Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we give you details on the unusual terms of a settlement Texas reached with Cal-Maine Foods in a price gouging suit, the U.S. Court of Appeals issues a ruling being hailed as a victory for taxpayers, and a doctor in the Valley goes to prison for fraud involving adult day care centers.
A proposed class action lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Texas claims former bankruptcy Judge David Jones, former Jackson Walker bankruptcy partner Elizabeth Freeman and major law firms allegedly hid the romantic relationship between Jones and Freeman. Jones resigned from the bench in 2023 after news of his relationship with Freeman was publicly reported.
The week ending Jan. 17 saw 19 deals reported to the CDT Roundup with a total value of more than $18.4 billion.
The week prior had 18 deals valued at nearly $9 billion, and there were 19 deals worth about $7.4 billion during the same week last year. But last week was the best week by value since an absurd 21-deal, $75 billion week in early November.
That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.
Adam Shulman lives by two lessons from his father: anything becomes interesting when examined closely, and mastery begins with the willingness to be terrible.
As vice president of corporate global strategy and development at Dallas-based Celanese, Shulman applies both principles daily. Celanese is a global leader in producing specialized chemicals and engineered materials essential to countless industries, from cellulose acetate used in glasses and packaging to high-performance polymers found in solar panels and orthopedic implants.
This appreciation for complexity and disciplined curiosity helped earn Shulman recognition from The Texas Lawbook and the DFW Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel as a finalist for the 2025 M&A Transaction of the Year.
Mitsubishi Corp. said Friday that it has entered the U.S. shale gas business with the acquisition of specific assets from Dallas-based private investment firm Aethon Energy Management for about $7.5 billion. Latham & Watkins advised Aethon and Vinson & Elkins represented Mitsubishi.
The race for the 234th District Court bench in Harris County has gotten ugly.
Incumbent Judge Lauren Reeder and challenger Kim McTorry both allege the other played a role in trying to coerce them into dropping out of the race. The allegations range from threats to expose a brief decade-old affair to offers of a $50,000 bribe.
At the conclusion of a hearing that stretched across two days, Senior Judge Christi Kennedy, who was sitting on the case by assignment, determined Thursday night that McTorry's petition was invalid and ordered that she not appear on the March primary ballot.
Houston energy infrastructure company Talen Energy said Thursday that it has acquired two power generating plants in the PJM market from New Jersey-based investment firm Energy Capital Partners for $2.55 billion cash and about $900 million in stock. Talen General Counsel John Wander worked with Kirkland & Ellis and White & Case on the deal.
The Texas Supreme Court recently adopted extensive amendments to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure that will have a dramatic effect on litigation before the Court.
Most notably, the Court all but eliminated its practice of requesting merits briefs before deciding whether to grant review of a case. Going forward, the Court will ordinarily decide whether to grant review, request merits briefs and schedule oral argument based on the petition-stage briefing alone. This combined decision now requires a minimum of four votes, whereas requesting merits briefing previously required only three.
Only two women Texas deal lawyers led billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions in 2016. That same year, five Texas lawyers for Kirkland & Ellis were among the 43 attorneys who were the lead legal advisors on transactions that topped $1 billion and only one Kirkland partner ranked among The Texas Lawbook's Corporate Deal Tracker's Top 10 Texas dealmakers. What a difference a decade has made. New Corporate Deal Tracker data shows that, in 2025, 135 lawyers in Texas led or co-led billion-dollar deals for buyers, sellers or targets and the top three are women partners. And Kirkland's representation in the CDT billion-dollar lawyer rankings have skyrocketed, too.
Luxury retailer Saks Global Holdings, the parent company of Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday in the Southern District of Texas. The retailer selected Willkie Farr, Haynes Boone and Bradley Arant as its lead legal advisors to guide the bankruptcy.
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