In this week’s P.S. column, the San Antonio Legal Services Association and another nonprofit are seeking volunteer lawyers to participate in a housing rights workshop on Saturday to educate tenants on housing rights and show them how to draft repair requests. Also, the Center for Women in Law will honor Reed Smith global managing partner Casey Ryan with the Hortense Ward Courageous Leader Award at its April 4 luncheon, featuring BBC journalist Katty Kay as keynote speaker. Finally, The Texas Lawbook invites submissions on pro bono collaborations between corporate legal departments and law firms for a new monthly column.
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Texas Trial Team Secures $1.6B Final Judgment Against Pharmaceutical Firm
In June, a New Jersey jury hit Janssen Products with a $150 million verdict. The final judgment trebled damages and assessed a whopping $1.27 billion civil penalty but did ax about $30 million in damages to the states under the False Claims Act after the judge agreed with Janssen that not enough evidence was presented to sustain that portion of the award. Dallas boutique Reese Marketos was brought into the case two years ago to take it to trial.
CDT: 2025 Capital Markets Transactions
Below is a list of qualified capital markets transactions reported to The Texas Lawbook during 2025. The list is organic, designed to grow as deals are reported. So if you have deals
Much Has Changed, but Issues Remain the Same
As I mentor and visit with women in the legal profession today, I find they struggle with issues similar to the ones faced by women decades ago. Many firms still struggle as before with getting women and underrepresented talent through to partnership. But there are reasons to be encouraged.
UPDATED: Texas Lawyers Stay Silent on Trump’s Targeting More Law Firms
Even as two large corporate law firms filed constitutional lawsuits against President Donald Trump on Friday to stop his executive orders targeting law firms from taking effect, Texas lawyers — who love to brag that they, like everything else in Texas, are bigger and braver and never back away from a fight — have remained extraordinarily quiet. Out of nearly a thousand lawyers from bar associations, law schools and law firms that signed letters this week decrying the Trump administration’s targeting of corporate law firms, only two attorneys and one organization were from Texas. The Texas Lawbook has an in-depth update on the White House’s battle against corporate law firms, including mega-firm Skadden Arps’ new settlement agreement with President Trump.
Texas Lawbook Online Forum: How Should Lawyers, Firms and GCs Respond to President Trump’s Challenges?
Large corporate law firms have faced unprecedented actions by a presidential administration during the past two weeks, including five presidential executive orders targeting five law firms, a presidential memorandum directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to “review conduct” by lawyers and firms who engage in “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation” against the U.S. government and demand letters sent by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission targeting 20 law firms — 13 of them operating in Texas — seeking their policies and activities regarding diversity and inclusion. The Texas Lawbook seeks your insight and commentary regarding how law firms and the legal profession should respond.
Excelerate Energy to Purchase New Fortress Energy’s Jamaican Assets and Operations for Over $1B
Excelerate Energy announced on Thursday that it had entered an agreement with New Fortress Energy to acquire its Jamaican assets and operations for $1.055 billion. Lawyers from Gibson Dunn, Vinson & Elkins and Simpson Thacher are advising on the deal.
Back to the Future in the Practice of Law
Leaving the practice of law to raise a family and deciding to reenter the workforce are major life decisions that require sacrifice and perseverance. Here’s my story of navigating the challenges of returning to practice law after more than a decade at home.
Family of Ex-SMU Quarterback Sees CTE Case Against NCAA Revived
Roger S. Braugh Sr. played both quarterback and defensive back for the Southern Methodist University football team from 1960 until 1962. He died in March 2019 and an autopsy performed at Boston University showed the cause was stage IV CTE. A Dallas County judge dismissed the suit after agreeing with the NCAA that the two-year deadline to bring the lawsuit had lapsed.
Municipal Bond Boom Continues as Texas Cities Sell $68B in Bonds to Keep Pace with Migration
Texas continues to experience rapid population growth, adding nearly 563,000 new residents in 2024, pushing its population north of 31 million. To accommodate this influx, municipalities issued about $68 billion in bonds last year to fund critical infrastructure projects like schools, hospitals, and roads. The leading bond counsel firm in the state, McCall Parkhurst & Horton, advised on 372 bond issues last year as managing partner Mark Malveaux attributes the steady bond activity to the strong Texas economy and robust demand for public services and infrastructure.