In their career debuts, two newly minted University of Texas law school graduates and incoming Kirkland & Ellis associates faced pointed judicial questioning from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in a prison conditions case. Gabrielle Olubanke Howells and Lizeth Badillo Garcia spoke with The Texas Lawbook about rising to the rare occasion of presenting oral arguments in a federal appeals case before even taking the bar exam.
More Stories
Bracewell Partner Becomes Shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Houston, New York Offices
A former Bracewell labor and employment partner joins global law firm Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in the firm’s Houston and New York offices. The firm’s leaders say the addition is part of its strategic growth.
Legislation Aims to Boost Texas as a Friendly Place to Incorporate and Settle Disputes
A new law makes it more difficult for shareholders to challenge corporate decisions through litigation. A second bill headed to the governor’s desk would enhance the fledgling Texas Business Court’s authority, although lawmakers decided for now against expanding the system to rural Texas. (Photo by Ricardo Garza)
Holland & Knight Files Motion to Dismiss GWG Trustee’s Fraud Suit
This week, the law firm Holland & Knight and its partner Bill Banowsky asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur to dismiss a bankruptcy trustee’s fraud lawsuit against them for failure to state a claim. Holland & Knight and Banowsky argued the trustee had obscured “the facts upon which it must rely for wrongdoing against defendants in this case.”
Sunnova Selects Bracewell, Alvarez & Marsal for Bankruptcy Advisors
Residential solar company Sunnova TEP Developer, a subsidiary of Houston-based Sunnova Energy International, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week in the Southern District of Texas.
Bradley Hires Former EVP, CLO of Texas Regional Bank
Jacque Kruppa joined the firm’s Dallas office as a partner, Bradley announced in a press release Wednesday. She had been at Texas Regional Bank for about a year and a half and spent 17 years at Hunton Andrews Kurth prior to that.
Dell Technologies In-house Counsel Joins Yetter Coleman IP Group
Houston based Yetter Coleman LLP adds former Dell Technologies in-house counsel to its intellectual property litigation group. The addition strengthens the firm’s IP litigation group to a total of six attorneys.
Before Bar Admission, UT Law Grads and Incoming Kirkland Associates Head to Fifth Circuit for Pro Bono Oral Argument
They haven’t taken the bar exam yet, but on Thursday, two newly minted University of Texas School of Law graduates and incoming Kirkland & Ellis associates will argue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The rare opportunity is the result of a collaboration spearheaded by Kirkland Partner Zack Ewing, who was inspired by the graduates to emulate a program afforded to him while a student at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
Lawbook 50: Four Texas Firms Growing East, West and Across the Seas
Baker Botts, Haynes Boone, Bracewell and Vinson & Elkins employed employed 2,360 lawyers and generated nearly $2.9 billion in firmwide revenues in 2024. All four Texas-headquartered corporate law firms reported record revenues and record profits in 2024, according to the Texas Lawbook 50. The data also shows another interesting trend: All four are growing more than twice as fast in their offices outside of Texas than they are in their home state operations.
Report: Judge Gilstrap Again the King of Patent Litigation
Patent infringement litigation has mostly been on the decline across the U.S. for the past three years, but not in the Eastern District of Texas, which has re-established its courts as the preferred destination for disputes regarding patent infringement. A new report by legal analytics firm Lex Machina shows that U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap of Marshall was assigned 795 new patent lawsuits in 2024 — six times more than any other federal judge in the U.S.