In the first video teleconference sentencing in federal court in Dallas since the COVID-19 crisis began, U.S. District Chief Judge Barbara Lynn this week sentenced a medical mask-wearing white-collar criminal defendant to nearly four years in prison for her role in a $1.4 million real estate title insurance scheme.
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DBJ: Sabre Wins Antitrust Case Against DOJ
The case centered around the roughly $360 million acquisition of Farelogix, a deal that was first announced in late 2018. Sabre is still looking for another win from the U.K Competition and Markets Authority.
CDT Roundup: 14 Deals, 11 Firms, 68 Lawyers, $8.2B
First quarter global M&A activity fell back to levels not seen since 2013 with U.S. results eerily similar to 2008. Meanwhile, dealmaking involving Texas lawyers keeps chugging along thanks to transactions already in the works and some companies’ moves to shore up liquidity.
Report: Bankrupt Oil and Gas Producers Number 215 Since 2015
Oilfield services providers followed with 204 bankruptcies over the last five years and midstream providers amounted to 30, according to Haynes and Boone. But few in the oil and gas industry will be immune given low oil prices and uncertainty around the demand-sapping coronavirus.
Remote Hearings: Let’s Hope They Become the Rule Rather Than the Exception
Good attorneys always puts their clients first, and that includes making sure the client is adequately represented at hearings. But is it necessary for attorneys in this day and age of ubiquitous technology to put the health and safety of themselves and others at risk? Further, if the technology is available, why are we still conducting hearings like we were Abraham Lincoln in the 1800s, tethered to live court appearances as the rule?
Barnes & Thornburg’s Victor Vital and Liz Dankers weigh in on the compelling questions COVID-19 is posing for the future of the practice of law.
Chris Schwegmann Changes Lynn Pinker Nameplate to LPHS
The Dallas-based litigation boutique announced Monday that it has made Chris Schwegmann its newest name partner after Trey Cox departed the firm last week.
Two V&E Lawyers Lead Astros to Court Win in Sign-Stealing Case
When a Massachusetts fantasy baseball contestant sued the Houston Astros in Manhattan federal court in January, legal commentators thought the case would take several months or even years before being resolved. But Hilary Preston and Michael Holmes knew better about U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff. Nine weeks later, the case against the Astros has been dismissed. Here’s how it happened.
Thompson & Knight Adds Three IP Partners
Even the coronavirus and stay-at-home orders cannot contain the ever-hot Texas lateral market. Thompson & Knight announced Monday that three intellectual property trial lawyers – Phillip Philbin, Jamie McDole and Michael Karson – have joined the firm’s Dallas office as partners.
Dwindling Oil Storage Capacity and Impacts on Energy Companies
Commodity prices fell precipitously in the first quarter of 2020 as crude producers are getting hit on both the supply and demand sides. The U.S. is reportedly only weeks away from running out of crude oil storage capacity. Many E&P and midstream companies are evaluating whether to reduce production or pipeline capacity and/or shut in wells. The issue became more urgent last weekend when the Texas Railroad Commission reported that some oil companies are already receiving letters from shippers demanding production cuts and citing the unavailability of storage capacity.
Legal Industry Experts: Law Firms Should Start Making Cuts Now
Gibson Dunn managing partner Rob Walters, fresh out of the hospital after testing positive with the coronavirus, has a unique perspective on the potential impact that COVID-19 and cheap oil prices could have on Texas law firms: “This will affect the entire legal industry [and] prove fatal for some fine businesses and law firms.”
Legal industry experts say corporate law firms across Texas should be more worried than they appear to be. Many need to cancel summer associate programs, tell new lawyers that they may not be needed this fall, start reductions in associate salaries and hold back partner draws. “It could get very bad and the Texas legal market will take an even bigger hit than others,” says an Altman Weil analyst. The Texas Lawbook provides an exclusive, in-depth report.