Texas Lawbook: You have basically been a GC and in-house counsel for three decades. How has the role of in-house counsel changed during that time? Janet Jamieson: The fundamentals really haven’t changed
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Asked & Answered with Kirkland & Ellis’s Kasdin Mitchell: From the White House to the U.S. Supreme Court
In this edition of Asked & Answered, Kirkland & Ellis partner Kasdin Mitchell talks about getting to argue in the U.S. Supreme Court, where she once clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas, as well as her time before law school, working in the White House for First Lady Laura Bush. Her mother’s pursuit of a law degree inspired her own path.
Coauthors Celebrate Second Edition of Jury Trial Book with Signing
A new edition of On the Jury Trial aims to provide guidance to lawyers in a post-Covid pandemic world. Coauthors Winston & Strawn partner Tom Melsheimer and Fifth Court of Appeals Justice Craig Smith celebrated the second edition of the book with a signing event in Dallas Tuesday evening.
Ex-FBI Special Agent Wants $5M Defamation Suit Tossed
Two defamation lawsuits filed against critics of FBI Director Kash Patel are unfolding in federal court in Texas. In the Western District of Texas, Patel’s girlfriend has sued a former FBI special agent for allegedly defamatory statements made on a podcast, while in the Southern District of Texas, Patel himself has sued the former assistant director of counterintelligence for the FBI for comments he made during an MSNBC appearance. The defendants have enlisted Dorsey & Whitney, Dykema, Jackson Walker, Fletcher Held and First Amendment pros from SMU to fight the litigation. Binnall Law Group in Alexandria, Virginia, is representing the plaintiffs.
Sonida Senior Living to Acquire CNL Healthcare Properties for $1.8B
The combined companies will operate under Sonida, which will continue to be traded on the NYSE. Acquisition of the non-traded REIT and its more than 7,500 senior living units, creates the eighth largest owner of senior living assets in the nation. Outside legal counsel included Fried Frank, Sidley Austin and Arnold & Porter.
Zachry Legal Team ‘Gets to Yes Without Compromising Legal Integrity’
San Antonio trial lawyer Jay Old scored major courtroom successes in his 38-year career but the biggest hits have come in 2024 and 2025 when he and his legal team helped guide Zachry through a turbulent period of extraordinary challenge, including leading the energy services company to a transformational corporate restructuring. In addition, Old and his team of six attorneys and 17 other professionals this year negotiated an historic engineering, procurement and construction contract with Duke Energy for a natural gas power plant in North Carolina and separately signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Engineering and Construction that created a partnership focused on nuclear power construction.
Citing the Zachry legal team’s achievements in 2024 and 2025, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Lawbook are awarding the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for Corporate Legal Department of the Year.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Jay Old
Texas Lawbook: Tell us about your Team. Jay Old: A: Our legal department comprises seven lawyers and three staff members, which is relatively small for our company’s revenue size. Consequently, we
Ovintiv Acquires Canada’s NuVista Energy for $2.7B
Gibson Dunn, Paul Weiss and Vinson & Elkins were among the firms advising on the deal that complements Ovintiv’s assets on both sides of the border; in the Permian as well as Canada’s Montney Basin in northwestern Alberta and beyond.
TX GC Forum Names New CEO
The Texas General Counsel Forum has hired Kristin Hays, a former executive at Sabre, LaQuinta Inns and JCPenney, as its new chief executive officer.
Houston Energy M&A Partner Returns to V&E
Vinson & Elkins has hired Houston energy M&A partner Chris Bennett. He is returning to V&E after a couple of years as a partner at Weil.