Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Two prominent Dallas business litigation boutiques – Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank and Elrod – are expected to announce Wednesday that they are merging their law practices.
The combined law firm will boast 30 lawyers, making it one of the largest commercial litigation-only law firms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Two prominent Dallas business litigation boutiques – Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank and Elrod – are expected to announce Wednesday that they are merging their law practices.
The combined law firm will boast 30 lawyers, making it one of the largest commercial litigation-only law firms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
EIG Global Energy Partners announced Tuesday that it has agreed to commit a $1 billion strategic investment to Breitburn Energy Partners that will likely help the independent oil and gas company repay borrowings under its credit facility.
EIG Global Energy Partners announced Tuesday that it has agreed to commit a $1 billion strategic investment to Breitburn Energy Partners that will likely help the independent oil and gas company repay borrowings under its credit facility.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
© Copyright 2026 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.
