The week after Labor Day signified the return to work for a lot of Texas deal lawyers, despite the residual damage in Houston from Hurricane Harvey. Herewith are some highlights of recent deals that portend a busy fall, at least in the energy sector.
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Dallas Trial Lawyers Chris Hamilton and Paul Wingo Join Forces
Combined, Hamilton and Wingo have obtained more than $100 million in verdicts and settlements for their clients. Their new firm, named Hamilton Wingo, will include six other attorneys.
“We will be one of the premiere trial firms in the country,” says Hamilton.”This new setup will give us the opportunity to try more cases and help more clients.”
Sanctuary City Litigation Issues Hit Home for Lead Sidley Partners
There were many reasons Yolanda Garcia decided to get involved in the controversial “sanctuary city” litigation, but a conversation she had with her 14-year-old son was certainly one catalyst for her desire to take on the case.
Trump Nominates Five for Texas Federal Judgeships
The Trump Administration announced Thursday morning that it has nominated five lawyers to fill open seats on the U.S. District Courts in Texas, including two attorneys previously nominated by President Obama. President Trump sent the nominations to the U.S. Senate to fill two judgeships in the Northern District of Texas and one nominee for each of the Eastern, Southern and Western Districts. The Texas Lawbook has full details.
Bankruptcy Judge Approves Oncor Deal with Sempra
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi has given his approval for Energy Future Holdings to sell its 80 percent ownership stake in Oncor to Sepra Energy for $9.45 billion in cash. The judge’s thumbs up means the deal heads to the Texas Public Utility Commission, which is the regulatory authority that must give its blessing before the deal can be final.
Haynes and Boone Lures Two Energy Litigation Partners in Houston
Craig Stahl and Jeffrey Kuehnle were formerly at Andrews Kurth Kenyon, where Stahl was the co-chair of the firm’s energy litigation practice.
Stahl says HayBoo had offices in key locations for their clients.
Texas GCs Steven Scheinthal and Rafael Stone — The Legal Minds Behind $2.2B Houston Rockets Deal
Non-Texas lawyers at DLA Piper and White & Case did the paperwork, but the Houston-based general counsel for Fertitta’s restaurant, entertainment and hotel company Landry’s and the longtime general counsel for the Rockets and its home court the Toyota Center negotiated the deal. “That is how we kept it quiet and it was done fast,” Scheinthal told The Texas Lawbook.
Why Judge Mazzant Terminated Proposed Overtime Rule
The proposed update to the overtime exemptions rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act was finally put out of its misery last week U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant. The court ruled that the department cannot create a minimum salary so high that it makes the duties test irrelevant.
Updated – GC Forum Names 2017 Magna Stella Recipients
The Texas General Counsel Forum has awarded its prestigious Magna Stella Awards to five corporate general counsel, two corporate legal departments and three managing counsel. The recipients include four women and four men. The Texas Lawbook has updated this article to make a correction from an earlier version.
Jackson Walker Closes Texan’s Nine-Figure Colorado Ranch Purchase
JW partner Alfie Meyerson cannot identify the buyer or the exact amount of the deal, but the Cielo Vista Ranch in Colorado was listed at $105 million, making it almost certainly the biggest ranch sale in the U.S. so far this year. The property covers 83,000 acres and features the 14,053-foot Culebra Peak, the highest privately-owned summit in the world. “It’s like buying your own national park,” Meyerson told The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview.