Dean Omar Branham Shirley was in back-to-back trials last year across the country against Johnson & Johnson over allegations the pharmaceutical giant’s talc-based baby powder contained cancer-causing asbestos. During an October interview with The Texas Lawbook in her Dallas home, name partner Jessica Dean was in between trips to Boston and Pittsburgh to try cases. “I believe, in a lot of the cases we work on, we allow someone who’s lost their life to bad conduct to be remembered in all sorts of fun ways: in the minds of jurors, in the minds of judges,” she said. “A case can live for years.”
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TPG’s Climate Investing Platform Acquires Altus Power for $2.2B
Altus Power, a commercial-scale provider of clean electric power in Stamford, Connecticut, announced Thursday that it was acquired by TPG’s climate investing platform, TPG Rise Climate, for $2.2 billion. Lawyers from Latham & Watkins and Kirkland & Ellis are advising on the deal.
The Truth About the TCPA
While the law is by far the most significant safeguard of free speech rights for Texas citizens — with protections that must be jealously guarded — that fact often gets lost (or blocked) from the public discourse as powerful interests call for “reforms” that would gut the TCPA.
O’Melveny & Myers and First Liberty Institute File Lawsuit Over Denied Church Permit, Alleging Religious Liberty Violations
O’Melveny & Myers lawyers have joined Plano-based First Liberty Institute on a federal lawsuit accusing the city of Santa Ana, California, of violating a Chinese- and Taiwanese-American Christian church’s religious liberty rights. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Central District of California, accuses the city of violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, as well as the First Amendment. O’Melveny is working on the case pro bono.
Former U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton Joining Dykema in Dallas
As a partner in the firm, she said, she will work to expand its white-collar and government compliance practice as well as doing appellate work.
Baker Botts Adds Veteran Austin-Based Energy Partner
Baker Botts announced that Ann Coffin, an Austin-based energy lawyer, has joined as a partner in its global projects practice. Coffin joins Baker Botts after most recently spending over 15 years as a founding partner and shareholder at Austin’s Coffin Renner.
Litigation Roundup: Defamation Case Against Houston Boutique Firm Gets Tossed
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we have details on the outcome of a discrimination lawsuit brought by a Black attorney in Houston who alleges he was kicked out of a bar at the Post Oak Hotel for wearing a “[Mark] Lanier 6.0 Trial Academy Master Class” hat, Whirlpool gets a $25 million trademark infringement win in the Eastern District of Texas, and the Texas Supreme Court passes on hearing a case involving the Judicial Branch Certification Commission’s regulation of licensed court reporters.
Privacy Developments to Watch in 2025
2024 continued the inexorable march toward state-level comprehensive privacy laws and the conspicuous lack at the federal level. Yet, an assumption that this treatment of comprehensive privacy legislation meant business as usual belies a change that saw privacy as a new battleground.
Sidley Austin Adds Houston Energy Partner From Paul Hastings
Sidley Austin has announced that Paris Theofanidis in Houston has joined its firm as a partner in its energy, transportation and infrastructure practice.
Holland & Knight Adds Veteran Austin M&A, PE Partner From Greenberg Traurig
Holland & Knight announced that it has added Ronald Skloss to its team as an Austin-based partner working within its corporate M&A and private equity practice.