Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Both Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Winston & Strawn associates saw the Cicis trial as a valuable training opportunity. The associates argued motions and cross-examined witnesses on the stand.
Two heavyweights of the Houston business community, Jim Crane and Drayton McLane, were at their respective tables in the well of the courtroom as a panel of nine women and six men —12 jurors and three alternates — filed into the jury box in the Ceremonial Courtroom on the 17th floor of the Harris County Civil District Courthouse Thursday morning for the first day of testimony in a case where $440 million is at stake.
The jury’s decision reached Wednesday is the second nine-digit damages verdict in three months favoring Headwater, which is led by inventor Greg Raleigh.
A veteran police officer wounded while directing parade traffic is now seeking a jury trial and $10 million in damages. The lawsuit filed in Harris County is one of many against the gun manufacturer Sig Sauer.
Fueled by financial distress in the healthcare and hospitality industries, a record number of businesses filed for bankruptcy in the Northern District of Texas federal courts during the first six months of 2025. New Texas Lawbook data shows that 622 companies and their affiliated businesses sought protection to restructure under Chapter 11 in the Texas bankruptcy courts between Jan. 1 and June 30 — more than any other state by a large margin. A half-dozen leading business bankruptcy experts provide their insights.
The Texas Lawbook interviewed seven of the top business bankruptcy lawyers in Texas about trends and developments in their practices during 2025. The experts include Sidley Austin partner Duston McFaul, Godwin Bowman partner Sid Scheinberg, O’Melveny & Myers partner Lou Strubeck, Haynes Boone partner Charles Beckham, Ross & Smith partner Frances Smith, Bradley Arant partner Jarrod Martin and Bracewell partner Trey Wood.
A Harris County jury on Thursday will begin the job of determining whether Jim Crane was duped into paying too much to buy the Houston Astros from the prior owner in 2011. Jury selection began this week, and opening statements are expected to come Thursday morning in the trial, which is scheduled to last three weeks.
Lawyers for IBM were seeking an award of about $59.2 million in fees and costs for work done on the case. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen did knock down the hourly rate of some Quinn Emanuel lawyers from $1,925 an hour to a maximum of $935 an hour, and also pinged the legal team for a few expensive dinners in New Orleans and stays at the Four Seasons and the Ritz Carlton. “While, of course, the attorneys do not need to stay at a motel along the interstate, BMC should not be required to pay for these establishments for a large number of attorneys who were peripherally involved,” Judge Hanen wrote.
Dallas real estate executive Jared Caplan claims in a new lawsuit that he is the victim of a switch-and-bait fraud perpetrated by Lily Sarafan, a top executive at private equity owned home healthcare company TheKey. A lawyer for Sarafin, who is now the chair of the Stanford University board of trustees, calls the lawsuit vexatious.
Pulling this list together was harder than expected. My book choices vary greatly — from chick lit rom-coms to biographies to thrillers. I love a book that doesn’t make me think. I’m a lawyer — I have to think a lot. So it’s sometimes nice to just read something light and mindless. That said, what this exercise taught me is that I am really drawn to books that weave storylines together and pull me in enough that I get to the “just one more chapter” stage. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. And, if you happen to come by Half Price Books’ flagship store in Dallas to grab one of these books, let me know! My office is right upstairs.
Editor’s note: The Texas Lawbook is pleased to launch this new column in partnership with Texas-based Half Price Books sharing our readers’ favorite reads.
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