion. Kirkland & Ellis advised NextEra with a team led by Zach Savrick and Andy Calder in Houston with David Feirstein, who works from Houston and New York, and Brooksany Barrowes in Washington, D.C. Dominion Energy is being advised by McGuireWoods.
More Stories
CDT Roundup: Light Week, Heavy Energy as Power Plays Drive Activity
For the week ended May 16, the CDT Roundup reported on 12 deals – eight of which were in capital markets – with a total value of about $6 billion, which are both down from the prior week’s 21 deals valued at $11.3 billion.
Despite the light slate, last week’s transactions were dominated by energy of all kinds.
ExxonMobil’s David Kern ‘Spearheading Efforts to Question Age-old Assumptions’
As the corporate world focuses on artificial intelligence, global disruption caused by tariffs and now the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, ExxonMobil has quietly undertaken two massive, strategic corporate restructurings that dramatically change the business by implementing its “Retail Voting Program” and filing to redomicile from New Jersey to Texas.
While each of these transformational efforts required teams of in-house and outside counsel, lawyers agree that there is one critical common denominator in making these initiatives successful: ExxonMobil Managing Counsel David Kern. ACC Houston and The Texas Lawbook have named Kern as the recipient of the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Large Legal Department.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: David Kern
In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, David Kern discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with him and more.
LyondellBasell GC Jeff Kaplan — Producing Exceptional Results in Times of Crisis
The multimillion-dollar lawsuits were piling up. Dozens of them, accusing LyondellBasell of “unsafe and hazardous practices” that led to a chemical leak in 2021 at its La Porte facility, causing two deaths and scores of injuries. Legal analysts predicted the Houston-based chemical company would be tagged with damage awards in the billions of dollars. The job of defending LyondellBasell fell to its 65-attorney legal department, led by its longtime general counsel Jeff Kaplan.
The result: 45 cases dismissed on summary judgment, 20 cases settled for nuisance value, three cases settled with funds from indemnitors and fatality case settlements fully reimbursed by the insurance carrier. And Kaplan and Lyondell are the recipients of the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Legal Department of the Year.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Jeff Kaplan
In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, Jeff Kaplan discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with him and more.
Houston Geothermal Power Company Fervo Energy Nets $1.89B in Upsized IPO
Fervo Energy believes it can make carbon-free geothermal power a foundational component of the global energy system. The Houston company said horizontal drilling, fiber-optic sensing and advanced reservoir engineering have allowed it to establish a repeatable, industrial approach to building firm, utility-scale power.
Panel Leaves $5M Jury Award Intact for Attorney Who Said Opposing Counsel Groped Her
Houston personal injury lawyer Michelle Teresa Acosta had sued San Antonio divorce lawyer Allan Roy Manka after she said he “grabbed” and “squeezed” her butt in the lobby of the Wilson County Courthouse in Floresville in June 2019. A jury agreed, and awarded her $5 million in compensatory damages. This week, that award was left intact by the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio.
Dallas Jury Clears ExxonMobil in Securities Fraud Case
A Dallas jury deliberated for more than three hours after a 14-day trial in U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade’s courtroom before finding ExxonMobil did not have any intent to commit the fraud it was accused of. The lawsuit was filed nearly a decade ago.
P.S. — Gray Reed Managing Partner Shares Cancer Survival Story in Fundraising Campaign
In this edition of P.S., Gray Reed Managing Partner Kyle Sanders opens up about his three bouts with blood cancer in an effort to fundraise for blood cancer research, patient services and advocacy. The nonprofit Blood Cancer United has named Sanders a candidate for its Visionary of the Year.