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Texas Immigration Court Backlog Tops 321,000 Amid Judge Shake-Up - Texas immigration courts are carrying one of the nation’s largest backlogs as the system has undergone a sweeping shake-up of more than 200 judges, coinciding with a rise in deportation orders. Nearly 3.2 million cases were pending before U.S. immigration courts as of June 2026, including 321,006 in Texas, the third-highest total in the country. August 17, 2026
Houston Litigator Bill Jackson Leads New Jersey to $2.4B Settlements of ‘Forever Chemical’ Litigation - A Houston lawyer in Kelley Drye & Warren’s environmental law practice group served as lead trial counsel for the state of New Jersey, guiding historic $2.4 billion settlements in “forever chemical” litigation against DuPont and 3M that were finalized via consent orders by a federal judge last week. Jackson previously represented the state of Louisiana in Deepwater Horizon litigation. August 14, 2026Expert Voices
How Growing Up Poor Made Me a Better Expert - Growing up poor helped lay the foundation for my professional life. The real-life lessons I learned to survive my childhood and help support my family and community became the values that now guide my everyday practice as an expert. Here are four lessons that resonate. August 19, 2026
A Front-Row View of Texas Corporate Law’s Evolution: From the First TBOC Drafts to ‘DExit’ and ‘Y’all Street’ - The recent phenomena of “DExit” reincorporations of Delaware corporations to Texas and the development of “Y’all Street” have highlighted the benefits of the Texas Business Organizations Code. The TBOC is the work product over the course of three decades by a dedicated group of volunteer Texas lawyers. Where did the TBOC come from? August 13, 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
