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Houston Appellate Court Won’t DQ AZA as Transocean Defense Counsel - In a five-sentence per curiam opinion issued Thursday morning, the First Court of Appeals in Houston declined to disturb rulings from a trial judge that allowed the law firm Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing to continue its defense of Transocean in multidistrict litigation stemming from offshore workers’ injuries. Lawyers from Arnold & Itkin, representing the plaintiffs, had argued the move was required and told The Texas Lawbook Thursday they are considering all options as it relates to a possible appeal. November 20, 2025
Haynes Boone Duo Wins $973K Pro Bono Fraud Verdict in Trial Debut - Haynes Boone associates Ashley Koos and Sean Lewis secured a $973,000 pro bono verdict for gospel singer and minister Wintley Phipps in their first-ever trial, convincing a Harris County jury that a longtime acquaintance and former business partner defrauded Phipps. The young lawyers — standouts from the firm’s inaugural Trial Academy — served as co-first chairs and built a case centered on breached trust, ultimately winning $308,000 in compensatory and $665,000 in punitive damages. Their performance, firm leaders say, reflects both the professional development the academy is designed to foster and the essential role pro bono cases play in giving young attorneys real courtroom experience while expanding access to justice. November 20, 2025
Asked & Answered with Susman Godfrey’s Justin Nelson: Try Your Best, Be Polite and Do Justice - In this edition of Asked & Answered, Susman Godfrey partner Justin Nelson talks about settlements against Fox News and the AI company Anthropic, along with where he sees AI regulation headed. Nelson also discusses lessons learned in his career from clerking for U.S Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to running for Texas attorney general. November 20, 2025
Reid Collins Secures $112.3M Verdict for Aluminum Company in Insurance Case - After a five-day trial, a South Carolina jury found insurance companies had breached their obligations after an incident at an aluminum plant resulted in property damage. A team from Austin-based Reid Collins & Tsai represented the plaintiff. November 19, 2025Stars Hit Back in Fight With Mavericks - After filings this week, the fight between the ownership groups of the Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks will play out in Delaware bankruptcy court and in the Texas Business Court. The Stars, represented by Winstead, have hired a team of lawyers from Blank Rome to aid in the bankruptcy proceeding. The Mavericks are represented by Jackson Walker. November 19, 2025
Mary Kay Founder Denied Bid for Legal Funds - Richard R. Rogers, who cofounded Mary Kay with his mother in 1963, filed suit against Mary Kay Holding Company in August, arguing the entity was required to hand over fees to fund litigation over a trust dispute with his son. A magistrate judge in Delaware disagreed. November 19, 2025
Judge Rejects Kyle Bass’ Efforts to Reverse Judgment in Water Rights Case - An Anderson County district judge ruled late Monday that she will not reconsider a court-approved settlement in a case pitting a group of poultry and cattle farmers against the Neches & Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District that could restrict or even prohibit Dallas businessman Kyle Bass from drilling for millions of gallons of water on two of his East Texas ranches. November 18, 2025
Centerpiece
The 40-Year Legacy of Pennzoil v. Texas — An Appeal for the Ages - Executives at Texaco woke up Nov. 20 — exactly 40 years ago today — like it was the morning after aliens attacked in the movie Independence Day. A day earlier, a Houston jury ruled the New York-based oil and gas giant had tortiously interfered with a 1984 agreement Getty Oil made to merge with Pennzoil and awarded Pennzoil $10.53 billion. Texaco’s stock took a beating — dropping from $80 per share when the litigation started to $32 the week following the trial. Some Wall Street analysts were openly warning about bankruptcy. The company’s convertible bonds plummeted in value. Texaco’s debt rating was cut by Standard & Poor’s. Interest accruing on the judgment was $2.8 million every single day.
Between Thanksgiving 1985 and Christmas 1987, the two energy companies and their ever-expanding roster of litigators did battle. The litigation itself multiplied, including a precedent-setting federal case in New York over Texaco’s appeals bond, a monumental appellate battle, a bizarre decision by the Texas Supreme Court, the world’s largest corporate bankruptcy at the time and a historic settlement.
Both sides hired major reinforcements — fresh legs and fresh eyes, if you will — as the trial teams had been going full speed for 21 straight months. The appeals team for Texaco beefed up with several heavy hitters from Fulbright & Jaworski and David Boies of Cravath in New York. Pennzoil added a Texas superstar in V&E’s Harry Reasoner and Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School.
In Part II of our series looking back at the significance of the Pennzoil v. Texaco trial, The Lawbook examines the post-verdict appeals, which were historic and precedent-setting. November 20, 2025
The Legacy of Pennzoil v. Texaco 40 Years Later — The Civil Jury Trial of the Century - Forty years ago tomorrow, a Houston jury delivered a verdict that rocked Wall Street and put fear in the heart of corporate dealmakers when it ordered Texaco to pay Pennzoil $10.53 billion — $30 billion today — for tortiously interfering with Pennzoil's agreement to buy Getty Oil. It was largest civil jury verdict in history at the time and is still the largest actual damages verdict ever upheld on appeal. Pennzoil v. Texaco legacy remains significant, as it changed how companies handle mergers and acquisitions, caused the Chamber of Commerce to designate Texas as a judicial hellhole in 1986 and directly led to two decades of massive tort reform efforts that dramatically limited the rights of Texans to sue businesses, doctors and insurance companies for wrongdoing. It also launched Texas trial lawyer Joe Jamail to national stardom and made him the richest trial lawyer in American history.
In this in-depth article, The Texas Lawbook provides a detailed timeline of the events involved in the historic litigation, as well as comments from more than a dozen lawyers about the legal strategies employed. November 18, 2025
Expert Voices
Texas Emerges as a Leading Force in State Privacy Law Enforcement - Over the past two years, Texas has emerged as a leader in the U.S. state privacy regulatory landscape. The state’s attorney general has launched a broad privacy enforcement initiative, secured notable settlements and filed lawsuits against major players across industries ranging from social media to insurance. With new privacy laws that have come into effect in 2024 and 2025 and a steady stream of enforcement activity, Texas has established itself as a state that businesses must pay close attention to when evaluating compliance obligations. November 20, 2025
