It ‘Far Exceeded Our Wildest Imaginations’

Then-Texas Attorney General Dan Morales sued Big Tobacco for racketeering and fraud in 1996. Thirty years later, the litigation against the cigarette makers has proven to be an annual financial bonanza for the state of Texas — more than $15.8 billion so far and another $450 million payment expected any day now. And while less than one-tenth of one percent of the payments have gone to antismoking efforts, youth cigarette use overall has plummeted. In a two-part series, Mark Curriden, the former Dallas Morning News legal affairs writer who covered the tobacco litigation full-time for three years, looks back at the historic litigation and its impact three decades later.

July 13, 2026 Mark Curriden

Cuban Files Presuit Petition in Mavs Arena Row

Mark Cuban has some questions about how the majority owners of the Dallas Mavericks struck a deal to buy the Valley View Mall property — the proposed site of the team’s new home — and how that deal may impact his contractual rights. And he’s asking a judge in Dallas County to give him the chance to find some answers.

July 9, 2026 Michelle Casady

‘A Servant’s Heart’: NDTX Clerk Reflects on Quarter Century of Service

For a quarter of a century, Karen Mitchell has served as the Northern District of Texas clerk of court, making her the longest-serving clerk of court in the country. The last 25 years have been filled with life-changing events in history, but former judges who know her said one thing has remained constant: her positive attitude.

July 5, 2026 Alexa Shrake

Asked & Answered with Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann’s Mary Goodrich Nix: Influences,  Mentorship and Early Battles

In this edition of Asked & Answered, Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann’s Mary Goodrich Nix looks back on her early years as a trial lawyer. She also shares advice she would give to young lawyers and discusses trends she sees impacting the practice.

July 1, 2026 Alexa Shrake

Judge: Ukrainian Plaintiffs Failed to Plead Causation Against TI, Tech Firms

Lawyers for five Ukrainian citizens who were injured or killed in Russian drone and missile attacks that allegedly used semiconductors and other technology made by American tech companies, including Texas Instruments, failed to state a legal cause of action in their federal lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The judge is allowing the lawyers for the Ukrainians 28 days to refile their complaint to address his concerns about causation.

U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater issued a 21-page decision that the Ukrainians’ claims are not preempted by federal law but that their case is dismissed because the lawsuit failed to show that the “defendant’s conduct is the cause in fact of a plaintiff’s injury” and that the defendant’s “act or omission was a substantial factor in bringing about the injuries, and without it, the harm would not have occurred.”

July 1, 2026 Mark Curriden

Texas Business Court Caseload Accelerates and Broadens After House Bill 40 Expands Jurisdiction

The Texas Business Court’s second year is off to a faster start than its first, and the expansion of its jurisdictional reach through House Bill 40 appears to be contributing to the uptick in its caseload. This analysis takes a look at the numbers, with a focus on the Eleventh and Third Divisions.

June 25, 2026 Marisa Secco Giles, Aaron Lira & Olivia Landry

What Judge Hittner’s 40 Years on the Federal Bench Teaches Us All

This month marks the 40th anniversary of Judge David Hittner’s appointment by President Ronald Reagan. That tenure places him well within the 10 longest-serving district judges in Texas history. The traits that have made Judge Hittner a great federal trial judge apply beyond the bench. They are ones that any lawyer can learn from.

June 24, 2026 Gregg Costa

Litigation Roundup: Houston-Area Clinic Owner Arrested in Alleged $906M Fraud

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher secures a big win on appeal for a major Brazilian mining company that was facing a $500 million lawsuit in Nueces County, and a team from King & Spalding beats back class certification in a 6,000-plaintiff antitrust case playing out in federal court in Illinois.

June 22, 2026 Michelle Casady

What the Feds Took, Texas May Protect

Earlier this year, a financial executive opened an AI chatbot to think through his legal exposure before calling his lawyers, then watched a federal judge hand all 31 of those documents to prosecutors.

The lesson looked clear. A Texas court has now complicated that lesson. Same conduct, two courts, opposite results. For Texas litigators, the gap between the two is worth understanding.

June 9, 2026 Chris Schwegmann & Ben A. Barnes

Business Court: May 2026 Decisions

May was the Texas Business Court’s busiest month yet. Even with a record-setting number of decisions across the court’s divisions, the Court maintained its principled and stalwart deference to the text of the contract. The month also continued a familiar stream of jurisdictional disputes testing the Business Court’s $5 million amount-in-controversy threshold, among other jurisdictional questions.

June 1, 2026 Zack C. Ewing & Sofia Michael