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Use It or Lose It — Could AI Hurt by Helping?

The advent of AI is being billed as an upgrade on the scale of the Industrial Revolution. The legal industry appears to be digesting AI tools more comfortably every day. We nevertheless urge caution. Any new technology can have unintended side effects. Smartphones, for instance, devour our attention. We all knew watching too much TV was bad for us, but smartphones are like TV screens on steroids. Like the radio transmitter worn by Harrison Bergeron’s father in Vonnegut’s 1961 short story, smartphones displace deep thought.

AI could be worse.

Trial Begins in Breach of Contract Case Against Tellurian Founder

DENVER — What’s expected to be a five-day trial commenced Monday in U.S. District Judge William Martinez’s courtroom in the case between Chris Parker and Charif Souki over an alleged agreement not to sell Tellurian stock. The eight-member jury will decide whether a text message exchange is a binding contract.

Energy Transfer, KBR, LyondellBasell, Plains All American & P66 Win Top 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced Monday the recipients of the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards for Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Transaction of the Year, Creative Partnership, Corporate Legal Department of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and Rookie of the Year.

ACC Houston and The Lawbook disclosed the GCs of the Year, Senior Counsel of the Year, Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy and Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion honorees last week.

“The Houston Corporate Counsel Awards celebrate the exceptional legal talent driving business success across our city, honoring the in-house counsel who work tirelessly behind the scenes to protect and advance the companies and communities that make Houston thrive,” said ACC Houston President Emily K. Shields. “When accomplished lawyers take time to nominate a peer, it speaks volumes about the standard of excellence this recognition represents.”

CDT Roundup: Deal Flow Slows, but Debt Steps In to Fill the Gap

For the week ended April 11, the CDT Roundup saw 10 deals reported with a total valuation of just over $5 billion. The prior week had 11 deals reported with a total value of $33 billion, dominated by a $29.1 billion megamerger between food distribution giants Sysco and Jetro Restaurant Depot. A year ago at this time, the Roundup reported on eight deals valued at about $2.4 billion.

This week, however, credit and capital markets dominate the deal numbers. Maybe “dominate” is strong a word to describe three debt issues, a $167 million PIPE and a secondary equity offering that forced a dip in a company stock.

P.S. — Haynes Boone Tops Law Firms in United Way Giving in Houston; King & Spalding, Baker Botts Follow

In this edition of P.S., Jackson Walker has established the Jackson Walker Endowed Scholarship Fund in Memory of Emma Hackney at SMU Dedman School of Law, honoring a former associate in its banking and finance practice who was killed in a car wreck last year. The scholarship “represents the very best of who Emma was: a warm, kind and thoughtful person who put others ahead of herself,” said Justin Shipley, a finance partner in the Dallas office where Hackney worked.  

The San Antonio Legal Services Association held its annual luncheon this week, bringing together attorneys, judges, business leaders and community advocates committed to expanding access to civil legal services for low-income Texans in San Antonio and surrounding counties. Find out who was recognized at the premier fundraising event. 

The Haynes Boone offices in Houston and The Woodlands raised a record $185,000 through a year-long campaign benefiting the United Way of Greater Houston. The effort is part of a broader campaign among law firms, with Haynes Boone ranking as the top contributing law firm.

Mavs Drop Tortious Interference Claim as Case Heads Toward Resolution

The Dallas Mavericks franchise filed notice that it was immediately dropping its tortious interference claim in its battle against the Dallas Stars. The move comes a week after the Texas Business Court denied the Stars’ five motions for summary judgment and granted the Mavericks’ motion for declaratory judgment.

Texas Lawbook Honors Sidley Austin Chair Yvette Ostolaza

Yvette Ostolaza grew up in an immigrant neighborhood in Miami, the daughter of parents who fled Cuba in the 1960s. She learned English from watching Sesame Street. As a young teenager, she lied about her age to get a job at Sears to make extra money for her family. When she announced that she wanted to be the first in the family to go to college, they told her she was crazy.

Four decades later, Ostolaza became the first Latina and first Dallas lawyer to lead a global corporate law firm — a position she has held since 2022 at Sidley Austin, a 2,300-lawyer firm with 21 offices and more than $3.7 billion in annual revenue.

The Texas Lawbook announced Thursday that it is awarding the first-ever Texas Lawbook Law Firm Leadership Award to Ostolaza.

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