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Lee Cusenbary’s ‘Career Shows How Much One Person Can Do to Make a Difference in a Community’ - Lee Cusenbary is a legend in the Texas business and legal communities. His name and reputation will forever be connected to elevating ethics — so much so that the Association of Corporate Counsel San Antonio Chapter named its highest honor after him. During 17 years as the GC at Mission Pharmacal, Cusenbary successfully led the San Antonio company through several complex multidistrict litigation cases, highly-technical patent infringement disputes, and guided it through numerous acquisitions and divestitures.
"Lee has left a lasting mark on the in-house counsel community, the San Antonio legal profession and the broader public," said Dykema member Jeffrey Gifford. "Lee made his career about being more than an excellent corporate counsel. He also made it about building a culture of ethics and of giving back.”
ACC San Antonio and The Texas Lawbook are awarding Cusenbary the 2025 San Antonio Corporate Counsel Award for Lifetime Achievement. October 20, 2025
Top Stories
Top Stories
Newest SCOTX Justice Tries for Federal Bench - Justice James P. Sullivan has interviewed to become a U.S. District Court Judge in Austin. It would be a fast track for Sullivan, who joined the Texas Supreme Court in January. Federal Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell also is said to be under consideration for the bench once held by Lee Yeakel. October 20, 2025
CDT Roundup: A $40B Data Center Deal Leads a 14-Deal Week - In a $40 billion deal a Blackrock-led consortium of major AI players acquired Plano-based Aligned Data Centers in one of the largest data infrastructure to date. It was one of 14 deals valued at $46.6 billion dollars reported to the Roundup last week. Even so, it was only the seventh-largest Texas-related deal of 2025. That and more in this edition of CDT Roundup. October 19, 2025
Courts to Remain Open, Staff Sees Furloughs as Funding Halts During Shutdown - Despite the federal government shutdown, which took effect Oct. 1 due to congress’ failure to pass a spending bill, federal courts are still in operation. But after three weeks, and with no funding agreement in sight, the judiciary is beginning to feel the pressure as staff members are furloughed and funding dries up. October 17, 2025
Q&A: South Texas College of Law Dean Rey Valencia on SCOTX’s Tentative Move Away from ABA Oversight and Other Changes Facing Law School Leaders - In June, before officially taking over as president and dean of South Texas College of Law, Reynaldo “Rey” Anaya Valencia joined seven other Texas law school leaders in urging the Texas Supreme Court to continue the American Bar Association’s role as the accrediting body. The son of former migrant farm workers, Valencia, a Harvard Law graduate, is the school’s first Hispanic and person of color president and dean. October 16, 2025CMC Acquires Foley Products for $1.84B - Commercial Metals Co. said Thursday that it agreed to acquire Foley Products Co. for $1.84 billion in cash. Based outside Atlanta, Foley provides precast concrete and pipe products primarily in the Southeast, operating 18 facilities in nine states. The company’s products are used in drainage, water management, dry utility, and road construction across residential, non-residential and infrastructure sectors. October 16, 2025
BlackRock-Led AI Group Strikes Deal for Aligned Data Centers - The Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership — the consortium founded about a year ago by BlackRock, Abu Dhabi-based MGX, Microsoft and NVIDIA to expand capacity of AI infrastructure — announced on Oct. 15 the acquisition of Aligned Data Centers from funds managed by Australia’s Macquarie Asset Management.
The companies said the deal, which values Plano-based Aligned Data Centers at $40 billion, will fuel the expansion of next-generation cloud and AI infrastructure.
Sterlington, Latham & Watkins and Kirkland & Ellis advised on the deal. October 15, 2025
The companies said the deal, which values Plano-based Aligned Data Centers at $40 billion, will fuel the expansion of next-generation cloud and AI infrastructure.
Sterlington, Latham & Watkins and Kirkland & Ellis advised on the deal. October 15, 2025
Centerpiece
Litigation Roundup: Lawyers Can’t Shake $525K Sanction - In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a federal judge in Fort Worth makes a business pitch to Apple and X Corp., a hefty sanction is upheld against two lawyers, and a pro se litigant is called out by a Fifth Circuit panel for citing cases that “appear to be fake” in her sex discrimination appeal. October 20, 2025
Forty Years in the Making, Harris County Finally Gets More Civil District Courts - Lawmakers this session did something that hadn’t been done in more than 40 years: approved the creation of new civil district courts in Harris County. The five new courts will come online next year and in 2027, and officials have said the additions will improve docket efficiency, enhance access to justice and strengthen the court system’s ability to serve Harris County. October 17, 2025Expert Voices
What Corporate Lawyers Need to Know About Recent Changes to Texas Law - Texas has made bold moves in its efforts to attract corporations by implementing one of the most sweeping sets of reforms to its corporate law. The Texas Business Organizations Code positions the Lone Star State as an increasingly attractive option for the state of incorporation. This article highlights the key points that corporate lawyers need to know about recent changes to the TBOC. October 19, 2025
How an Unconventional Path Can Lead to a Perfect Fit in Practice - When I arrived at the office, my inbox was teeming with notifications for a new commercial real estate deal. Walking to the employee lounge, I ran into a corporate partner who placed me on a management buyout closing within the next two weeks. An hour later, a real estate partner approached me, asking about the tax consequences of a non-liquidating property distribution.
As I finally settled in at my desk, I paused, asking myself a question that has guided my career path all along: How did my past, with all its unexpected turns, lead me to this exact moment? I concluded my successful clerkship convinced of the power of three guiding career principles. October 15, 2025
Stories You Might’ve Missed
Toyota’s Derek Lipscombe Named Texas Lawbook Foundation Co-Chair - The Texas Lawbook Foundation has named Derek Lipscombe, managing counsel at Toyota North America, as the new co-chair of the nonprofit’s board of directors. Lipscombe, a former newspaper reporter who is past president of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter, has served on The Lawbook Foundation board since it was founded in 2023. The Lawbook Foundation’s sole mission is to provide support for The Texas Lawbook’s news coverage of pro bono, public service and diversity in the Texas legal community. October 8, 2025
