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Jury Sides with 2 of 3 Jane Does in Sexual Assault Trial Against Dallas Developer - In a case where three Jane Does alleged Dallas developer Bill Hutchinson sexually assaulted them, a jury agreed with two of the women Thursday night after 11 hours of deliberation. The two women who prevailed alleged that Hutchinson raped them. The third plaintiff alleged Hutchinson groped her, a claim the jury rejected.

The jury awarded the prevailing women a combined $860,000 in damages, but the plaintiffs were seeking an award of $79.8 million. June 25, 2026Alexa Shrake
EDTX Judge Dismisses Gateway Church Tithe Suit, Citing Recent 5th Circuit Precedent - In a major legal victory Wednesday for leaders of Gateway Church, a federal judge in Sherman dismissed a lawsuit brought by members of the church who claim its leaders misused hundreds of thousands of dollars of their tithes. June 24, 2026Mark Curriden
Vartabedian Handles Chapter 11 Filing for Camp Mystic - Almost a year after the deadly flash flood on the Guadalupe River that killed more than two dozen campers and staff, Camp Mystic has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Texas.

The case has been assigned to Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Lopez. First-day documents were filed by Martin Sosland, a Dallas partner with Vartabedian Katz Hester & Haynes. June 24, 2026Jeff Schnick
SpaceX Announces $25B Inaugural Notes Issue - Taking advantage of its expanded new market cap, Space Exploration Technologies announced its pricing of an inaugural $25 billion bond issue. Gibson Dunn lawyers in Texas and New York advised. June 24, 2026Allen Pusey
ABA Summit Touts Value of DEI Amid Growing Backlash  - Legal leaders gathered virtually this week for the American Bar Association’s Equity Summit, where speakers discussed the progress the profession has made on diversity, equity and inclusion while acknowledging the challenges that remain amid the current political landscape. June 24, 2026Krista Torralva
Energy Fuels Buys Germany’s VAC for $1.9B in Rare Earths Deal - Denver-based mining company Energy Fuels said that it has acquired German magnetics company Vacuumschmelze, also known as VAC, from private equity firm Ara Partners for about $1.9 billion in cash and stock.

Dentons, Dorsey & Whitney, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Latham & Watkins advised on the deal. June 23, 2026Jason Philyaw
Arcosa to Merge with CRH for $8.5B - Dallas-based infrastructure materials firm Arcosa announced Monday that it is being acquired by CRH, a building supply firm based in Ireland. Baker Botts, Gibson Dunn and Kirkland & Ellis advised the various parties. June 22, 2026Jason Philyaw

Centerpiece

What Judge Hittner’s 40 Years on the Federal Bench Teaches Us All - This month marks the 40th anniversary of Judge David Hittner’s appointment by President Ronald Reagan. That tenure places him well within the 10 longest-serving district judges in Texas history. The traits that have made Judge Hittner a great federal trial judge apply beyond the bench. They are ones that any lawyer can learn from. June 24, 2026Gregg Costa
Litigation Roundup: Houston-Area Clinic Owner Arrested in Alleged $906M Fraud - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher secures a big win on appeal for a major Brazilian mining company that was facing a $500 million lawsuit in Nueces County, and a team from King & Spalding beats back class certification in a 6,000-plaintiff antitrust case playing out in federal court in Illinois. June 22, 2026Michelle Casady

Expert Voices

Small-town Justice: Some Thoughts on Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood - Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood was published in 1966, which suggests that the 60th anniversary is good time to revisit it. The novel was a subject of discussion in our Legal Philosophy seminar at Texas A&M University School of Law earlier this semester, and we found some of the seminar participants’ observations worth sharing: such as whether there are important, inherent differences between urban and rural justice systems. June 26, 2026Randy Gordon & Grace Chapman
Texas Business Court Caseload Accelerates and Broadens After House Bill 40 Expands Jurisdiction - The Texas Business Court’s second year is off to a faster start than its first, and the expansion of its jurisdictional reach through House Bill 40 appears to be contributing to the uptick in its caseload. This analysis takes a look at the numbers, with a focus on the Eleventh and Third Divisions. June 25, 2026Marisa Secco Giles, Aaron Lira & Olivia Landry

More Stories

Trial Started Today in Fight Over Treasure Recovered from Sunken Ship
CDT Roundup: No Summer Slowdown for Deals
EDTX Jury Slaps Verizon with $190M Infringement Verdict
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Stories You Might’ve Missed

  • ‘The Golden Age for Corporate Law in Texas is Now’ (Updated) - Never in history have Texas corporate lawyers worked so many hours, charged such enormous rates and raked in more revenue and profits than they are right now. The Texas offices of more than three dozen law firms scored record-high revenues in 2025 — and many of them surpassed their old records by tens of millions of dollars, according to new Texas Lawbook 50 data.

    Citing increased demand for legal services and healthy hourly rate increases, 48 of the Lawbook 50 law firms generated more revenue and more profits in their Texas operations in 2025 than they did in 2024.     April 30, 2026Mark Curriden

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