In a five-to-four decision, the U.S. Supreme Court handed Gibson Dunn senior associate Stephen Hammer a partial victory Thursday in a major immigration law dispute that divided the federal circuit courts of appeal and could impact thousands of asylum cases pending in the lower courts.
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Is Your Commercial Property Insurance Ready for Hurricane Season?
As hurricane season kicks off, ensuring your company’s insurance coverage can withstand the storm is more important than ever. Commercial property insurance policies contain numerous potential coverage pitfalls that can significantly impact a corporate policyholder’s ability to recover for losses. These challenges often remain hidden until a loss occurs, at which point they can severely restrict or even eliminate coverage for otherwise valid claims. Understanding these common issues during the policy review process can help risk managers and legal counsel identify and address potential coverage gaps before they impact an organization.
AT&T to Pay $177M to Settle Customer Data Breach Class Action
U.S. District Judge Ada Brown has set a schedule that would see the preliminary settlement finalized in December. The company has agreed to pay two classes a total of $177 million.
Veteran Houston Partner Jumps from Latham to Simpson
Bryce Kaufman spent nearly 12 years in the Houston offices of Latham, specializing in multilayered financial transactions. He joins Simpson Thacher’s growing Houston office to focus on energy and infrastructure to help clients seeking financing solutions.
Litigation Roundup: Fifth Circuit Slashes FTC’s $37.5M Win
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the Federal Trade Commission sees a $37.5 million judgment in its favor trimmed down to $12.2 million by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth sides with a landowner in a condemnation dispute involving golf course operations.
Legislature’s Expansion of the Business Court Proves Lone Star State’s Commitment to Commercial Justice
Nine months ago, skeptics questioned whether Texas’ ambitious new business court would survive infancy. The specialized tribunal, which began operations Sept. 1, 2024, faced early criticism over its narrow jurisdiction, steep amount in controversy requirements and procedural uncertainties — all of which threatened to limit the court’s effectiveness as a forum for many business disputes. The Texas Legislature has now resolved many of these doubts and doubled down on its judicial innovation. On June 1 — in the final hour of the final day of the legislative session — the Legislature passed House Bill 40 with significant support, considerably expanding the Texas Business Court’s jurisdiction. The law demonstrates Texas’ commitment to position itself as the premier destination for business litigation.
Trump Budget Proposal Would Eliminate Legal Services for Tens of Thousands of Veterans, Low-Income Texans
Legal aid activists in Texas are “deeply concerned” that President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget calls for eliminating Legal Services Corporation, the federal nonprofit that provides funding to legal aid organizations across the state that help military veterans access rightful benefits, victims recover from natural disasters, survivors of domestic violence obtain protective orders and more. In Texas, the proposed elimination threatens more than $45 million in annual grants that help fund three major legal aid organizations: Lone Star Legal Aid, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. Those grants account for approximately one-third of these organizations’ total funding.
Skadden Hires Two M&A Partners from White & Case
Skadden has added two oil and gas veterans to its M&A team in Houston. In a news release Monday, the firm said Mingda Zhao and Emery Choi will advise energy and infrastructure clients, as well as private equity funds on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, investments and other energy transactions.
V&E Adds Three Partners: Two from Kirkland, One from Baker Botts
Vinson & Elkins said Monday they’ve added two Kirkland & Ellis partners to their New York and Austin offices in Samuel Francis and Reed Schuster, both of whom specialize in organization, governance and regulatory compliance issues. V&E also announced a return to the firm by finance partner Caitlin Lawrence after a nine-year sojourn at Baker Botts.
CDT Roundup: No Fuel for Thought as M&A Skips Oil & Gas for Tech and Food
For the week ending June 21 — and for this, our 25th weekly report of 2025 — there were 16 deals submitted for a total reported value at just under $6 billion (or $5.984 billion for the more exacting). On the year that’s slightly above average in volume (14.9 deals per week for the first 24 weeks), and well below the average for reported value ($13.2 billion per week for those same 24). We take nothing from that except to note that this most recent week was far better than the week prior, which recorded nine deals for $478 million, and stands remarkably similar to the 12 deals for $5.6 billion recorded at the summer solstice last year. But if you’re looking for something unusual — which is kinda our job here — the CDT Roundup has you covered.