U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch visited the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Southern Methodist University’s campus Saturday afternoon for a talk and reading of his children’s book Heroes of 1776. Young children gathered to hear who the justice’s favorite heroes were.
More Stories
Judge Gilstrap Mulls Permanent Injunction Against Samsung
MARSHALL — A lawyer for Samsung argued during the hearing that the injunction Collision Communications seeks in the patent infringement case would prevent his client from importing “well above 75 percent of products” the electronics giant produces, including all phones and tablets. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap took the motion under advisement and told the parties he would issue his decision as soon as practicable.
Litigation Roundup: Energy Transfer Gets Partial Win in Arbitration Dispute
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Google gears up to defend against patent infringement claims in Midland, the battle between the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars won’t be going to a jury trial, a $17 million Ponzi scheme architect from Houston goes to prison, and the Texas Supreme Court sides with a lawyer fending off claims from a dissatisfied client.
President Trump Makes Nominations for Northern, Southern District Benches
President Donald Trump made two nominations for the federal benches in Texas Monday. He nominated Kirkland & Ellis partner Kasdin Mitchell in Dallas and deputy chief of staff to Gov. Greg Abbott, Angela Colmenero, in Houston.
Talen Energy’s GC Change is ‘Getting the Band Back Together’
When Talen Energy General Counsel John Wander told his fellow executives and corporate board earlier this year that he planned to retire, the hunt for a replacement did not take long. Next week, former Vistra Corp. Deputy GC Dan Kelly officially replaces Wander as the booming Houston energy company’s top lawyer.
Business Court: April 2026 Decisions
The Court continues to cement its judicial heavyweight status — with the month’s marquee event ringing in a 90-page opinion in the high-profile fight between the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars over control of the American Airlines Center. The Court also maintained its strategy of deploying Rule 166(g) to narrow cases early and tackled personal jurisdiction.
CDT Roundup: Lone Star Deal Machine Keeps 200+ Lawyers Busy for the Week
For the week ended May 9, the CDT Roundup is reporting 21 deals valued at nearly $11.3 billion. And that doesn’t include a $3.25 billion notes offering that closed three weeks ago nor the $56 billion unsolicitied offer for eBay by $11 billion-market-cap GameStop scooped by The Wall Street Journal last week.
White & Case is advising Grapevine-based GameStop, with a team led from New York. GameStop’s general counsel is Mark Robinson, who received the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
Continued Scrutiny of Private Equity and Private Ownership of Healthcare Entities
Private investment in healthcare entities continued at a high pace in 2025, reaching global highs in deal value. A consequence of the high deal volume has been increased attention and scrutiny by many state governments of transactions between private equity and certain healthcare entities. While Texas failed to pass a healthcare transaction reporting law in the most recent legislative session, two proposed bills may be harbingers of similar future regulation to come.
Troutman Houston Partners Led National Team in Western Midstream $1.6B Brazos Delaware Deal
Western Midstream Partners has acquired Brazos Delaware II, a Fort Worth-based private gathering and processing platform in the Delaware Basin in West Texas, for about $1.6 billion in cash and stock. Western Midstream, which is based in The Woodlands, said it will pay about $800 million in cash and issue about $800 million in common units at the close of the deal that is expected by June 30.
Christopher B. Dial is Western Midstream’s general counsel, and Troutman Pepper Locke advised the company with a national team led by Houston Partners Jon Daly and Jennie Simmons. Vinson & Elkins served as outside legal advisor to Brazos.
‘I Only Want You’: How Steven Scheinthal Became Tilman Fertitta’s Go-To Lawyer
Steven Scheinthal has one of the most unique and challenging jobs in corporate law — the general counsel for Tilman Fertitta, whose business holdings include the NBA’s Houston Rockets, the Golden Nugget casinos and hotels, Landry’s Seafood and Morton’s and Del Frisco’s steakhouses. The Houston billionaire is also reportedly interested in acquiring Caesars casinos and hotels.
“It is tough having one boss because his frustrations become yours,” Scheinthal said. “However, we have had a tremendous number of business successes from our IPO to follow on offerings, over 50-plus acquisitions, bond offerings, the Rockets purchase.” Those successes continued through 2025. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring Scheinthal with the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department.