Barry Smitherman has been an investment banker who specializes in the capital markets. He prosecuted domestic violence cases as a lawyer in the Harris County District Attorney’s office. He chaired the Texas Public Utility Commission and the state’s Railroad Commission. Now, he has a new title: partner at Vinson & Elkins.
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Texas Regulatory Expert Joins V&E
Barry Smitherman has been an investment banker who specializes in the capital markets. He prosecuted domestic violence cases as a lawyer in the Harris County District Attorney’s office. He chaired the Texas Public Utility Commission and the state’s Railroad Commission. Now, he has a new title: partner at Vinson & Elkins.
Exclusive: Tyler Federal Judge Davis to Join Fish & Richardson
U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis handled more than 1,700 patent infringement cases during his 13 years on the Eastern District bench, handing some of the biggest IP disputes in the U.S. In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Judge Davis said he is leaving the bench and taking his patent expertise to Fish & Richardson, where he said he plans to advise business clients that have cases in East Texas.
“Some people think it takes a Ph.D to decide a patent disputes, but these cases are really about who is telling the truth,” he said.
Exclusive: Tyler Federal Judge Davis to Join Fish & Richardson
U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis handled more than 1,700 patent infringement cases during his 13 years on the Eastern District bench, handing some of the biggest IP disputes in the U.S. In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Judge Davis said he is leaving the bench and taking his patent expertise to Fish & Richardson, where he said he plans to advise business clients that have cases in East Texas.
“Some people think it takes a Ph.D to decide a patent disputes, but these cases are really about who is telling the truth,” he said.
Cox Smith Merges with Dykema
After a yearlong business romance, the law firms from San Antonio and Detroit announced Monday they are combining to become Dykema Cox Smith, a 450-lawyer firm that has 140 attorneys in Texas. “This merger was purely driven by the firms and our people, not by consultants,” Cox Smith Managing Counsel Deborah Williamson said.
The Texas Lawbook has full details about how merger talks started and progressed. Hint: Dallas partner Bill Finklestein played a key role.
Is PTAB Biting into Eastern District Patent Caseload?
The number of new patent case filings is on pace to rise in the first quarter of 2015 in the Eastern District of Texas. But an increasingly popular avenue for dealing with patent disputes is siphoning legal work away from the busiest forum in the country for settling squabbles over the ownership of inventions. Welcome to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
EXCLUSIVE – Sam Wyly: Bankrupt but Still Fighting
Nine years ago, Forbes put Dallas entrepreneur Sam Wyly net worth at $1.1 billion. His business savvy created tens of thousands of jobs and put billions of dollars into the pockets of investors. Charities benefited to the tune of $67 million.
Today, Wyly is in bankruptcy. The SEC wants $198 million. He’s paid lawyers more than $100 million. And the IRS wants whatever is left. The Texas Lawbook has an exclusive interview with Wyly and his legal team about the litigation, auctioning off the family’s assets and Sam Wyly’s future.
Former DOJ and SEC Lawyer Joins Haynes and Boone
In a Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, Houston lawyer Steve Corso explains why he chose Haynes and Boone, how his experiences at the Justice Department and the SEC have shaped him as a lawyer and what kinds of cases the government is focusing on.
V&E, Latham and Andrews Kurth Advise in M&A Worth $1.8 Billion
Lawyers from the three firms helped ETP and Sunoco negotiate an $816 dropdown transaction and LINN Energy secure a $1 billion equity capital commitment from Quantum Energy Partners.
V&E, Latham and Andrews Kurth Advise in M&A Worth $1.8 Billion
Lawyers from the three firms helped ETP and Sunoco negotiate an $816 dropdown transaction and LINN Energy secure a $1 billion equity capital commitment from Quantum Energy Partners.