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Courts in Texas, California, Separately Reject Houston Lawyer’s Claim to Stake in Napa Winery - In March, Harris County District Judge Tanya Garrison entered final judgment, in accordance with a jury’s verdict, in favor of Frederick Schrader. And on April 30, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim in California entered findings of fact siding with Schrader Cellars, too. Lawyer Robert Roach has already filed notice he’d be appealing the Harris County judgment. May 14, 2026
In Trial Between Brothers, Travis County Jury Awards $116M for Breach of Fiduciary Duty - Following a two-week trial, a Travis County jury unanimously found a brother had breached his fiduciary duty to the business he and his sibling cofounded. Texas Disposal Systems CEO Bob Gregory and his brother Jimmy Gregory started the company in 1977 with split ownership. May 14, 2026
Auto Insurers Hit with Putative Class Action Alleging Scheme to Deny Coverage - Two auto insurance companies operating in Texas are facing a putative class action lawsuit accusing them of targeting low-income residents, collecting premiums and then “disappearing” when insureds make a claim. Houston personal injury law firm Kherkher Garcia filed the lawsuit in Harris County District Court Tuesday evening on behalf of “hundreds and possibly thousands of Texas insureds” who have policies with AmTex Auto Insurance and Redpoint County Mutual Insurance Company. May 14, 2026
News Analysis: Trump EOs v. Law Firms — All Eyes on Judge Neomi Rao - The court battle between the Trump administration and four corporate law firms, including Houston-based Susman Godfrey, is being argued Thursday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
While many legal scholars agree that the likelihood of winning the appeal decisively favors the law firms, the focus will be on appellate Judge Neomi Rao, a conservative jurist, former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and champion of the Federalist Society. May 13, 2026
Chief Justice to Dallas Judge: Reconsider Mask Mandate - Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice James Blacklock has told a Dallas trial judge that she needs to reconsider her standing order requiring mask mandates and disclosure of personal health information before entering her courtroom. May 13, 2026
Justice Jackson Reflects on Her Early Years - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson shared stories from her early years at the Southern Methodist University Tate Lecture Series Tuesday evening. Justice Jackson is the third U.S. Supreme Court justice to visit the university campus in the last week. May 13, 2026
David Gerger to Defend Indicted Cargo Ship Engineer - The chief engineer of the Singaporean container ship MV Dali has hired prominent Houston criminal defense attorney David Gerger to represent him against federal charges filed Tuesday involving the ship’s March 2024 crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge that killed six people and caused billions of dollars in damages. May 12, 2026Dallas Lawyer Challenges Judge’s Mask Mandate - Products liability and medical malpractice trial lawyer Scott Frenkel has filed a legal challenge against a Dallas judge who continues to require the people in her courtroom to wear Covid-19-era facemasks. May 12, 2026
Centerpiece
Plains All American GC Richard McGee — Pole Vaulting into a Lifetime of Achievements - In the world of oil and gas, Richard McGee has seen it all — and he’s done most of it. As a corporate transactional lawyer for Vinson & Elkins, he represented some of the biggest players in the oil patch, including Enron. In 2001, he joined Duke Energy, first as a lawyer and then as president of its international operations. Houston-based Plains All American hired McGee in 2009 and became its general counsel in 2012. Along the way, he led or was heavily involved in more than 100 M&A transactions totaling in the tens of billions of dollars. This month, he is working to close the $3.8 billion sale of Plains’ natural gas liquids business to Canadian-based Keyera.
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named McGee as the recipient of the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement. May 14, 2026
GC Will Marsh Helps Cactus ‘Transform into a Truly Multinational Business’ - As general counsel of Cactus Inc., Will Marsh is experiencing a second (or third) career, depending on how you count. Wherever it fits in his 37-year legal career, Marsh is making the most of it, and so is Cactus, the Houston-based designer and manufacturer of oilfield equipment.
In 2023, Cactus expanded its offerings with the $621 million acquisition of FlexSteel Technology Holdings, a deal led by Marsh that earned him and Cactus the 2023 M&A Transaction of the Year from The Texas Lawbook and ACC Houston. Now they’ve done it again, winning the 2026 award for their $344.5 million purchase of a controlling interest in the surface pressure control business formerly owned by Baker Hughes. May 14, 2026
Expert Voices
Business Court: April 2026 Decisions - The Court continues to cement its judicial heavyweight status — with the month’s marquee event ringing in a 90-page opinion in the high-profile fight between the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars over control of the American Airlines Center. The Court also maintained its strategy of deploying Rule 166(g) to narrow cases early and tackled personal jurisdiction. May 11, 2026
Stories You Might’ve Missed
‘The Golden Age for Corporate Law in Texas is Now’ (Updated) - Never in history have Texas corporate lawyers worked so many hours, charged such enormous rates and raked in more revenue and profits than they are right now. The Texas offices of more than three dozen law firms scored record-high revenues in 2025 — and many of them surpassed their old records by tens of millions of dollars, according to new Texas Lawbook 50 data.
Citing increased demand for legal services and healthy hourly rate increases, 48 of the Lawbook 50 law firms generated more revenue and more profits in their Texas operations in 2025 than they did in 2024. April 30, 2026
