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Asked & Answered with Gibbs & Bruns’ Caitlin Halpern: A 48-Hour Trial Prep and a Hurricane-Day Release - In this edition of Asked & Answered, Gibbs & Bruns partner Caitlin Halpern recalls a first trial that came together in 48 hours and a parole win that ended in a hurricane. She also talks about the rise of the Texas Business Court and the pop playlist that gets her ready for the trial. September 24, 2026Senate Confirms Judges for SDTX, NDTX - The U.S. Senate confirmed Angela Colmenero as federal judge for the Southern District of Texas Wednesday with a 50-47 vote, succeeding Judge Lee H. Rosenthal. The Senate also confirmed Kasdin Mitchell as federal judge for the Northern District of Texas Friday with a 49-45 vote. She is succeeding Judge Barbara Lynn. September 23, 2026
Tarrant County Jury Awards $24M to State of Washington - A Tarrant County jury unanimously awarded the state of Washington $24 million in damages in a fraudulent transfer and veil piercing case against two affiliated Frisco-based wealth advisory businesses. September 23, 2026
Pro Bono Team Notches Win in Texas Prisons Air Conditioning Suit - A pro bono team of lawyers who went to trial seeking air conditioning in Texas prisons notched a major win Tuesday when U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled that the state’s un-air-conditioned prisons violate the Eighth Amendment and ordered Texas to install air conditioning throughout its prison system by the end of 2029. September 22, 2026
Litigation Roundup: Kelley Drye Scores $590M PFAS Settlement; SCOTX Calls for Bond Cap Reform - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Kelley Drye lawyers secured a $590 million PFAS settlement for North Carolina, the Texas Supreme Court urged legislative reform of the state's $25 million supersedeas bond cap, and the Fifth Circuit revived a challenge to a Lake Austin annexation ordinance for the second time. September 21, 2026
Road to Ruin: Subprime Lender’s Troubles Include Many Turns - A year after Tricolor collapsed into bankruptcy, the SEC’s new fraud case is the latest multimillion-dollar turn in the problems faced by the subprime auto lender that have left it in liquidation and at the center of criminal fraud charges against its former executives. September 21, 2026CDT Roundup: An $11B Week That Fades With Scrutiny - Of the 10 equity transactions reported last week, five were minority fundings, and the largest chunk of the week's transaction value derived from a revolving credit deal. It marked the fourth straight week when even the good numbers exude caution. Some would call that a trend. September 20, 2026
Centerpiece
Energy Boom to Space Race: The Stellar Career of Hillary Holmes - In a wide-ranging interview, Gibson Dunn capital-markets leader Hillary Holmes takes Texas Lawbook subscribers inside a career that placed her at the center of SpaceX’s historic public offering this year. But that is only the latest chapter in a much deeper Texas story that charts her rise from the Houston “deal room” of her childhood to one of the country’s top corporate lawyers, known for her instinct to see beyond the transactions themselves. September 24, 2026Vericast Deputy GC, Jackson Walker Partner Honored for Ethical Life, Leadership - The Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced Wednesday that Vericast Deputy General Counsel Shelayne Clemmer and Jackson Walker partner Robert Soza, Jr. are the recipients of the prestigious 2026 C. Lee Cusenbary Ethical Life and Leadership Award, one of the most coveted honors in the San Antonio legal community. September 23, 2026
Expert Voices
Refining the Case for Houston as a Seat for International Arbitration: Where the City Stands and What Comes Next - Houston has the courts, the law and the infrastructure to compete as a seat for international arbitration, but few people outside Texas seem to know it. A recent CLE session dug into what's holding the city back, and what a working group is now doing about it, from a modernized arbitration statute to a data-backed appeal to general counsel. September 21, 2026
What the Let Kids Play Act Could Mean for Private Investment in Youth Sports - The Let Kids Play Act is the first attempt by federal lawmakers to address growing issues and concerns around the $40 billion-plus U.S. youth sports ecosystem. We’ve been following this bill closely for professional and personal reasons: We are transactional lawyers who guide private equity clients through significant deals and fundraising, and we are each the parent of three children who are competitive student-athletes.
If enacted, the Let Kids Play Act would be the very definition of a game-changer for youth sports. So how did we get here? September 18, 2026
If enacted, the Let Kids Play Act would be the very definition of a game-changer for youth sports. So how did we get here? September 18, 2026
Stories You Might’ve Missed
The Real Harry Potter’s ‘Magic Wand — Loyalty to the Law’ - “Your boss is a crook!” Arthur Golden, a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell and a lawyer for Big Tobacco, screamed into the telephone in the fall of 1998. “A crook!”
On the other end of the line, Harry Potter, then a special assistant attorney general in Texas running the tobacco litigation, who was appointed three decades ago by then-Texas Attorney General Dan Morales to lead the historic lawsuit brought by the state of Texas against Big Tobacco. Potter and Golden had negotiated the details of the historic $15.3 billion settlement agreement between the state of Texas and large cigarette makers.
“Arthur was extremely angry — livid,” Potter said. “He talked about secret lawyer contracts. I didn’t know anything about it, but it sent chills throughout my body."
In Part II of The Texas Lawbook's series on the tobacco litigation, learn the story of the real Harry Potter, a Houston lawyer whose secret power was his ethics and commitment to the law. July 16, 2026
