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Energy Future Holdings seeks a fresh start in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., today, arguing that breaking up the company offers it and its creditors the best chance to move on with the least possible financial pain. The trial is expected to run through at least the end of the month, pitting rival attorneys against one another in a bid to extract the most value they can from $40 billion in outstanding debts. The Dallas Morning News and The Texas Lawbook are following the case closely.

The Dallas offices of Jones Day and Vinson & Elkins were lead advisers in the two largest acquisitions of the week. Bridgestone Retail Operations selected M&A partners Scott Cohen and Alain Dermarkar of Jones Day to handle its $835 million purchase of Pep Boys. BlueScope Steel Ltd. chose Vinson & Elkins partners Robert Kimball and Marc Rose to advise it in its $720 million acquisition of Cargill’s 50 percent ownership of North Star BlueScope Steel.

The Dallas offices of Jones Day and Vinson & Elkins were lead advisers in the two largest acquisitions of the week. Bridgestone Retail Operations selected M&A partners Scott Cohen and Alain Dermarkar of Jones Day to handle its $835 million purchase of Pep Boys. BlueScope Steel Ltd. chose Vinson & Elkins partners Robert Kimball and Marc Rose to advise it in its $720 million acquisition of Cargill’s 50 percent ownership of North Star BlueScope Steel.

Baker Botts is sending prominent Dallas real estate partner Pat Stanton west to open the firm’s new office in San Francisco. Stanton has been the partner-in-charge of Baker Botts’ Dallas office since 2012. Litigation partner Timothy Durst will assume Stanton’s duties. This article has full details of Baker Botts’ decision to open its second outpost in California.

Half of Texas lawyers donate their services to needy clients, but it isn’t enough, Justice Eva Guzman told a Texas Access to Justice luncheon Monday. The value of this work was estimated to be more than $500 million in 2013. Guzman and Chief Justice Nathan Hecht also presented three Texas legislators, state Reps. Todd Hunter, Morgan Meyer and Kenneth Sheets, with its Legislative Hero Award.

Half of Texas lawyers donate their services to needy clients, but it isn’t enough, Justice Eva Guzman told a Texas Access to Justice luncheon Monday. The value of this work was estimated to be more than $500 million in 2013. Guzman and Chief Justice Nathan Hecht also presented three Texas legislators, state Reps. Todd Hunter, Morgan Meyer and Kenneth Sheets, with its Legislative Hero Award.

This week, three judges on the Dallas Court of Appeals are expected to be chosen to hear the appeal of Energy Trans Partners’ $500 million judgment against pipeline competitor Enterprise. Legal experts say could be the biggest and most important business dispute between two Texas companies since Pennzoil clobbered Texaco in the mid-1980s for $10 billion. Both companies have beefed up their legal teams with high-priced legal talent to do battle once again.

Victims of pyramid schemes, in the context of a large multi-level marketing program, cannot bring a class action, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled. The decision could have a significant impact because multi-level marketing programs (Amway, Herbalife, etc.) are widespread in the modern economy, and the details of their operations affect millions of people involved with those businesses.

The annual Eastern District of Texas 2015 Bench Bar Conference started Wednesday at the Plano Marriott Legacy Town Center in Plano and The Texas Lawbook is there and providing complete coverage.

The annual Eastern District of Texas 2015 Bench Bar Conference started Wednesday at the Plano Marriott Legacy Town Center in Plano and The Texas Lawbook is there and providing complete coverage.