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CDT Roundup: Deal Flow Slows, but Debt Steps In to Fill the Gap - For the week ended April 11, the CDT Roundup saw 10 deals reported with a total valuation of just over $5 billion. The prior week had 11 deals reported with a total value of $33 billion, dominated by a $29.1 billion megamerger between food distribution giants Sysco and Jetro Restaurant Depot. A year ago at this time, the Roundup reported on eight deals valued at about $2.4 billion.
This week, however, credit and capital markets dominate the deal numbers. Maybe "dominate" is strong a word to describe three debt issues, a $167 million PIPE and a secondary equity offering that forced a dip in a company stock. April 12, 2026
This week, however, credit and capital markets dominate the deal numbers. Maybe "dominate" is strong a word to describe three debt issues, a $167 million PIPE and a secondary equity offering that forced a dip in a company stock. April 12, 2026
DOJ: Only President — Not Courts — Decides if Susman Godfrey is National Security Threat - The Trump administration is trying to persuade a federal appeals court to restore President Donald Trump’s executive orders against Houston-based Susman Godfrey and three other law firms, arguing that a president’s power to declare the firms national security threats is "unreviewable" by the courts. April 11, 2026Mavs Drop Tortious Interference Claim as Case Heads Toward Resolution - The Dallas Mavericks franchise filed notice that it was immediately dropping its tortious interference claim in its battle against the Dallas Stars. The move comes a week after the Texas Business Court denied the Stars’ five motions for summary judgment and granted the Mavericks' motion for declaratory judgment. April 9, 2026
Texas Business Court Boots Fraud Suit Against Indiana Trailer Manufacturer - The Texas Business Court dismissed a fraud lawsuit against an Indiana-based trailer manufacturer, determining the dispute did not belong in Texas courts. Texas-based Daimler Truck Financial Services was seeking $28 million in damages. April 9, 2026
Ares Management Buys Whitestone REIT for $1.7B - Alternative investment manager Ares Management Corp. said on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire Houston-based Whitestone REIT for $19 a share, or about $1.7 billion, in cash.
Kirkland is outside legal advisor to Ares and Whitestone's general counsel is Peter Tropoli. April 9, 2026
Kirkland is outside legal advisor to Ares and Whitestone's general counsel is Peter Tropoli. April 9, 2026
Asked & Answered with Norton Rose Fulbright’s Julie Searle: From DOJ to Walmart to BigLaw - In this edition of Asked & Answered, Norton Rose Fulbright partner Julie Searle talks about being inspired by her parents to go to law school and her decade of experience at the Department of Justice. From government to in-house to private practice, Searle draws on these experiences in her role as a litigator in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Austin office. April 8, 2026SEC Names Dallas Lawyer as Nation’s Top Corporate Enforcement Cop - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has named Dallas lawyer David Woodcock as its new director of enforcement, overseeing the agency’s federal civil corporate securities and fraud investigations and prosecutions.
Woodcock is taking a multimillion-dollar pay cut by leaving Gibson Dunn, where he has been a partner in Dallas since 2023. April 8, 2026
Woodcock is taking a multimillion-dollar pay cut by leaving Gibson Dunn, where he has been a partner in Dallas since 2023. April 8, 2026
Omar Samji Heads Back to Gibson Dunn - Omar Samji, the Houston-based lawyer whose career in power and renewables spans more than two decades and six law firms, has left Weil for Gibson Dunn, the firm is announcing today. April 8, 2026
Centerpiece
Energy Transfer, KBR, LyondellBasell, Plains All American & P66 Win Top 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards - The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced Monday the recipients of the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards for Business Litigation of the Year, M&A Transaction of the Year, Creative Partnership, Corporate Legal Department of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and Rookie of the Year.
ACC Houston and The Lawbook disclosed the GCs of the Year, Senior Counsel of the Year, Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy and Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion honorees last week.
"The Houston Corporate Counsel Awards celebrate the exceptional legal talent driving business success across our city, honoring the in-house counsel who work tirelessly behind the scenes to protect and advance the companies and communities that make Houston thrive,” said ACC Houston President Emily K. Shields. “When accomplished lawyers take time to nominate a peer, it speaks volumes about the standard of excellence this recognition represents.” April 12, 2026
ACC Houston and The Lawbook disclosed the GCs of the Year, Senior Counsel of the Year, Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy and Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion honorees last week.
"The Houston Corporate Counsel Awards celebrate the exceptional legal talent driving business success across our city, honoring the in-house counsel who work tirelessly behind the scenes to protect and advance the companies and communities that make Houston thrive,” said ACC Houston President Emily K. Shields. “When accomplished lawyers take time to nominate a peer, it speaks volumes about the standard of excellence this recognition represents.” April 12, 2026
Texas Lawbook Honors Sidley Austin Chair Yvette Ostolaza - Yvette Ostolaza grew up in an immigrant neighborhood in Miami, the daughter of parents who fled Cuba in the 1960s. She learned English from watching Sesame Street. As a young teenager, she lied about her age to get a job at Sears to make extra money for her family. When she announced that she wanted to be the first in the family to go to college, they told her she was crazy.
Four decades later, Ostolaza became the first Latina and first Dallas lawyer to lead a global corporate law firm — a position she has held since 2022 at Sidley Austin, a 2,300-lawyer firm with 21 offices and more than $3.7 billion in annual revenue.
The Texas Lawbook announced Thursday that it is awarding the first-ever Texas Lawbook Law Firm Leadership Award to Ostolaza. April 9, 2026
Expert Voices
Trust as a Team Superpower: Why Trust is Your Most Powerful Tool as a Leader - Have you ever worked with someone or a group of people and everything was just easy?
But have you also experienced the opposite, where nothing seemed clear?
In both scenarios, the difference was trust. April 7, 2026
But have you also experienced the opposite, where nothing seemed clear?
In both scenarios, the difference was trust. April 7, 2026
A Review of March’s Texas Business Court Decisions - March finds the court firing on all cylinders, producing an increasingly large (and increasingly diverse) output of opinions covering a wide range of issues at nearly every stage of the litigation life cycle — from remand fights to temporary injunction battles and from jurisdictional disputes to yet another trial verdict (this time from a bench trial). April 6, 2026
Stories You Might’ve Missed
Texas Courts Cold as Ice to Winter Storm Uri Victims - Winter Storm Uri brought single-digit temperatures and freezing precipitation to Texas in February 2021. Power lines snapped. Natural gas and power generators went silent. Pipelines froze. At least 246 people died. Thousands and thousands more suffered serious medical injuries. In all, 31,600 Texans and businesses sued energy companies for gross negligence. But five years later, not a single case has made it to trial. February 13, 2026
