Holiday Hangover Hits the Deal Table

The abbreviated Thanksgiving week that ended Nov. 29 saw six deals reported to the CDT Roundup with a total reported value of $4.1 billion.

We'd compare it to last week's 20 deals for $5 billion, but there's really no comparison. It's easy to hide value in 14 M&A/Funding transactions. With only two M&A deals reported on the week, it's hard to hide anything.

It was the lowest number of M&A transactions since mid-June 2020. And there's no pandemic to blame it on.

That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.

November 30, 2025 Jason Philyaw

Dallas PE Firm Largely Cleared in $180M Alliance of American Football Bankruptcy Case

Western District of Texas Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig A. Gargotta issued a 199-page opinion and order Tuesday in a case he’s been presiding over for six years. He wrote that the trustee failed to prove all but one of its claims for relief and awarded just $1 in damages. “Further, there was insufficient evidence to support an award of damages or attorney’s fees in this case,” he wrote. “The result may be viewed as harsh, but it is appropriate.” 

November 26, 2025 Michelle Casady

Update: Law Firms in Texas Continue Announcing Year-End Associate Bonuses

Five Texas-based law firms and number of national law firms with offices in Texas, including Sidley most recently, have announced that they are awarding their associates with year-end or holiday bonuses and special achievements ranging from $15,000 to $140,000.

November 25, 2025 Mark Curriden

Texas Solar Panel Maker Files for Bankruptcy

Houston-headquartered PosiGen and 10 of its affiliated companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday in the Southern District of Texas.

November 25, 2025 Mark Curriden

Litigation Roundup: Harrison County Pharma Lawsuit Nets $41.5M Settlement

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announces a $41.5 million settlement of one Harrison County state court lawsuit against pharmaceutical industry defendants and files another in the same venue, and a fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin draws a wrongful death lawsuit in the wake of a freshman’s death by suicide.

November 24, 2025 Michelle Casady

SPACs Gobble Targets Ahead of Thanksgiving

The week that ended Nov. 22 saw 20 deals reported with a total reported value of $5.5 billion, heavy on deal volume and private equity transactions, including a PE firm buying a majority stake in Topgolf. The seven days prior saw 16 deals at $16.4 billion, marking ten straight deal-weeks of $11 billion or more. Tailing that streak, a week in the single-digit billions seems like a literal downer.

But this time last year saw fewer deals (15) at a lower reported value ($4.55 billion), and a heavy volume of private transactions tends to depress reported values.

It also proved a special week for SPACs — that and more in this edition of CDT Roundup.

November 23, 2025 Jason Philyaw

Lawyers Discuss Impact of Judge Smith’s Scathing Dissent in Redistricting Case

Pushing aside what’s already been reported — like the number of times Judge Jerry Smith wrote that he dissents (16), the number of times he calls out Judge Jeffrey Brown by name (279) and the number of times he references the Soros family (17) — The Lawbook asked more than a dozen appellate lawyers to weigh in on the aftermath: whether the tone of the dissent and the majority’s decision on the timing of the opinion’s release would have an impact on the judiciary, and the public’s opinion of the judiciary, moving forward.

November 21, 2025 Michelle Casady

Former TV News Anchor Gets 10 Years in Pandemic Loan Scam

Stephanie Hockridge, a former local news anchor in Phoenix, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of Fort Worth for her role in what prosecutors called a vast fraud based on phony applications for loans under the Covid-era Payroll Protection Program. Her husband, Nathan Reis, pleaded guilty in August for his role in the scam.

November 21, 2025 Bruce Tomaso

Lynn Pinker Wins Trade Secrets Case in Eastern District of Texas

A jury found Signature Systems Group had committed breach of contract and misappropriated the trade secrets of Spartan Composites, a company that manufactures industrial mats used at construction sites. Following a few hours of deliberation, the jury awarded the requested damages along with punitive damages.

November 21, 2025 Alexa Shrake

P.S. — White & Case Partner: Pro Bono Veterans Wills, Estate Services Have ‘Very Tangible Personal Impact’ 

This edition of P.S. is packed with inspirational words from Texas lawyers who are pushing pro bono and public service work forward. Take Galderma’s Devon Sharp, for example. In her acceptance remarks at the Texas General Counsel Forum Magna Stella Awards dinner, she urged fellow attorneys to meet the moment and serve their respective communities. “We are living in a world and country and state where, increasingly, those who live on the margins are being further marginalized,” she said. “The gap between privilege and need is widening and too many are being left behind.” White & Case Houston partner Taylor Pullins also offered a meaningful reminder of the personal nature of wills and estate planning for veterans in contrast to the transaction-heavy matters that dominate much of his big-law practice. And in Houston, Gibson Dunn is revolutionizing its pro bono culture with an annual tradition that pairs new associates with pro bono cases. We hope this Column leaves you inspired. 

November 21, 2025 Krista Torralva & Elle Grinnell