The Dallas Bar Foundation has resumed its long-running Sarah T. Hughes Scholarship after pausing it earlier this year but has removed “diversity” from its title and eliminated explicit references to race and minority status from the scholarship’s description and application. Formerly titled the Sarah T. Hughes Diversity Scholarship, the stated purpose was to support minority law students and promote diversity in the North Texas legal community. The revised version now focuses on applicants who have demonstrated resilience and overcome hardship, emphasizing broader examples of underrepresentation such as being first-generation college students or balancing school with work or military service.
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Trustee for Bankrupt Financial Startup Sues Winston & Strawn
The trustee of a bankrupt financial services startup aimed at conservative customers that Winston & Strawn represented is suing the law firm and one of its partners for alleged malpractice. The trustee for GloriFi, seeking more than $1.7 billion in damages, claims Winston & Strawn schemed with the company’s founder, putting his interests over those of the business.
Winston & Strawn said it “will vigorously defend against these meritless claims, including the fanciful, billion-dollar lost value claim for a company that never opened its doors for business.”
My Five Favorite Books: Melanie Koltermann (General Counsel at Five Star Management)
My reading habits have changed dramatically over the years. Where I once lingered over actual hard copy books late at night, these days I “read” mostly on the move. I now listen to my books, filling the hours I spend driving to/from work and after dropping of the kids for their many events. What might once have felt like idle time has become some of my most rewarding reading time, and I’ve grown to love how stories accompany me in the car. Much like my taste in music, my reading choices are eclectic and all over the place. I rarely stick to one genre or style, preferring instead to explore whatever captures my curiosity at the moment.
SALSA Names New Executive Director
The San Antonio Legal Services Association announced it has hired nonprofit executive and fundraising strategist James Martinez to lead the organization as executive director. After experiencing a funding shortfall earlier this year, SALSA touted Martinez’s more than two decades of experience fundraising and leading nonprofit organizations.
David Jones Wants GWG Bondholders’ RICO Suit Tossed
The former jurist who resigned his position in the Southern District of Texas in the wake of reporting about his previously secret romantic relationship with a bankruptcy lawyer told the court he is entitled to complete immunity from the lawsuit brought by aggrieved GWG bondholders. “There can be no genuine dispute that Jones is entitled to absolute immunity from civil lawsuits arising from his role as a judicial mediator in the GWG bankruptcy cases under applicable law,” the motion to dismiss reads. (File photo by Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
News Organizations Petition Judge to Unseal Paxton Divorce Court Records
Court records and court hearings in the divorce case of Angela Paxton v. Ken Paxton should be open and available to the public, according to a motion filed late Tuesday by The Texas Lawbook and a half-dozen other news media companies, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and the Houston Chronicle. In a 14-page plea intervention, the news organizations jointly ask Collin County District Court Judge Ray Wheless to reverse his earlier decision to seal the court records in the case, which pits Angela Paxton, a Texas state senator, against her husband of 38 years, Ken Paxton, who is the state’s attorney general and the highest-ranking regulator of businesses in Texas.
Hearing in Merit Street Media Case Premiered Tuesday
Northern District Bankruptcy Judge Scott Everett heard from counsel representing Dr. Phil’s Merit Street Media and Trinity Broadcasting Network Tuesday, who argued about whether the celebrity television psychologist acted in bad faith by filing for bankruptcy. The hearing on the motion to dismiss and partial summary judgment is expected to last through Thursday, and Dr. Phil is on the list of potential witnesses who will testify. (File photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Judge Halts Construction of Natural Gas Pipeline, Compressor Station in Conroe
The lawyer representing the Bartholet family, Houston solo practitioner Seth Rubinson, who has represented pipeline companies in other litigation, made it clear in an interview with The Texas Lawbook Tuesday that both he and his client are not “anti-pipeline” and “believe infrastructure projects are important.”
“But this is a case about enforcing a restrictive covenant,” Rubinson said.
San Antonio Utility Buys Four Natural Gas Plants for $1.4B
CPS Energy agreed to acquire four natural gas powered electricity generation facilities in Texas for nearly $1.4 billion from PROENERGY. Dykema and Latham & Watkins are advising on the deal.
Litigation Roundup: Lawyer Notches Fifth Circ. Win in Long-running Feud with Former Firm
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a lawsuit seeking more than $1 million is filed by a woman who was paralyzed after a tree fell on her SUV in East Dallas, amicus counsel defending Texas firearm restrictions dig back to 14th Century English law in support of their case, and a fight between competing Thai restaurants in Houston heats up.