In this week’s edition of P.S., we highlight the Houston Lawyers Association and its members who earned several national honors at the National Bar Association Convention. Meanwhile, the Dallas Bar Foundation awarded a $20,000 grant to the SMU Dedman School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, bolstered by a $40,000 matching gift from the Stanton Foundation. Finally, an auction of memorabilia from retired U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn raised over $8,000 for the Dallas Women Lawyers Association Foundation, supporting grants for female legal professionals and women in need across North Texas.
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Holland & Knight Hires Another Longtime King & Spalding Healthcare Veteran
Holland & Knight has bolstered its healthcare transactions practice with the addition of Christina McNamara, a veteran attorney who spent 17 years at King & Spalding in Houston. Known for her experience advising hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and clinical labs, McNamara strengthens the firm’s growing healthcare and life sciences group. Her hiring follows the recent arrival of fellow King & Spalding healthcare alum Juliet McBride, underscoring the firm’s Texas expansion in serving the sector.
Barnes & Thornburg Adds PE Hire in Dallas
Barnes & Thornburg has expanded its Dallas office by hiring Jeff Connor as counsel, tapping his expertise in investment management, private equity and compliance. Indiana’s largest law firm with 23 offices nationwide, Barnes & Thornburg entered the Texas market in 2015.
U.S. Judge Jane Boyle Takes Senior Status
U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle of the Northern District of Texas announced Thursday that she is taking senior status effective Oct. 1. Judge Boyle, a former state and federal prosecutor who has served on the federal bench for more than 21 years, is the second federal judge in Dallas to take senior status this month.
Harvest Midstream Strikes $1B Deal for MPLX Gas Assets in Rockies
Harvest Midstream is making a $1 billion bet on the Rockies, agreeing to acquire natural gas gathering and processing assets from Ohio-based MPLX. The deal expands Houston-based Harvest’s footprint in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado with 1,500 miles of pipelines and 845 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity, underscoring the private midstream company’s push for scale in natural gas. A Texas team from Kirkland & Ellis advised Harvest on the transaction.
A Statistical Review of the 2024–2025 SCOTX Term
The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments in 63 cases and issued decisions in 62 of those cases during the past term. Those cases ranged from the typical cases the state’s highest court hears each year — petitions for review arising from the state courts of appeals, a handful of certified questions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and a few mandamus petitions — to a few cases in less common procedural postures, like an appeal from the Board of Disciplinary Appeals and a direct appeal from a trial court. One of the first questions clients often ask when seeking to reverse or defend a decision at the Texas Supreme Court is, “What are my odds?”
Asked & Answered with Gibson Dunn’s Trey Cox: Pizza, Pipelines and a Hot Streak
Asked & Answered is a new standing feature The Texas Lawbook will bring readers every other week, highlighting the work of leading Texas lawyers and offering insight into their lives outside the courtroom. In this edition, we sit down with Trey Cox, co-chair of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s global litigation practice group and co-partner in charge of its Dallas office.
Cox has won some big verdicts recently and, with another trial on his calendar in October, he plans to keep the momentum going.
McKool Smith Hires High-Ranking U.S. Prosecutor in Dallas
Rachael Jones, most recently deputy chief of the criminal division of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Texas, joins McKool Smith’s white-collar and complex commercial litigation team.
Freeman Seeks Dismissal of GWG Bondholders’ RICO Suit
Elizabeth Freeman and her law firm filed the 54-page dismissal motion, which includes more than 1,000 pages of exhibits, on Tuesday. The bondholders had filed suit in June, alleging she was among a group of individuals working “together to prey upon distressed entities for their own financial gain.”
AT&T to Acquire EchoStar Wireless Licenses for $23B
The deal helps resolve regulatory pressures on EchoStar to use or lose federal licensing in the mid-band and low-band spectrum. The deal was handled in-house for AT&T with help from Sullivan & Cromwell and Arnold & Porter.