In 2025, the Lone Star State was once again at the forefront of some of the biggest legal stories of the year. Join Androvett Legal Media & Marketing as we take a look back at the Top 10 Texas Legal Stories that shaped the past year. We start here with No. 10 thru 6.
10. Ghislaine Maxwell’s Soft Landing at Club Tex/Fed
Socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted in 2021 for her role in recruiting for and perpetuating the late financier’s notorious sex trafficking ring that exploited underage girls.
Originally sentenced to 20 years at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, it was announced on Aug. 1 that Maxwell would be moved to a minimum-security facility on the outskirts of Bryan following private interviews with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal attorney for President Trump. The decision triggered sharp backlash and intense scrutiny from victims, local residents, and lawmakers.
Federal Prison Camp Bryan (FPC Bryan) was designed to house short-term offenders facing sentences of five years or less and has one of the lowest security ratings in the federal prison system. Other notable inmates include Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and Jen Shah of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”
Offering work release and educational programs, FPC Bryan lacks the high security typically reserved for sex offenders. Critics say Maxwell’s relocation doesn’t fit her crimes, arguing that the low-security setting fails to reflect the severity of her actions.
They also worry that the Justice Department may be granting Maxwell preferential treatment, describing as highly suspicious the timing of the move and the choice of a facility widely regarded as “one of the best” for serving time. Victims and advocacy groups warn that such leniency could erode public trust in a system meant to punish those who violate it.
With recent reports saying Maxwell plans to ask for release, it’s unlikely these calls will abate anytime soon.
9. H2-Oh Boy! Water Disputes Make Splash
Blessed with an abundance of natural resources, Texas has rarely found itself lacking for much, whether it be oil, natural gas, timber, or agricultural land. Until recently, that list also included the most important resource – water. But that claim has recently become a little hazy.
In the Rio Grande Valley, questions about potential mercury contamination to water sources surrounding the Starbase launch site near Brownsville linger following the withdrawal of a lawsuit against owner SpaceX over its discharge of industrial waste.
In Corpus Christi, frustrated City Council members canceled work on a planned but long-delayed seawater desalination plant that would have quenched the water needs of the city’s refinery hub. The move forced companies to lean heavily on the municipal water supply, already stressed to cover the needs of residents by a nearly decade-long drought.
Meanwhile, businesses are leading the charge to protect water rights in East Texas. Leaning into Texas’ groundwater “rule of capture” doctrine, Dallas entrepreneur Kyle Bass filed permits seeking to drill on his ranches for millions of gallons of groundwater from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer. However, residents and local officials from communities located throughout the Piney Woods objected, expressing fears for their water security. Sanderson Farms and poultry and cattle producers led a fight in state court, helping to defeat or at least delay Bass’ efforts.
The final ruling on Bass’ request to drill could reverberate far beyond East Texas, setting precedents for water management statewide, as critics urge the Legislature to revisit and modernize the “rule of capture.”
8. Gateway Church Founder Faces Reckoning
Just two years ago, Robert Preston Morris, a prominent charismatic leader who once served on President Trump’s evangelical executive advisory board, was the face of Southlake’s Gateway Church.
The 2024 announcement that Morris was stepping away from the megachurch he founded caught many by surprise. Surprise turned to shock as allegations surfaced that Morris had sexually abused a minor over a four-year period in the 1980s while a traveling evangelist. Indicted in March by a multi-county Oklahoma grand jury, Morris pleaded guilty Oct. 2 to five counts of lewd and indecent acts with a child.
The victim, publicly self-identified as Cindy Clemishire, says the abuse began in December 1982, when she was 12 and Morris was staying with her family in Oklahoma, and continued over several years. As part of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, Morris was given a 10-year suspended sentence with the first six months to be served in the Osage County Jail. Morris will also be required to register as a sex offender for life, pay restitution and incarceration costs, and is subject to probation under Texas supervision.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond described Morris’ crime as particularly egregious because it involved “a pastor who exploited his position of trust and authority.” After Morris was sentenced, Clemishire released a statement saying, “Justice has finally been served,” and expressed hope that sharing her story would encourage other abuse survivors to speak out.
7. Taking Sports Battles to Court
From Texas A&M’s, Texas Tech’s and North Texas’ regular-season college football success to Houston’s and Dallas’ draw announcement for next year’s FIFA World Cup, Texas sports fans had a lot to cheer about in 2025. Unfortunately, the sports headlines weren’t all positive.
With Dallas Mavericks fans still reeling from the shocking trade of superstar Luka Doncic in February, not even the arrival of rookie standout Cooper Flagg could distract attention from a string of off-court challenges facing the team.
First came the Legislature’s rejection of legalized gambling in Texas, a major setback for Mavericks ownership, which has made no secret of its desire for a new arena within a North Texas casino/resort.
The team’s push for a new arena also placed it at legal odds with the NHL Dallas Stars, which shares operations of the American Airlines Center with the Mavs.
In an apparent attempt to force the Stars into a buyout that would give the NBA franchise complete control of the AAC, the Mavericks filed suit claiming the Stars defaulted on the operational agreement when it moved its corporate headquarters to a Dallas suburb. A countersuit sought to nullify the argument, asserting that under new majority owners Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont, the Mavericks are now based in Nevada. The faceoff between the teams is certain to be headed to court.
Houston was no stranger to ownership disagreements either. Astros owner Jim Crane and former owner Drayton McLane Jr. have been at legal odds since 2013 over the financial collapse of the team’s regional sports television network, with Crane seeking $440 million in damages from McLane and McLane countersuing Crane for millions. But after just one day of testimony before a Harris County jury in July, the two billionaires reached a confidential settlement to end the cases.
6. Texas Goes All-In for Business
Numerous developments in 2025 helped transform Texas into more than just a business-friendly state and make it a center for capital markets, specialized commercial adjudication, and modernized corporate law.
The Texas Business Court in September celebrated its first year of operation with roughly 180 cases filed in its first five open divisions. Based on that success, the Legislature enacted House Bill 40 at midyear, expanding the court’s jurisdiction and reach and establishing statutory and operational changes intended to streamline case assignments.
The biggest market story was the continued expansion and infrastructure establishment of the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE). TXSE earned SEC approval to get everything in place to begin trading in Dallas in 2026, hiring key management officials and securing major financial backers. With a goal of providing an alternative to the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, the expansion is expected to influence significantly how corporate counsel plan strategies in large commercial cases.
In addition to these major developments, the Texas Legislature completed a substantial modernization of the Texas Business Organizations Code (TBOC). Senate Bills 29, 1057 and 2411 will raise the thresholds for derivative actions, limit or eliminate liability for company officers over acts taken in an official capacity, streamline approvals of mergers and other major transactions, and much more.
2025 delivered a three-pronged push: a beefed-up business court that is influencing litigation strategies, a new regional exchange that is expected to alter stock exchange dynamics, and a modernized TBOC that gives in-state and relocating companies new choices and increased opportunities, issues that will keep litigators, corporate transactional teams and compliance officers busy throughout 2026.
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