Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
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.
Texan Elon Musk, who has seen his net worth plummet hundreds of billions of dollars this month due to a steep decline in Telsa stock, quietly added a new foe last week — Susman Godfrey and Houston partner Justin Nelson — which could be a courtroom-size headache for the world’s wealthiest person. Nelson, who led the Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million victory over Fox News in 2023, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Media Matters against X Corp/Twitter, accusing the social media platform and its owner of abusing the civil justice system to get vengeance against media entities that he blames for his economic losses.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We’re expanding our popular CDT M&A rankings from twice a year to a new quarterly format. Beginning next month, our CDT rankings for law firms and lawyers (M&A and capital markets) will be published four times annually, offering Lawbook subscribers a more frequent and detailed look at the lawyers leading and advising on deals in the Lone Star State. Plus, the CDT Roundup looks at last week's transactions.
Haynes Boone has officially established a Texas Corporate Governance Practice Group to assist companies with the legal and operational challenges of relocating or reincorporating in the Lone Star State. The Dallas-based firm aims to leverage its experience and connections, especially as the Texas Stock Exchange gains traction and the NYSE plans to follow suit. The new group, led by veteran partners, will guide businesses considering a move to Texas on compliance, governance, taxes, economic development and more.
© Copyright 2025 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.
