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Former U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton Joining Dykema in Dallas - As a partner in the firm, she said, she will work to expand its white-collar and government compliance practice as well as doing appellate work. February 5, 2025Bruce Tomaso
Litigation Roundup: Defamation Case Against Houston Boutique Firm Gets Tossed - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we have details on the outcome of a discrimination lawsuit brought by a Black attorney in Houston who alleges he was kicked out of a bar at the Post Oak Hotel for wearing a “[Mark] Lanier 6.0 Trial Academy Master Class” hat, Whirlpool gets a $25 million trademark infringement win in the Eastern District of Texas, and the Texas Supreme Court passes on hearing a case involving the Judicial Branch Certification Commission’s regulation of licensed court reporters.  February 4, 2025Michelle Casady
Transocean Injury Plaintiffs Ask Justices to Remove AZA as Defense Counsel - Plaintiffs firm Arnold & Itkin has appealed a Harris County trial judge’s decision that allowed the law firm Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing to stay on as defense counsel to Transocean in multidistrict litigation stemming from offshore workers’ injuries, arguing the ruling was “in error” and “an abuse of discretion.”  February 3, 2025Michelle Casady
Judge Recommends Ending Disciplinary Action Against Jackson Walker - U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal is recommending closing a proceeding that was initiated to determine whether Jackson Walker should face any disciplinary action for its failure to disclose a romantic relationship between its former bankruptcy partner and a sitting bankruptcy judge. The order came about four months after the case was randomly assigned to her court. February 3, 2025Michelle Casady
North Texas Jail Alters Mail Procedures After Lawsuit Alleging Censorship of Inmate Reading Materials - The Human Rights Defense Center is suing Grayson County and its sheriff, claiming the facility’s rejection of books, magazines and other materials sent to inmates violates the organization’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The county and the sheriff told the court it has adjusted its mail intake procedures after a hearing on a preliminary injunction. February 3, 2025Krista Torralva
Jackson Walker, U.S. Trustee Move to Strike Each Other’s Experts in Bankruptcy Fee Case - On Thursday, the U.S. Trustee and Jackson Walker filed dueling motions to strike, with the law firm arguing the expert opinions of Richard J. Davis and Jonathan C. Lipson — a retired partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges who now is in private practice, and a tenured bankruptcy law professor at Temple University-Beasley School of Law, respectively — and the U.S. Trustee arguing the same about an expert opinion from Renee Jefferson, who is the Larry Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics at the University of Houston Law Center. February 3, 2025Michelle Casady
CDT Roundup: 16 Deals, 7 Firms, 200 Lawyers, $10.1B - The fourth quarter of 2024 showed a decline in M&A transactions in Texas and, it turns out, everywhere else. But that doesn't necessarily mean that M&A deals are heading for problems this year, says Pitchbook in its annual review of global M&A activity. The CDT Roundup takes a particular look at what it might mean for PE activity, which has been a soft spot in recent years. And, of course, we include the usual list of deals reported last week in Texas. February 3, 2025Nick Peck

Centerpiece

P.S. — 2024 DFW Corp. Counsel Awards Big Winners: Keurig Dr Pepper, Texas Capital, Arcosa, Toyota, Texas Pacific Land - More than 400 corporate general counsel, senior in-house counsel and prominent business lawyers across North Texas celebrated the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards Thursday night at the George W. Bush Institute. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook presented awards to 15 in-house counsel who achieved extraordinary successes during the past 18 months.  January 31, 2025Mark Curriden
Dallas Cowboys Deputy GC Kaleisha Stuart is ‘Absolutely Unwavering in Her Commitment to D&I’ - Kaleisha Stuart was the only Black lawyer working in-house for an NFL team when she joined the Dallas Cowboys legal team in 2016. “Over the years, legal departments have grown and diversified,” Stuart told The Texas Lawbook. “Noticing this trend, I decided to create a group for the Black women lawyers working at NFL teams. The goals of the group were to make Black women taking on these new roles feel immediately welcome, to have a safe, supportive outlet to share ideas or ask questions and to make new friends."

As deputy GC for the most valuable sports franchise in the world, Stuart has achieved some extraordinary successes in business, law and diversity. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving of recognition for the DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion than Kaleisha,” Cowboys CFO Tom Walker said. “Kaleisha’s leadership ‘off the field’ in our internal DEI initiatives has been instrumental since early in her career here, which is matched only by her success ‘on the field’ in helping guide our legal department through a period of unprecedented business growth. If you get five minutes to spend with her, you’ll understand why I feel as strongly about her recognition as I do.” January 30, 2025Mark Curriden

Expert Voices

Privacy Developments to Watch in 2025 - 2024 continued the inexorable march toward state-level comprehensive privacy laws and the conspicuous lack at the federal level. Yet, an assumption that this treatment of comprehensive privacy legislation meant business as usual belies a change that saw privacy as a new battleground. February 4, 2025Lucy Porter
Are You a Go-Getter Lawyer? - To be a success in the legal profession hinges much more on how you work than where you work. Taking ownership of your own success and not expecting someone else to provide it for you is every bit as important today as it was 40 years ago. But what the series revealed is that different generations have a different sense of what go-getting looks like today. January 28, 2025Tom Melsheimer

More Stories

Viper Energy Acquires Diamondback Upstream Assets for $4.45B
JCPenney Tells Court Jackson Walker Must Disgorge Bankruptcy Fees
DOJ Sues to Block HPE’s $14B Acquisition of Juniper Networks
Ousted Oil Executive Testifies that Millions Funneled to Himself Were Proper
More Stories

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GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.

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Stories You Might’ve Missed

  • Texas Business Bankruptcies Skyrocket in DFW, Decline Slightly in Houston - For the fifth consecutive year, Texas led the nation in business bankruptcy filings, cementing its position as the premier destination for corporate restructurings. However, Delaware closed the gap significantly in 2024, surpassing Texas’ Southern District as the top venue for business bankruptcies.

    Despite a tumultuous year marked by scandal in the Southern District, Texas' three other federal court districts experienced significant increases in bankruptcy filings, ensuring the state maintained its dominance in this critical legal sector. The Northern District, in particular, emerged as a rising star, with its Chapter 11 caseload more than doubling.

    The Texas Lawbook's Mark Curriden has the details on these trends and more.     January 7, 2025Mark Curriden

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