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
More Stories
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.
National Fuel Buys CenterPoint Ohio Natural Gas Operations for $2.62B
Texas lawyers from Jones Day and Gibson Dunn advised the parties in CenterPoint’s sale of a local distribution network that consumes 60 billion cf of natural gas each year.
Erin Hopkins: Another Veteran Paul Hastings Hire
Erin Hopkins, a veteran energy transactions partner at Baker Botts, is moving to the Houston office of Paul Hastings, his new law firm announced Tuesday. Hopkins brings with him 15 years of experience in energy and renewables transactions.
Lee Cusenbary’s ‘Career Shows How Much One Person Can Do to Make a Difference in a Community’
Lee Cusenbary is a legend in the Texas business and legal communities. His name and reputation will forever be connected to elevating ethics — so much so that the Association of Corporate Counsel San Antonio Chapter named its highest honor after him. During 17 years as the GC at Mission Pharmacal, Cusenbary successfully led the San Antonio company through several complex multidistrict litigation cases, highly-technical patent infringement disputes, and guided it through numerous acquisitions and divestitures.
“Lee has left a lasting mark on the in-house counsel community, the San Antonio legal profession and the broader public,” said Dykema member Jeffrey Gifford. “Lee made his career about being more than an excellent corporate counsel. He also made it about building a culture of ethics and of giving back.”
ACC San Antonio and The Texas Lawbook are awarding Cusenbary the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Newest SCOTX Justice Tries for Federal Bench
Justice James P. Sullivan has interviewed to become a U.S. District Court Judge in Austin. It would be a fast track for Sullivan, who joined the Texas Supreme Court in January. Federal Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell also is said to be under consideration for the bench once held by Lee Yeakel.
Litigation Roundup: Lawyers Can’t Shake $525K Sanction
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a federal judge in Fort Worth makes a business pitch to Apple and X Corp., a hefty sanction is upheld against two lawyers, and a pro se litigant is called out by a Fifth Circuit panel for citing cases that “appear to be fake” in her sex discrimination appeal.
What Corporate Lawyers Need to Know About Recent Changes to Texas Law
Texas has made bold moves in its efforts to attract corporations by implementing one of the most sweeping sets of reforms to its corporate law. The Texas Business Organizations Code positions the Lone Star State as an increasingly attractive option for the state of incorporation. This article highlights the key points that corporate lawyers need to know about recent changes to the TBOC.
CDT Roundup: A $40B Data Center Deal Leads a 14-Deal Week
In a $40 billion deal a Blackrock-led consortium of major AI players acquired Plano-based Aligned Data Centers in one of the largest data infrastructure to date. It was one of 14 deals valued at $46.6 billion dollars reported to the Roundup last week. Even so, it was only the seventh-largest Texas-related deal of 2025. That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
Forty Years in the Making, Harris County Finally Gets More Civil District Courts
Lawmakers this session did something that hadn’t been done in more than 40 years: approved the creation of new civil district courts in Harris County. The five new courts will come online next year and in 2027, and officials have said the additions will improve docket efficiency, enhance access to justice and strengthen the court system’s ability to serve Harris County.