In this edition of Asked & Answered, A&O Shearman partner Billy Marsh discusses trends he’s seeing in shareholder, securities and mass tort litigation. He also talks about what it was like as a first-year associate to defend the NFL against fraud claims brought by a group of fans.
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Premium Subscriber Q&A: Shamoil Shipchandler
In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, Shamoil Shipchandler discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with him and more.
Schwab Chief Counsel Shamoil Shipchandler ‘Wouldn’t Trade Places with Anyone’
Shamoil Shipchandler scored landmark successes as a high-profile white-collar Texas prosecutor and the SEC’s top corporate cop pursuing financial criminals such as self-proclaimed frack master Christopher Faulkner and top executives at AriseBank. Shipchandler is still racking up major achievements as chief counsel at Charles Schwab where he leads a team of 15 lawyers and 11 other legal professionals.
“Most of the successes of my group cannot be publicly celebrated because they are confidential,” Shipchandler told The Texas Lawbook. “For example, closing nonpublic regulatory investigations or securing millions of dollars in FINRA arbitration victories.”
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Lawbook have named Shipchandler and his team at Schwab as a finalist for the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for DFW Corporate Legal Department of the Year.
Two Tapped by President Trump for Bench in WDTX
Andrew Davis, an Austin litigator who had served as a staffer on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and Judge Chris Wolfe, a Tarrant County trial judge since 2018, have been named to federal bench vacancies in Austin and Waco.
Adapt or Be Replaced — The Future of In‑House Law in the Age of AI
When AI is embedded into daily workflows, processes such as contract review, compliance monitoring, risk analysis and knowledge management stop being bottlenecks and become sources of strategic leverage. That shift frees our teams to spend time where human judgment matters most. This article offers a practical roadmap for GCs: how to adopt AI safely, how to train people effectively and how to redesign processes with AI at the core — so the legal team can be a force multiplier for the business, not a brake.
My Five Favorite Books: Conrad Hester
Whether it’s the psychological depth of Dostoyevsky or the lyrical observations of Annie Dillard, I’m drawn to stories that linger long after the final page. These books aren’t just entertaining; they are challenging but ultimately reward the time investment with illuminations on what it means to exist in our world. They’re the kind of books that make you think harder, feel deeper, and read slower.
Balch & Bingham Nearly Doubles Austin Presence with Duggins Wren Mann & Romero
Balch Managing Partner Stan Blanton said the firm “could not have found another group of lawyers who offer the expertise and talent” of Duggins Wren Mann & Romero, particularly in the electricity and gas sectors.
Atlas Unplugged: In Houston Lawyer’s Collection, the Past Unfolds
In his corner office in downtown Houston, history hangs from every wall.
You don’t just see the maps. Centuries call out, empires rise (and fall) with each step you take in Joseph Ahmad’s office, where the past is still very much alive.
The collection of maps bleeds out into the hallways of the skyscraper floors that the law firm Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing occupies, jockeying for wall space alongside other works of art.
Top 10 White-Collar Crime Cases of 2025
Healthcare fraud prosecutions, many stemming from the pandemic, stood out among the biggest white-collar cases in Texas last year.
CSW Industrials GC Luke Alverson: ‘A Business Leader that Brings Legal Skills to the Table’
Luke Alverson was a second-year associate at a large corporate firm with a nine-month-old daughter when his 23-year-old brother died in a car accident. “It hit me very hard. Losing Lance didn’t change my world view or values, but it certainly brought them into sharp focus,” Alverson told The Texas Lawbook. “It was my ‘What do I want to be in my obituary?’ moment.”
Alverson reevaluated his career and is now the GC at CSW, where he has worked on 17 M&A transactions during the past decade valued at more than $1 billion, including the October 2025 acquisition of heating and air-conditioning parts supplier Motors & Armatures Parts for $650 million. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Lawbook named Alverson as one of three finalists for the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.