Advances in technologies to treat water produced from oil and gas fracking operations has made what was a worthless by-product into a potentially valuable resource. It’s now worth fighting for, as evidenced by arguments in the closely watched case of Cactus Water Services v. Cog Operating.
CDT Roundup: 13 Deals, 13 Firms, 155 Lawyers, $13.7B
In this edition of CDT Roundup, there were 13 deals valued at $13.7 billion. Although the value included an $8.5 billion M&A transaction involving cellular infrastructure, that ranks far better than the prior week’s anaemic 7 deals for $2.2 billion, whose value base included a $2 billion loan. For the same week in 2024, we saw 11 transactions valued at $11.4 billion.
EQT Group, Zayo To Acquire Crown Castle’s Fiber Solutions and Small Cells Business for $8.5 Billion
EQT Group announced Thursday that it had acquired Crown Castle’s small cells solutions business for $4.25 billion through its EQT Active Core Infrastructure fund. In addition, EQT and Digital Bridge-backed company Zayo also announced its own acquisition of a Crown Castle fiber solutions business for $4.25 billion. Lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett are advising on the deals.
Texas Transaction Trailblazers: Michael Piazza Led in Deals, Shamus Crosby in Dollars
Driven by a mix of private equity interest, family office investments and strategic consolidations across multiple sectors, dealmaking was strong in 2024, particularly in Texas, revealing resilience even as the year closed amid tightening credit and unexpected headwinds. Two lawyers stood out in that Texas M&A landscape, each making their mark in distinct ways: Gibson Dunn’s Michael Piazza and Simpson Thacher’s Shamus Crosby.
EDTX Chief Judge Mazzant Carves Up Sherman Docket, Four More Judges Take a Share
On the first day he became the new Chief Judge of the Eastern District of Texas, Amos Mazzant III issued an order that shook up the caseload assignments for the eight judges who serve in that district.
Here, we share Chief Judge Mazzant’s answers to a handful of questions The Lawbook posed to him regarding the new order.
Texas Legal Market Free Agency Continues with $5M to $13M Annual Comp Offers
The number of Texas law partners who moved their practice to a new firm during 2024 hit record highs and the trend seems to be continuing in 2025. And for a growing percentage of the lateral moves, this was their second or third jump in recent years. Texas Lawbook data shows that 20 percent more partners at business and litigation practices in Texas jumped to a competitor last year. Three law firms added 10 or more lateral partners in 2024. Twenty-two firms hired five or more lateral partners. Three law firms lost 10 or more partners to competitors in 2024. The Lawbook examines the data and the individual specific lateral moves for trends.
Judge Awards Cardinal Midstream $51.9M in Pipeline Explosion Suit Against Energy Transfer
A judge in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, has determined that Cardinal Midstream is owed $51.9 million in damages from Energy Transfer in a lawsuit stemming from a 2018 gas pipeline explosion.
Litigation Roundup: Travis County Gets a New Judge
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a team of Kirkland lawyers gets an early win for a client facing a whistleblower’s False Claims Act suit, a suit stemming from the romance scandal involving former judge David Jones gets trimmed and the Dallas appellate court declines to bring an early end to a barratry lawsuit against a personal injury law firm.