In this week’s P.S. Column, the Paul L. Foster Family Foundation pledged a $5 million matching grant to help establish a new law school at the University of Texas at El Paso, while the Texas Access to Justice Foundation announced the appointment of Keller Postman partner Zina Bash to its board. The Houston Bar Foundation is preparing for its 76th Annual Harvest Party, and the Dallas Women Lawyers Association received national recognition for its documentary on pioneering female attorneys. In South and West Texas, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid doubled its El Paso Giving Day contributions and is partnering with Koch’s Flint Hills Resources Corpus Christi Refineries to host a driver’s license restoration clinic in Corpus Christi.
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Legal Aid Work Celebrated at Luncheon with SCOTX
Real world stories related by legal services lawyers highlighted the impact of Texas Access to Justice Foundation funding at this year’s event. Justice Brett Busby presented awards to Greenberg Traurig and the Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs.
Howard EP GC T.J. Campbell is ‘In the Room Making the Critical Decisions’
T.J. Campbell and his legal team at Howard Energy Partners have had a busy year. During the past 16 months, he has negotiated the acquisition of Epic’s ethylene pipeline, acquired Cheniere’s interest in Midship Pipeline, raised nearly $3 billion of proceeds, successfully resolved a major litigation matter — a wrongful death case resulting from a fire at a natural gas processing plant in Orla, Texas — and negotiated the transaction documents for the Outer Loop Utility Project, a new 60-mile natural gas pipeline designed to connect local gas supply to existing energy infrastructure in San Antonio and the surrounding areas. Citing his extraordinary successes, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are awarding the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Midsized Legal Department to T.J. Campbell.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: T.J. Campbell
‘I am Looking for a Partner, not a Vendor’ — Campbell discusses his biggest challenges and successes, his best day at HEP and what he seeks when hiring outside counsel.
Asked & Answered with Crawford, Wishnew & Lang’s Haleigh Jones: Moot Court, Mentorship and Becoming a Mom
In this edition of Asked & Answered Crawford, Wishnew & Lang partner Haleigh Jones sat down with The Texas Lawbook to discuss her career, memorable cases and mentorship. Jones coaches the moot court team at Southern Methodist University, which she says she hopes to do for her whole career. The 2024 team won the American Bar Association competition.
Texas Book Review Law ‘Unconstitutionally Compels Speech, is Void for Vagueness, and is an Unconstitutional Prior Restraint’
U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright on Tuesday issued a 24-page opinion permanently banning Texas from enforcing certain parts of HB 900, referred to as the READER Act, which stands for Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources. He wrote that while the state has an interest in protecting children “from obscene content in the school setting,” the challenged law “misses the mark on accomplishing its goal and is unconstitutional.”
Former Federal Prosecutor, Dallas Attorney Plead Guilty to Deleting Texts Judge Ordered Them to Produce
Both Barrett Howell and Carlos Lopez pled guilty to disposing of government records and aiding and abetting Wednesday in the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. Each has waived their right to appeal and face a maximum term of imprisonment of one year, a fine not to exceed $100,000 and a term of supervised release of up to one year. As of Wednesday, a sentencing date had not been set.
Dykema’s New White Collar Group Sees First Criminal Defense Win in WDTX
Men who were federally indicted for an alleged healthcare fraud scheme involving urine drug tests won’t have to face those charges after prosecutors asked a judge to toss the case. The dismissal is the first criminal defense win for Dykema’s new Texas white collar team, which launched in August.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Jonathan Ellis
The Texas Lawbook: What are the critical factors you consider when deciding about hiring outside counsel, and what are the biggest mistakes that outside counsel make in their relationship with
Stakeholder GC Jonathan Ellis ‘Turns Adversity into Opportunity’
Jonathan Ellis traces his desire to be a lawyer to the third grade when his mother told him about a former landlord who refused to refund her a $100 deposit under false pretenses. “This was a time in her life when $100 was life-changing money,” he said. But a lawyer who employed his mom as a bookkeeper wrote a letter to the landlord who quickly refunded the money. That’s when he realized lawyers have influence. Three decades later, Ellis is the general counsel of San Antonio-headquartered Stakeholder Midstream, which focuses on in-field natural gas and oil gathering as well as transportation and storage.
“Jonathan has faced numerous high-pressure challenges, which has frequently required him to manage multiple projects at once using outside counsel from different law firms,” said Clifford Chance partner Todd Lowther.
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are awarding the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Solo Legal Department to Ellis.