O’Melveny & Myers and First Liberty Institute File Lawsuit Over Denied Church Permit, Alleging Religious Liberty Violations

O’Melveny & Myers lawyers have joined Plano-based First Liberty Institute on a federal lawsuit accusing the city of Santa Ana, California, of violating a Chinese- and Taiwanese-American Christian church’s religious liberty rights. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Central District of California, accuses the city of violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, as well as the First Amendment. O’Melveny is working on the case pro bono. 

February 5, 2025 Krista Torralva

Former U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton Joining Dykema in Dallas

As a partner in the firm, she said, she will work to expand its white-collar and government compliance practice as well as doing appellate work.

February 5, 2025 Bruce Tomaso

Litigation Roundup: Defamation Case Against Houston Boutique Firm Gets Tossed

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we have details on the outcome of a discrimination lawsuit brought by a Black attorney in Houston who alleges he was kicked out of a bar at the Post Oak Hotel for wearing a “[Mark] Lanier 6.0 Trial Academy Master Class” hat, Whirlpool gets a $25 million trademark infringement win in the Eastern District of Texas, and the Texas Supreme Court passes on hearing a case involving the Judicial Branch Certification Commission’s regulation of licensed court reporters. 

February 4, 2025 Michelle Casady

Transocean Injury Plaintiffs Ask Justices to Remove AZA as Defense Counsel

Plaintiffs firm Arnold & Itkin has appealed a Harris County trial judge’s decision that allowed the law firm Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing to stay on as defense counsel to Transocean in multidistrict litigation stemming from offshore workers’ injuries, arguing the ruling was “in error” and “an abuse of discretion.” 

February 3, 2025 Michelle Casady

Judge Recommends Ending Disciplinary Action Against Jackson Walker

U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal is recommending closing a proceeding that was initiated to determine whether Jackson Walker should face any disciplinary action for its failure to disclose a romantic relationship between its former bankruptcy partner and a sitting bankruptcy judge. The order came about four months after the case was randomly assigned to her court.

February 3, 2025 Michelle Casady

North Texas Jail Alters Mail Procedures After Lawsuit Alleging Censorship of Inmate Reading Materials

The Human Rights Defense Center is suing Grayson County and its sheriff, claiming the facility’s rejection of books, magazines and other materials sent to inmates violates the organization’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The county and the sheriff told the court it has adjusted its mail intake procedures after a hearing on a preliminary injunction.

February 3, 2025 Krista Torralva

Jackson Walker, U.S. Trustee Move to Strike Each Other’s Experts in Bankruptcy Fee Case

On Thursday, the U.S. Trustee and Jackson Walker filed dueling motions to strike, with the law firm arguing the expert opinions of Richard J. Davis and Jonathan C. Lipson — a retired partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges who now is in private practice, and a tenured bankruptcy law professor at Temple University-Beasley School of Law, respectively — and the U.S. Trustee arguing the same about an expert opinion from Renee Jefferson, who is the Larry Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics at the University of Houston Law Center.

February 3, 2025 Michelle Casady

CDT Roundup: 16 Deals, 7 Firms, 200 Lawyers, $10.1B

The fourth quarter of 2024 showed a decline in M&A transactions in Texas and, it turns out, everywhere else. But that doesn't necessarily mean that M&A deals are heading for problems this year, says Pitchbook in its annual review of global M&A activity. The CDT Roundup takes a particular look at what it might mean for PE activity, which has been a soft spot in recent years. And, of course, we include the usual list of deals reported last week in Texas.

February 3, 2025 Nick Peck

Viper Energy Acquires Diamondback Upstream Assets for $4.45B

Kirkland & Ellis advised Diamondback while Hunton AK counseled Viper's audit committee in a transaction that includes 69.6 million shares of Viper's operating subsidiary and $1 billion in cash. The deal is designed to reduce Diamondback debt accrued in its $26 billion purchase of Endeavor Energy Resources last year.

January 30, 2025 Allen Pusey

JCPenney Tells Court Jackson Walker Must Disgorge Bankruptcy Fees

The 18-page lawsuit seeking to claw back about $1.1 million in bankruptcy fees, along with other damages, was filed Tuesday in the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division and brings claims for disgorgement for failure to make bankruptcy disclosures, breach of fiduciary duty and negligence.

January 30, 2025 Michelle Casady