For the week ended Dec. 20, The CDT Roundup saw 11 transactions reported with a total value of about $10.2 billion, which is roughly on par with the prior week’s 15 deals for nearly $10 billion, though up from the 11 transactions at $3 billion this time last year. The week’s top transactions and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
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Energy Lenders Fall Back in Credit Survey
Energy-lending banks are projecting 2026 average oil prices of $55.44 per barrel, a $1.50/BBL decline from projections six months ago, according to the latest Energy Bank Price Deck Survey from Haynes Boone released Dec. 17.
Dallas-Based Firm Secures $65.5M Verdict Against J&J in Minnesota
Johnson & Johnson owes a 37-year-old mother of three $65.5 million in damages for causing her mesothelioma, a jury in Minnesota determined Friday afternoon.
Anna Jean Houghton Carley, who was diagnosed with terminal peritoneal mesothelioma in February, alleged exposure to Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder throughout her childhood exposed her to asbestos and contributed to her developing mesothelioma.
Ben Braly of Dean Omar Branham Shirley, who represented Carley at trial, said the case wasn’t just about compensation, but about “truth and accountability.”
Camp Mystic Defendants Want New Venue, Deny Wrongdoing
In the four separate lawsuits filed in Travis County District Court by families whose daughters were killed in the July 4 flooding of the Guadalupe River that swept through Camp Mystic, the defendants are arguing the cases should not proceed in Austin.
Instead, the cases should be litigated in Kerr County, where Camp Mystic sits and where “all relevant events in this lawsuit took place,” recently filed motions argue.
Texas Partnership Dreams Realized as Firms Roll Out 2025-2026 Promotions
Each year, as the weather turns (somewhat) colder in Texas, partnership season starts to reshape the legal landscape. Between October and February, law firms decide which experienced associates and seasoned counsel will make the leap to equity and nonequity partner, transforming years of late nights and high-stakes deals and trials into a career milestone, most of them announced this month.
JAPEX Acquires DJ Basin Assets for $1.3B
Willkie Farr & Gallagher advised JAPEX and Kirkland & Ellis advised Verdad Resources Intermediate Holdings on the deal, which includes more than 100,000 acres of tight oil assets in Colorado and Wyoming.
Documents Unsealed in Paxton Divorce Case
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, agreed to unseal the documents in their divorce proceeding Thursday. Counsel for the media intervenors and the attorney general told Judge Robert Brotherton Friday morning at their scheduled hearing that “appropriate” redactions may be made.
P.S. — DFW Corporate Counsel Awards for Pro Bono and Diversity Announced
At a time when many law firms and legal organizations have suddenly gone quiet related to their pro bono and diversity efforts, a handful of leaders at DFW corporate legal departments are following the advice of the great legal philosopher Bob Seger by going “against the wind.”
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announce that senior counsel at Phillips Enterprises, Toyota North America, 7-Eleven and Jacobs International will be honored for their extraordinary work and successes involving pro bono and public service and diversity and inclusion.
TAE Technologies to Merge with Trump Media and Technology in $6B Nuclear Fusion Deal
A Texas-based Baker Botts team led the deal for TAE, which intends to add commercial, scalable nuclear fusion to the Trump portfolio. DLA Piper advised TMTG.
How Dallas’s Three New Stock Exchanges May Reshape Securities Fraud Enforcement
In a development that could fundamentally reshape the landscape of federal securities enforcement, three major stock exchanges are establishing operations in Dallas within the Northern District of Texas. This geographic diversification of America’s securities exchange infrastructure represents more than mere business expansion — it signals a potential seismic shift in federal criminal and civil securities enforcement. Cases that historically could only be prosecuted in Manhattan may soon find their way to Dallas courtrooms, bringing with them the possibility of different judicial approaches, jury pools and enforcement priorities.