The Dallas judge embroiled in a controversy over her rules requiring those in her courtroom to wear face masks announced Monday that “all proceedings will be conducted virtually and jury trials will be temporarily suspended until an appropriate alternative solution can be implemented.”
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Retired Texas Judges, Susman Godfrey Challenge Trump v. IRS Dismissal
Three retired federal judges from Texas joined 32 of their former colleagues on the federal bench last week urging a Florida judge to examine whether there is anything fraudulent behind the decision by President Donald Trump and his family to dismiss a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for the creation of a $1.8 billion settlement fund for those they maintain were mistreated by the Biden administration.
Poland-based Renewable Energy Company Files Bankruptcy in Houston
GoldenPeaks Poland, a European renewable energy company that operates solar-powered systems in Poland and Hungary, and 40 of its affiliated businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Texas on Friday.
Excerpt from The Outperformers: Lessons from Top Law Firm Leaders
This selection courtesy of Globe Law and Business describes eight key markers of the rapidly changing competitive landscape for top corporate law firms.
Business Court: May 2026 Decisions
May was the Texas Business Court’s busiest month yet. Even with a record-setting number of decisions across the court’s divisions, the Court maintained its principled and stalwart deference to the text of the contract. The month also continued a familiar stream of jurisdictional disputes testing the Business Court’s $5 million amount-in-controversy threshold, among other jurisdictional questions.
Dentistry Dreams to Megadeals: Dallas Native Powers AI Infrastructure Gold Rush
Melissa Kalka once imagined herself in a white dentist’s coat, peering into mouths across bicuspids and middle molars.
Instead, now she examines balance and term sheets, drilling into multibillion‑dollar deals for hidden risk and opportunity. A transactional partner at the richest law firm in the world, she has become one of the firm’s go‑to architects for complex, capital‑intensive energy and infrastructure deals.
The Texas Lawbook caught up with her about her upbringing and career and the deals she’s leading now.
CDT Roundup: AI, Energy and Giant Deal Shape Diverse Week
Three AI-related deals. A soon-to-be-Japanese-owned digital infrastructure provider sopped up a major alternative energy investor. A Miami-based PE firm bought 10 data centers. You get the idea.
For the week ended May 30, the CDT Roundup reported on 14 transactions valued at a nearly $19.9 billion.
That falls short of last week’s 15 deals for $75 billion, but within shouting distance of the 19 transactions valued at $23 billion at this time last year.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
Catching Up with Kelly Rentzel as In-house Veteran Joins Bradley’s Dallas Office
Bradley continues to expand its presence in Dallas by hiring Kelly Rentzel as counsel in the firm’s banking & financial services practice group. A financial services in-house veteran, she brings rare firsthand experience managing internal legal operations, capital markets transactions and complex M&A.
The Texas Lawbook caught up with Rentzel about her move to Bradley, the trends she’s seeing and more.
Texas Supreme Court Orders Dallas Judge to Lift Mask Mandate
The Texas Supreme Court issued an order Friday instructing Dallas County at Law Judge D’Metria Benson to immediately rescind her standing court order requiring lawyers, witnesses, jurors and others in her courtroom to wear masks.
“The Court disapproves of any such policy in any Texas courtroom,” a three-page order signed by all nine justices released Friday states.
Chevron Appoints Scott Keller as Next GC
Chevron announced Friday that Austin appellate lawyer and former Texas solicitor general Scott A. Keller will be the Houston energy giant’s new general counsel starting July 1 and will take over as chief legal officer when current chief legal officer, R. Hewitt Pate, retires next year.
Pate has been the chief legal officer at Chevron for 17 years.