Baker Hughes shifted from defendant to plaintiff in a years-long legal battle with LiquidPower Specialty Products, overcoming patent infringement claims through inter partes review while building a strong antitrust case. This strategy, spanning U.S. and Canadian courts and the Patent Office, enabled Baker Hughes to settle in December 2024 and clear the way for a new product launch. Vice President of Litigation Teresa Garcia-Reyes, who oversees about 80 attorneys, emphasized the high stakes involved. “We are an energy technology company, so we take IP cases and the effect that they have on the ability to market our products very seriously,” she said. “There was real money at stake here, and it had been going on for so long, that it was nice to drive this one to closure.” The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook congratulate Garcia-Reyes for being selected as one of two finalists for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Business Litigation of the Year. The awards ceremony is set for May 22 at the Four Seasons downtown.
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CDT Roundup: Power Moves Supercharge the Week
It was a week could be easily and properly labeled “Infrastructure Week.” Of the 10 M&A transactions reported last week, eight were related to energy or data center/storage infrastructure or both.
Defying Political Backlash, Susman Godfrey Expands Diversity Scholarship Amid Legal Battle with Trump Administration
Amid growing political pressure and legal threats from the Trump administration, Houston-based law firm Susman Godfrey is expanding its diversity scholarship program for law students of color. The firm announced it will increase both the number of recipients and the award amount for its annual Susman Godfrey Prize, despite accusations from federal officials that its diversity efforts violate discrimination laws.
Blackstone to Acquire TXNM Energy for $11.5B
The take-private deal fits the grid-based energy strategy of Blackstone, one of the largest data center operators in the nation.
Kirkland is Texas’ First Billion-Dollar Law Firm
Kirkland & Ellis has become the baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson of corporate law firms — fiercely competitive and dominant, despised and envied by opponents and outrageously successful. Entering its second decade with offices in Texas, Kirkland achieved a new high in 2024 that even its Texas leader, Andy Calder, never conceived they could accomplish.
Lawbook 50: Eight Firms — All Texas, All the Time, All Profitable
Kelly Hart, Porter Hedges, Jackson Walker and five other law firms tracked by the Texas Lawbook 50 are 98 percent Texas operations with only a handful of lawyers outside the state. All eight law firms hit record highs last year in revenues and profits, and they are growing revenue and headcount at the same pace as the mega corporate firms that surround them. This gang of eight generated $1.046 billion in revenue in 2024 — up nine percent from the prior year, according to Lawbook 50 research. “We had another record-breaking year in 2024 — beyond what we reasonably expected,” Porter Hedges co-managing partner Joyce Soliman told The Lawbook.
Hines’ Richard Heaton ‘Listens But Does Not Hesitate’
To build a global group of lawyers from the ground up, a leader needs to communicate clearly about the culture being created while also earning the trust of business partners and scaling the function across geographies and practice types. In a dozen years at Hines, the private, Houston-based real estate investment giant, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Richard Heaton has done just that by recruiting and training lawyers to work as one team across the 30 countries where the company operates. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook congratulate Heaton for being selected as one of two finalists for the 2025 Houston General Counsel of the Year Award. The awards ceremony is set for May 22 at the Four Seasons downtown.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Richard Heaton
In this Q&A with The Texas Lawbook, Hines Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Richard Heaton discusses the traits he seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with him and more.
P.S. — Lawyers and Volunteers Deliver ‘Small Bit of Miracle Working’ at Pasadena Legal Clinic
In this issue of P.S., we highlight an example of pro bono collaboration as volunteers from Baker Botts, Koch and The Beacon provided wide-ranging legal assistance at a Pasadena driver’s license restoration clinic. We also report on the bestowment of The Center for American and International Law’s highest award to legal trailblazer Harriet Miers for her decades of leadership and advocacy for justice. Also, the Texas Bar Foundation renewed its support for youth-focused nonprofit One Heart Project, helping continue programming for youth who are on probation. Plus, the Texas Access to Justice Commission is now accepting nominations for its 2025 Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award and The Texas Lawbook is seeking stories about your pro bono cases or public service projects involving veterans.
Barnes & Thornburg Lands Veteran Louisiana Litigator for its Dallas Office
Barnes & Thornburg has hired veteran Louisiana litigator Kelly E. Brilleaux as a partner in its Dallas office, the firm announced in a news release Thursday.