After more than 11 years at Kirkland, Christopher Heasley has formally taken his diverse energy practice to Houston. The move was first reported by Bloomberg Law in late November.
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Krisa Benskin Joins Hogan Lovells Houston Office
Hogan Lovells said this week that Krisa Benskin has joined the international firm as a corporate and finance partner in Houston after nearly four years with Latham & Watkins. Prior to that, Benskin spent a dozen years at Baker Botts.
Lawsuits: Texas Companies Illegally Supplied Technology to Russia for Ukrainian Attacks
Four technology companies either headquartered in Texas or with large operations in Texas illegally supplied semiconductor components — microchips, processors and programmable devices — that have been used by Russia’s military to kill thousands in drone and missile attacks in Ukraine, according to five different lawsuits filed Wednesday in the Dallas County Court at Law.
The lawsuits claim that Texas Instruments, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel and Mouser Electronics sold their technology to third parties which they knew or should have known were then providing those technologies to Russia to use in the war in Ukraine.
A team of prominent Texas lawyers, including Austin trial lawyer Mikal Watts, Dallas trial lawyer Charla Aldous and the Dallas office of Baker Hostetler, a national law firm with about 1,000 attorneys, are representing the plaintiffs.
Mikal Watts: My 10 Days in Ukraine — ‘Stop the Chips, Stop the War’
In early November, I addressed a room full of lawyers at a CLE seminar, and said, “nothing is more powerful than a bar card put to good.” A day later, a trusted colleague who was there called me with a crazy idea: Would I consider representing Ukrainian citizens injured or killed by Russian drone and missile attacks? Research provided by the State Capture Accountability Project suggested that American chip suppliers had exported the guidance chips enabling Russian drone and missiles to hit their targets.
A month of subsequent research and diligence confirmed my worst fears.
My Five Favorite Books: Shamoil Shipchandler
When I set out to write this column, I thought about all the ways in which I’d try to impress you. Law is, after all, a see-and-be-seen profession! Perhaps I’d start with William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and its dense stream-of-consciousness prose (I can’t stand it). Or the scope and cultural impact of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest (I couldn’t get through it). Or maybe I’d do something unexpected about influential children’s books and write about Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree (a truly awful, dreadful thing – I won’t be taking any questions at this time).
But what I kept coming back to was something that plays a huge role in my personal and professional life: humor. So, I chose five books that never fail to make me laugh.
Tradition or Transition? SMU Law’s Potential Move Triggers Tension
A proposal by Southern Methodist University to move the four buildings that comprise Dedman School of Law to a new campus east of U.S. 75 has ignited blowback from students and alumni caught off-guard by the swiftness and apparent secrecy behind the move. (Photo courtesy Southern Methodist University)
Texas Business Owner to Pay $5.7M for Workplace Sexual Harassment
This week, Dallas County Judge Sally Montgomery ordered the longtime owner and president of Home Marketing Services to pay $5.7 million for workplace sexual harassment. The findings of fact were handed down Monday. A six-day bench trial concluded last month.
K&L Gates Moves to New Dallas Digs in Uptown
The firm, which called Comerica Bank Tower home for close to four decades, is also consolidating its Fort Worth office with the relocation. The move coincides with a “very concerted” growth initiative in Texas.
Thought Leadership: Essential Considerations for Cryptocurrency in Estate Planning
Digital assets are no longer on the margins of wealth management. Today, cryptocurrency represents a meaningful portion of many estates, from Bitcoin and Ethereum to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), stablecoins and illiquid tokens. According to an article published by State Street Investment Management, 31% of high-net-worth investors hold crypto. With that shift comes a new reality: estate plans that don’t account for digital assets are incomplete.
Litigation Roundup: Fight Between Texas AG, Johnson & Johnson Expands
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the state of Texas secures a temporary restraining order against Johnson & Johnson from a judge in rural West Texas. The order came a few days after the pharmaceutical company asked a Travis County judge to bring an end to what it said were four retaliatory investigations launched after Johnson & Johnson got a win in Tylenol-related litigation the attorney general initiated in rural East Texas.